E3 Microsoft SmartGlass and Nintendo Wii U Pictures

SmartGlass

The free Xbox app turns your standard media center into an interactive smart TV by weaving mobile devices into the user experience.

The "get excited" consumer-friendly part? SmartGlass is designed to work with all tablets and phones, not just Windows mobile. Use an iOS, Android, or Windows device to access additional SmartGlass companion content on a TV show — a list of the show's cast, for example — while you watch the most recent episode and control the Xbox itself by using the phone or tablet as a remote. Switch from viewing movies and TV to gaming, and the additional SmartGlass-powered device becomes a secondary controller.

Xbox Entertainment

With an emphasis on turning Xbox into a media center master hub, Microsoft announced the addition of over 35 global entertainment partners to roll out over the next year. The new options are wide-ranging in genre — including Nickelodeon, Paramount Movies, and Revision3 channels — along with sports coverage that includes the NBA, NHL, and 24/7 ESPN programming.

Wii U

The Wii U controller looks a little different than when it was introduced at last year's E3. Now officially called the Wii U GamePad, the new controller replaces circle pads with Xbox- and PS3-like thumb sticks, which have click functions, and features easier-to-hold hand grips on the back of the device.

Additional GamePad features include an NFC reader, which recognize more cards, and a TV remote button, which turns the device into an actual (you guessed it) TV remote. No word on official Wii U pricing or retail availability yet.

Miiverse

Joining the world of online gaming, Nintendo announced the Miiverse, a Wii U world where your Mii avatar can mingle with its (your) Mii friends and any online Miis playing the same game as you. Miis can also send notes and doodles to another Mii, even when a game doesn't have specific Miiverse functionality.

The Miiverse will first be available when the Wii U hits store shelves, with 3DS, PC, and mobile device accessibility coming in the future.

Wonderbook: Book of Spells

Though not a game, Sony's reveal of Wonderbook made an impression at E3 thanks to its partnership with one very famous writer and wizard. Using PlayStation Eye and PlayStation Move, Wonderbook functions as an augmented reality book, and its first edition is called Book of Spells, a collaboration with JK Rowling's Pottermore. The Move controllers are used to cast spells in what is written as an advanced textbook for student witches and wizards.

Availability and pricing haven't been announced for Wonderbook, but it could be worthy of excitement for Harry Potter fans and younger PlayStation users.

Assassin's Creed's Female Lead

PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 consoles will get Assassin's Creed III in October this year, but the PlayStation Vita will have its own exclusive take on the franchise with Assassin's Creed III: Liberation. Set in Louisiana during the American Revolution, the game stars Aveline, a "woman of conviction" and the franchise's first female assassin. Also look for it in October, when it will be bundled with a new "Crystal White" version of Vita.