Microsoft has announced more than fifty different games for its Windows Phone 7 smartphone platform. The company also says the mobile games will be closely linked to its Xbox Live service, though the latter will apparently support only turn-based games initially.
Microsoft presented the "first wave" of Windows Phone 7 games earlier today at the Gamescom 2010 conference in Cologne, Germany, said to be the world's largest trade fair for interactive games and entertainment. Company officials said the mobile gaming portfolio will appeal to millions of Xbox gamers, and will be a key asset for Windows Phone 7 in its fight against Apple's iPhone and Google's Android devices.
Kevin Unangst, Microsoft's senior director of PC and mobile gaming, stated, "Consumers clearly look to gaming as an expected experience on their mobile phone now, and were going to take that expectation and that delivery up to a different level," he said.
"Weve done this over and over, and we know how to launch a gaming platform," Unangst added. "Starting with the announcement today, were going to bring a set of high-quality games and experiences to bear at the launch of Windows Phone 7."
Windows Phone 7's games hub (Click to enlarge)
According to Microsoft, the initial titles will come not only from its own Microsoft Game Studios (MGS) division, but also from third parties. The company provided a list of more than 50 games, as follows:
3D Brick Breaker Revolution (Digital Chocolate)
Age of Zombies (Halfbrick)
Armor Valley (Protg 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 Digital Entertainment)
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 Digital Entertainment)
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)
Lets 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)
Womens Murder Club: Death in Scarlet (i-Play)
Zombie Attack! (IUGO)
Zombies!!!! (Babaroga)
In addition, Microsoft touted Windows Phone 7 as "the only phone that seamlessly integrates XBox Live and provides unique mobile gaming experiences." The Xbox Live online community mow has more than 25 million members worldwide, the company says.
According to Microsoft, Windows Phone 7 will support the following Xbox Live features:
Avatars -- connect to your Xbox Live profile and Avatar, create a new one, and 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 whos 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
Messaging -- communicate with all of your Xbox Live friends
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, plus game tips and tricks
According to an Engadget story, Microsoft's Unangst "seemed to indicate that head-to-head gaming (whether over a local or wide network) was in the roadmap." Author Joshua Topolsky adds, "the polish and speed of the games we played was definitely competitive with iPhone or Palm Pre gaming."
Microsoft cited its internal research as showing that 80 percent of gamers in the US have or will purchase a smartphone this year, and a quarter of what gamers spend on games is spent on mobile gaming. The company further quoted research firm In-Stat as saying mobile gaming is already a billion-dollar industry in the U.S. and will continue to climb.
A demonstration of Windows Phone 7 gaming Source: Engadget (click to play)
A video promoting Windows Phone 7 gaming Source: Microsoft via Engadget (click to play)
Further information
Joshua Topolsky's Engadget story on Windows Phone 7 games may be found here.
Separately, Microsoft released a collection of videos recorded at a recent "Windows Phone Design Days" event, deconstructing a Windows Phone 7 application and reviewing relevant resources for designers. To view the videos, visit the blog of Microsoft Technical Evangelist Jaime Rodriguez, here.
Microsoft presented the "first wave" of Windows Phone 7 games earlier today at the Gamescom 2010 conference in Cologne, Germany, said to be the world's largest trade fair for interactive games and entertainment. Company officials said the mobile gaming portfolio will appeal to millions of Xbox gamers, and will be a key asset for Windows Phone 7 in its fight against Apple's iPhone and Google's Android devices.
