Xbox Live on windows phone 7

[maxy]

Well,MS mobile gaming platform is here

Microsoft's trotting out over 50 titles today, all of which and more will be available by the time Windows Phone 7 devices go on sale this holiday season. When I spoke with Kevin Unangst—the company's PC and mobile gaming  big boss—he repeatedly mentioned that this list was just a taste. But even with more titles expected before launch, there's already a lot to like here: casual favorites like Bejeweled and Oregon Trail, Xbox exclusive fare from the Halo and Crackdown franchises, three games with "Zombie" in the name. Good times.

How's the interface? In a word: familiar. Once you tap on the Xbox Live tile, you're met with what Matt saw when he took an in-depth tour Windows Phone 7. There's your avatar waiting to greet you. There's the last achievement you unlocked, whether it was on your console or the phone. This is where you see game invites from friends, games you've downloaded. There's a Spotlight area that wasn't up and running yet on the handset I saw, but it serves the same purpose it does on your console. It's Xbox Live on your phone, as promised.

There are also some clever ways Microsoft has optimized the experience for mobile. Your 3D avatar will get dizzy and fall down if you shake the phone, and if you unlock an avatar item on Xbox Live anywhere it's usable on the phone. And your avatar can invade the rest of your phone, too, with Avatar Gadgets, which are simple productivity apps like a flashlight, coin toss, ruler, and leveler that your avatar interacts with on screen.

Most important part

Every Xbox Live game on Windows Phone 7 has a 200 gamerscore, just like Xbox Live Arcade  games, and will accrue to your overall gamerscore. That integrated experience is reflected in your Avatar as well: any customizations you make on the phone will be reflected immediately on the console, and vice versa.

http://gizmodo.com/5614244/xbox-live-on-windows-phone-7-hands-on-and-first-impressions
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/xbox-live-launch-titles-for-windows-phone-7-finally-revealed-we/


PR

With Xbox LIVE and a Blockbuster Title Lineup, Windows Phone 7 Marks a New Era in Mobile Gaming

First wave of Xbox LIVE titles from award-winning publishers announced for the launch of Windows Phone 7.

COLOGNE, Germany - Aug. 17, 2010 - Today at gamescom 2010, the world's largest consumer-oriented games showcase, Microsoft Corp. premiered the first wave of Xbox LIVE games launching on Windows Phone 7 this holiday. With even more games and applications to come, Windows Phone 7 is putting the power of Xbox LIVE into the palm of your hand - from Xbox LIVE Avatars to staying connected with friends, Xbox LIVE is now at your fingertips, anytime, anywhere.*

"We believe that no matter where life takes you, the best in gaming and entertainment should follow," said Marc Whitten, corporate vice president of Xbox LIVE at Microsoft. "Windows Phone 7 takes a different approach to handheld gaming, utilizing Xbox LIVE, Microsoft Game Studios, leading game publishers, and innovative indie developers, to create powerful, shared experiences for everyone."

The Games You Want, Played When and Wherever You Want Them

In a sea of games, apps, gadgets and gizmos, the biggest obstacle can be finding the game that's right for you. Only Windows Phone 7 has a Games hub featuring Xbox LIVE, creating a different kind of mobile gaming experience that puts the games you want front and center. Xbox LIVE games on Windows Phone 7 will be specially selected from the top names in mobile, PC and console game development, making the best mobile games even better, thanks to Xbox LIVE. With try-before-you-buy demos, Xbox LIVE leaderboards, turn-based multiplayer, Achievements and more, Windows Phone 7 brings the quality, consistency and community of the Xbox experience to gamers on the go.

Windows Phone 7 also will be supported by content from Microsoft Game Studios (MGS), providing strong first-party gaming titles and intellectual property for the phone. For Xbox fans, this means that Windows Phone 7 will offer companion titles to familiar names, such as "Halo: Waypoint," and "Crackdown 2," extending the experience of their favorite Xbox 360 franchises.

"Windows Phone 7 is the launch of a major gaming platform for Microsoft," said Matt Booty, general manager of mobile gaming for MGS. "Just like we've done with Xbox 360, our charter is to push the envelope and deliver definitive games that maximize the platform. We will have an incredible lineup of MGS titles, and that's just the beginning."

The most creative minds in game development are bringing the biggest franchises to Windows Phone 7. The first wave of launch portfolio titles includes Xbox LIVE games from the likes of Gameloft, Konami, Namco Bandai, PopCap and THQ. Whether you choose to play a gem of a puzzler with "Bejeweled™ LIVE" (PopCap), bring down the house with "Guitar Hero 5" (Glu Mobile), fight off a destructive alien invasion in "The Harvest" (MGS), paint your way out of a corner with "Max and the Magic Marker" (PressPlay) or defend your city in "Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst" (MGS), the first wave of games announced in the launch portfolio of Xbox LIVE games on Windows Phone 7 has something for every mobile gamer:

"3D Brick Breaker Revolution" (Digital Chocolate)
"Age of Zombies" (Halfbrick)
"Armor Valley" (Protégé Games)
"Asphalt 5" (Gameloft)
"Assassins Creed" (Gameloft)
"Bejeweled™ LIVE" (PopCap)
"Bloons TD" (Digital Goldfish)
"Brain Challenge" (Gameloft)
"Bubble Town 2" (i-Play)
"Butterfly" (Press Start Studio)
"CarneyVale Showtime" (MGS)
"Castlevania" (Konami)
"Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst" (MGS)
"De Blob Revolution" (THQ)
"Deal or No Deal 2010" (i-Play)
"Earthworm Jim" (Gameloft)
"Fast & Furious 7" (i-Play)
"Fight Game Rivals" (Rough Cookie)
"Finger Physics" (Mobliss Inc.)
"Flight Control" (Namco Bandai)
"Flowerz" (Carbonated Games)
"Frogger" (Konami)
"Fruit Ninja" (Halfbrick)
"Game Chest-Board" (MGS)
"Game Chest-Card" (MGS)
"Game Chest-Logic" (MGS)
"Game Chest-Solitaire" (MGS)
"GeoDefense" (Critical Thought)
"Ghostscape" (Psionic)
"Glow Artisan" (Powerhead Games)
"Glyder 2" (Glu Mobile)
"Guitar Hero 5" (Glu Mobile) "Halo Waypoint" (MGS)
"Hexic Rush" (Carbonated Games)
"I Dig It" (InMotion)
"iBlast Moki" (Godzilab)
"ilomilo" (MGS)
"Implode XL" (IUGO)
"Iquarium" (Infinite Dreams)
"Jet Car Stunts" (True Axis)
"Let's Golf 2" (Gameloft)
"Little Wheel" (One click dog)
"Loondon" (Flip N Tale)
"Max and the Magic Marker" (PressPlay)
"Mini Squadron" (Supermono Limited)
"More Brain Exercise" (Namco Bandai)
"O.M.G." (Arkedo)
"Puzzle Quest 2" (Namco Bandai)
"Real Soccer 2" (Gameloft)
"The Revenants" (Chaotic Moon)
"Rise of Glory" (Revo Solutions)
"Rocket Riot" (Codeglue)
"Splinter Cell Conviction" (Gameloft)
"Star Wars: Battle for Hoth" (THQ)
"Star Wars: Cantina" (THQ)
"The Harvest" (MGS)
"The Oregon Trail" (Gameloft)
"Tower Bloxx NY" (Digital Chocolate)
"Twin Blades" (Press Start Studio)
"UNO" (Gameloft)
"Women's Murder Club: Death in Scarlet" (i-Play)
"Zombie Attack!" (IUGO)
"Zombies!!!!" (Babaroga)

Additional titles in the launch portfolio will be released between now and the Windows Phone 7 launch this holiday season; once the phone launches, new Xbox LIVE titles also will be added to the games portfolio every week.

Xbox LIVE: Bringing More to Your Mobile Gaming

Xbox LIVE on Windows Phone 7 unlocks a world of games and fun and directly connects you to a global community of more than 25 million active Xbox LIVE members. Windows Phone 7 is the only phone that seamlessly integrates Xbox LIVE and provides unique mobile gaming experiences:

Avatars. Connect to your Xbox LIVE profile and Avatar, or create a new one if you don't already have an Avatar or Xbox LIVE profile; take your 3-D Avatar and props with you on the phone with full closet access.

Friends. Bring your Xbox LIVE friends with you everywhere; compare Achievements, challenge rivals to your favorite game, and even see who's online and what they're doing on their consoles, PCs or phones.

Game access. Easily view and launch your full game library from a single location; find, try and buy new games either in the Marketplace or Games hub.

Achievements. Earn, view and track Achievements, view Xbox LIVE leaderboards and build your Gamerscore across Xbox 360 and Windows Phone 7 - every time you play an Xbox LIVE title.

Messaging. Communicate with all of your Xbox LIVE friends, any time you want, through Xbox LIVE messages.

Multiplayer. Invite, connect and play against friends on other Windows Phone 7 phones or the PC with turn-based (asynchronous) multiplayer gaming.

Spotlight. Access Xbox LIVE Spotlight feeds, including the latest game titles, breaking news from Xbox LIVE, game tips and tricks, and more.
About Xbox LIVE

Xbox LIVE is the online entertainment service for your Xbox 360, connecting you to an ever-expanding world of games, movies, TV, music, sports and social entertainment. Xbox LIVE lets you play the best games, enjoy the largest on-demand library on any console, listen to millions of songs and share the fun with friends around the world. This holiday season, Xbox LIVE will come to Windows Phone 7 and put the power of connected entertainment in the palm of your hand. Xbox LIVE is also the exclusive home of controller-free online entertainment through Kinect, making your Xbox 360 more intuitive and interactive than ever before. With an active community of 25 million people across 26 countries, expanding to 35 this fall, Xbox LIVE, together with Xbox 360 and Windows Phone 7, provides you with instant access to the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, wherever you are. More information about Xbox LIVE can be found online at http://www.xbox.com/live.

Every game has a trial like 360 Live Arcade games

[naff]

That's a pretty solid line up for launch. I'm interested in what new hardware will come from this.

Also it's funny how this is being released just as Sony announce their Android based mobile gaming platform and Playstation branded phones are in the pipeline.

[pilonv1]

Crackdown tower defense sounds sort of interesting

[G The Resurrected]

I can see Demi buying a phone just for achievements now. 

[MCD]

The only good phone.

[TripleA]

Eh, do they think mobile gaming is the game changer (pun intended) ?

[ManaByte]

Eh, do they think mobile gaming is the game changer (pun intended) ?

It has Sony running scared.

[Saint Cornelius]

Fuck! Of course this is announced the day after I order an iPhone4.

[SantaC]

the problem with gaming phones is that they never have good enough button placement. Ergonomically they suck for a gamer.

[The Sceneman]

Achievements on the go is a big selling point for me. Will buy one of these phones!

[chronovore]

Seriously. I wonder how many gamers will pick up one of these phones just so they can get some 'cheevs when they're not in front of their 360.

I have one Windows Live game, the free robot puzzle one. Twiddler? Diddler? Nut-Fluffer? It was OK, but if I had it on a device I can play during my commute, HELLO, BABY.

Game Room has that "play on 360"/"play on anywhere (PC)" price break. I hope they integrate some similar "play anywhere" ability in those games, so maybe a version which can be played on PC, keeping its savegame data in the cloud, would be possible?

[MCD]

I just want something to replace my shitty Nokia and for a MSfag this is perfect.

[recursivelyenumerable]

I'm working on a WP7 game too! I was hoping to have it ready for launch but ... uh, no.

[MCD]

^Will buy it for sure.

[recursivelyenumerable]

Awesome. My sister also told me she might buy it if I buy her a phone to play it on, so I may have as many as two sales lined up!

[MCD]

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/21/microsoft-to-employees-everybody-gets-a-windows-phone-7/

Work for MS and get her dat phone.

[maxy]

Gamasutra interview

In a meeting in San Francisco, Kevin Unangst, Microsoft's senior director of PC and mobile gaming, and Brian Seitz, senior marketing manager for Windows Phone 7 demoed the device for Gamasutra and answered questions about launch and beyond.

Windows Phone 7 devices will ship with Xbox Live accessible from the device's front page. Xbox Live on the phone will tie in with existing accounts for those who already play on Xbox 360 or Games For Windows Live and also allow new users to sign up from the device.

While the device supports Live functionality such as messaging between users and playing games out-of-the-box, a free app called Xbox Live Extras will extend the service to a more Xbox 360-like experience, offering full 3D Avatar support, enhanced Achievement browsing, and more.

Unlike the console version, the service will only support asynchronous, turn-based multiplayer and pass-and-play games at launch. Says Unangst, "Our focus for this holiday is building on turn-based multiplayer, but I would certainly expect that it's just the beginning of what we're going to do with multiplayer."

Unangst says that its approach toward Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7 will be much more like Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade than Apple's wide-open App Store.

However, says Unangst, "you don't have to use Xbox Live on the phone." Microsoft will offer an "open marketplace anybody can write games for and publish to" similar to Apple's App Store -- but games sold there will, crucially, not be Xbox Live branded and will not be operable with Xbox Live features like Gamerscore and leaderboards.

Of particular note to developers is that Microsoft will also be setting game pricing on Xbox Live for Windows Phone 7 -- and will be working to build a perception of value in consumers and help avoid the "race to the bottom" so prevalent on the iPhone App Store.

Unangst refused to discuss any specifics of its approach to pricing at this meeting, but did say that "there will be multiple price tiers, but we are taking a console-like portfolio and pricing approach. There will be lower-priced games and higher-priced games."

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/29969/Interview_Details_On_Xbox_Live_For_Windows_Phone_7.php

[TripleA]

Eh, do they think mobile gaming is the game changer (pun intended) ?

It has Sony running scared.

That's why Sony just put out the PlayStation Phone, to combat Windows 7.

Right?

[maxy]

Some interesting stuff from X10 event

So initially we're turn by turn-based," the rep said, referring to the phone-to-phone multiplayer capabilities on day one. "We are working on real-time phone-to-console, likely initially through Wi-Fi -- again, operator networks are sensitive to that. That's not on day one; day one will be turn-by-turn as well as companion-type gaming where you play a level on the phone and it may unlock a level or a weapon or some special achievement on the console game. But, uh yeah -- absolutely working on phone-to-console real-time. That is something we're working on and expect to have in the near future."

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/08/24/microsoft-working-on-real-time-windows-phone-7-to-console-gaming/#continued

[chronovore]

It'll end up being like Virtua Tennis on DreamCast, where you could play the game on the big screen against someone who was clockin' it on the VMU.