No Rumor, Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7

[AzBat]

Microsoft just announced launch details for Xbox Live on Windows Phone...

Home Page: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/phone/default.htm
Press Release: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/press/2010/0816-mobilegaming.htm

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/cell-phon...unch-titles-and-more-on-xbox-live-gaming/4510

Engadget has a hands-on with some lovely videos of the Xbox hub in action as well as games...

http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/xbox-live-launch-titles-for-windows-phone-7-finally-revealed-we/

Last video on there is the official trailer with some games in action or get it here.

Features...

• 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.

Launch titles...

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)

More photos from Engadget

Tommy McClain

 

[eastmen]

Yup , ms is doing something apple should have done years ago with the iphones dominance and what google is rumored to need sony to do.

I can't wait to get this

 

[AzBat]

Not to be outdone by Engadget, Gizmodo has their own hands on with pics...

http://gizmodo.com/5614244/xbox-live-on-windows-phone-7-hands-on-and-first-impressions

Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst looks interesting. Also, a portable version of Halo Waypoint is nice, but a portable Halo game would be better. Also, there are a couple XNA developed titles that you might have seen before: Rocket Riot and Carneyvale Showtime. And remember these are just the just official Xbox games that have achievements. This doesn't include the non-Xbox titles from other 3rd parties.

Tommy McClain

 

[eastmen]

Not to be outdone by Engadget, Gizmodo has their own hands on with pics...

http://gizmodo.com/5614244/xbox-live-on-windows-phone-7-hands-on-and-first-impressions

Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst looks interesting. Also, a portable version of Halo Waypoint is nice, but a portable Halo game would be better. Also, there are a couple XNA developed titles that you might have seen before: Rocket Riot and Carneyvale Showtime. And remember these are just the just official Xbox games that have achievements. This doesn't include the non-Xbox titles from other 3rd parties.

Tommy McClain

I think we will see bigger higher budget games next year.

I got to play with the device and a newer build of the os and its really really nice. I'm def upgrading from my andriod 2.1 device(samsung moment) to one of these

 

[Arwin]

Do you need to have Live Gold for the MP?

 

[Silent_Buddha]

From the articles only turn based multiplayer will initially be available with real time multiplayer to come later.

Haven't been interested in smartphone ever and didn't see the point of the iPhone, but seeing this suddenly made me interested in WinMo7 especially since it also has Zune integration.

Regards,
SB

 

[Squilliam]

From the articles only turn based multiplayer will initially be available with real time multiplayer to come later.

Haven't been interested in smartphone ever and didn't see the point of the iPhone, but seeing this suddenly made me interested in WinMo7 especially since it also has Zune integration.

Regards,
SB

The real reason is that you want a media extender which consumes (even) less power, admit it!

 

[-tkf-]

Nice! i guess Sonys plans just became reality

 

[corduroygt]

I think we will see bigger higher budget games next year.

I got to play with the device and a newer build of the os and its really really nice. I'm def upgrading from my andriod 2.1 device(samsung moment) to one of these

I guess you're OK about going back to 2008 specs with no multitasking and cut and paste then?

 

[eastmen]

I guess you're OK about going back to 2008 specs with no multitasking and cut and paste then?

I'm not exactly sure what your talking about. 2008 specs ?

These are the minimum specs

Capacitive Touch: 4 or more contact points
Sensors: A-GPS, Accelerometer, Compass, Light, Proximity
Camera: 5 megapixels or more, Camera with a flash and dedicated camera button
Multimedia: Common detailed specs, Codec acceleration
Memory: 256 MB, 8 GB Flash or more
GPU: DirectX 9 acceleration
Processor: ARMv7 Cortex/Scorpion or better
2 screen sizes: 480×800 WVGA, 480×320 HVGA
Keyboard: Optional
Hardware Buttons: Must be fixed on the face

Aside from the memory its right on par with current andriod phones.

As for cutting and pasting , i never use it on my andriod ... millions of users didn't need it on the first what 3 verisons of the iphone. So i don't see what the big deal is and ms already said they will add it when its ready.

 

[Cyan]

I'm not exactly sure what your talking about. 2008 specs ?

These are the minimum specs


Aside from the memory its right on par with current andriod phones.

As for cutting and pasting , i never use it on my andriod ... millions of users didn't need it on the first what 3 verisons of the iphone. So i don't see what the big deal is and ms already said they will add it when its ready.

Interesting specs for a phone. It seems powerful enough to run some games like a handheld would do. I'd like a similar handheld for me. Plus, I have some of the games in the list.:smile:

Apparently, they are very easy to port from the X360 Arcade to the WP7, just changing a couple of lines of code, I read recently.

 

[dragonelite]

Waiting for the dell lighting or the asus phone.
Hope fieldrunner gets a win7m release.

 

[corduroygt]

I'm not exactly sure what your talking about. 2008 specs ?
As for cutting and pasting , i never use it on my andriod ... millions of users didn't need it on the first what 3 verisons of the iphone. So i don't see what the big deal is and ms already said they will add it when its ready.

I meant 2008 OS specs with no multitasking and copy and paste, actually ARMv7 is also a failure, even the 3GS has ARMv8 and that's a year old phone.

Also, Copy/Paste was added in the 3rd iphone, Multitasking added in the 4th iphone OS.

It doesn't matter if the iPhone didn't have it before, because it has it now, along with Android. WM7 isn't competing with ios2, and Android 1.3, it's competing with ios4 and android 3.0. With these specs, it won't be any more succesful than the Zune.

 

[obonicus]

I wonder if Microsoft will decide that portables are the true convergence devices.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

I meant 2008 OS specs with no multitasking and copy and paste, actually ARMv7 is also a failure, even the 3GS has ARMv8 and that's a year old phone.

Also, Copy/Paste was added in the 3rd iphone, Multitasking added in the 4th iphone OS.

It doesn't matter if the iPhone didn't have it before, because it has it now, along with Android. WM7 isn't competing with ios2, and Android 1.3, it's competing with ios4 and android 3.0. With these specs, it won't be any more succesful than the Zune.

You did see where it's the "minimum" spec allowed which means phone makers are free to use more powerful versions, and most certainly will if for nothing else than being able to utilize market segmentation to charge more.

Considering all reports of hands on use puts UI response, etc. solidly at iPhone level or greater, even the minimum can't be viewed as a "failure." And certainly puts it into absolutely freaking amazing territory compared to many Android phones. Again, hardly a "failure." Try looking at the device without the MS hatred tinted glasses.

Lack of 3rd party multitasking (multitasking exists in WinMo7 but is limited to approved applications), copy and paste, and realtime multiplayer are certainly detractions from the launch units, but will be coming at some point.

There isn't a scenario I can even imagine where this won't absolutely eclipse the Zune since it includes all Zune Functionality + ability to play a wide variety of games though mobile Xbox Live. And that's before even talking about phone features. If the phone features were completely absent it would still eclipse the Zune.

Regards,
SB

 

[corduroygt]

Considering all reports of hands on use puts UI response, etc. solidly at iPhone level or greater, even the minimum can't be viewed as a "failure." And certainly puts it into absolutely freaking amazing territory compared to many Android phones. Again, hardly a "failure." Try looking at the device without the MS hatred tinted glasses.

Lack of 3rd party multitasking (multitasking exists in WinMo7 but is limited to approved applications), copy and paste, and realtime multiplayer are certainly detractions from the launch units, but will be coming at some point.

There isn't a scenario I can even imagine where this won't absolutely eclipse the Zune since it includes all Zune Functionality + ability to play a wide variety of games though mobile Xbox Live. And that's before even talking about phone features. If the phone features were completely absent it would still eclipse the Zune.

Regards,
SB

Android's a cheaper and more flexible/open platform so it's the geek favorite, while iPhone has the "cool" factor and unmatched out of the box experience. WM7 is just as closed as the iPhone, but won't be able to provide the same level of OOB experience without having tight control over the hardware. Both ios4 and Android have tremendous momentum and application support that WM7 doesn't have. Let's just say the odds aren't stacked in WM7's favor.

 

[eastmen]

Android's a cheaper and more flexible/open platform so it's the geek favorite, while iPhone has the "cool" factor and unmatched out of the box experience. WM7 is just as closed as the iPhone, but won't be able to provide the same level of OOB experience without having tight control over the hardware. Both ios4 and Android have tremendous momentum and application support that WM7 doesn't have. Let's just say the odds aren't stacked in WM7's favor.

Being open nd flexible didn't help win mo 6.x it wont help andriod because andriod will only become more and more splintered as it gets older.

MS will have just as much momentum for application support. In fact it will be the fastest to 100k apps then 200k and then 1m and so on because it will be very easy to port to the platform and most of the work has been done on other platforms.

However because of xbox live ms wil lget alot of higher quality apps esp games that andriod wont be able to match. Along with having a defined low end hardware spec they can insure that games will work on any phone

 

[specwarGP2]

WP7 looks awesome. I'm leaning strongly to getting a WP7 device. Depends on android 3.0 and what sony actually does with the rumored PSP phone.

 

[corduroygt]

Being open nd flexible didn't help win mo 6.x it wont help andriod because andriod will only become more and more splintered as it gets older.

MS will have just as much momentum for application support. In fact it will be the fastest to 100k apps then 200k and then 1m and so on because it will be very easy to port to the platform and most of the work has been done on other platforms.

However because of xbox live ms wil lget alot of higher quality apps esp games that andriod wont be able to match. Along with having a defined low end hardware spec they can insure that games will work on any phone

First, winmo 6.1 was designed without usability in mind, and it was the worst smartphone OS that ever existed, Android is not even comparable to WM6. Also, flexibility isn't a bad thing when done right. You can jailbreak the iphone to provide flexibility, and it doesn't affect the end user experience at all.

Second, by the time WM7 ships, Android will be 3.0, with 3 years of experience and on the market testing behind it, not to mention tons of apps. Guess what, Android 3.0 does away with custom UI skins to provide a more iphone like experience, and requires a 1GHz CPU and 512MB RAM, which are far higher than WM7 requirements. I'm not even getting into iPhone, which is the usability leader in the market and iPhone customers wouldn't even consider a WM7 phone.

There are about 25M Xbox owners in the US in the 4.5 years it's been on sale, iPhone and Android sell about the same number or more in a single year. Thus, Xbox ownership won't be a major factor on who buys these phones, they will have to sell themselves with their own merits such as outdated ARMv7 CPU's, cutting edge (for 2008) 480x320 screens, lack of Mac compatibility, lack of copy&paste and multitasking, and higher prices than Android phones due to more expensive OS licensing.

 

[AzBat]

Gamasutra interview with Kevin Unangst, Microsoft's senior director of PC and mobile gaming...

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

Tommy McClain