14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has recently presented the new Windows Phone 7 Series and one of the big features of the fresh concept is the integration of Xbox Live. The official presentation from the software giant says that the Windows Phone 7 Series “delivers the first and only official Xbox Live experience on a phone, including Xbox Live games, Spotlight feed and the ability to see a gamer's avatar, Achievements and gamer profile.”
Steve Ballmer, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, talked in Barcelona, at the Mobile World Congress 2010, about how his company aims to integrate as much as possible of Xbox Live into mobiles as quickly as possible.
The Redmond-based firm has previous little experience with gaming on the move but has the capacity to bring experiences based on huge Xbox 360 franchises to Windows Phone 7 Series devices fast.
Imagine getting Gears of War 3 and receiving a coupon in the package allowing the player to download a mobile experience, linked with Xbox Live, that permits the player to get a little bit more of a story, unlock some more gear for the main game and earn more Achievements or some new Avatar accessories.
The draw of big names like Halo or Forza might attract gamers to the Microsoft-powered phones and if publishers manage to price them in a competitive manner, handheld producers and developers might feel some heat.
Details seem to be limited at the moment but moving even a small part of Xbox Live to mobile phones can be seen as a way of competing with the App Store as it is implemented by Apple for the iPhone and, on the long term, as a way of competing with the Nintendo DS line and with the PlayStation Portable concept from Sony. But as with Games for Windows Live, which Microsoft maintains for the PC, a lot depends on how the company manages the implementation of Xbox Live and the launch of actual games for mobiles.