Microsoft steps up efforts to boost WP7 via Xbox
Mango update will strengthen Xbox live integration, and the vendor is ramping up efforts to convert gaming partners to mobile
Published: 27 June, 2011
READ MORE: Microsoft | Games | Windows Phone
Microsoft is preparing stepped-up programs to appeal to its large community of Xbox gaming developers, in a bid to build momentum around the forthcoming upgrade to its WP7 mobile platform. Despite many innovations, especially in the user interface, WP7 is not yet making much dent in Android and iOS, but the one clear differentiator Microsoft has is the tight integration with Xbox.
One Microsoft insider said: 'We have talked a lot about Xbox/mobile integration but Mango will take that to another level, and we need to make that clear to our developers.' This shows Microsoft adopting a strategy that is familiar from Windows Mobile ' rather than going head-to-head with the established handset programmer base, it is looking to tap into communities where it has greater influence, but which have not been focused primarily on mobility. In the early days of WinMo this was all about the enterprise world and converting the .Net base; now the efforts are centered on Xbox.
The Xbox Live community has 35m members who average 60 hours a month on the service, according to the vendor, and in Mango ' the first major upgrade to WP7, due this fall ' it will expand gaming integration to appeal to consumers and developers. In particular, the Games hub promises much of the richness of the Xbox Live console experience on smartphones. Among the improvements is a set of quick homescreen links to installed games, mirroring the 'tiles' look and feel of WP7 apps. Mango will also support interfactive avatars as a default rather than the current 2D versions on handsets; and more communications between Xbox Live members on smartphones, consoles and the web.
As the GigaOM blog points out: 'Alone, none of these new game-centric features will help make or break the Windows Phone 7 platform. Together, however, they bring a console-like experience to the handset, which is something no other mobile platform yet brings. Sony Ericsson is trying it with the Xperia Play Android handset, and support for PlayStation Portable games, but that's just one phone, not a phone platform. Apple, too, is trying to win gamers with its Game Center functionality, but it lacks the console side of the equation for now.'
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