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Microsoft shows 3D game screenshots for Windows Phone 7

by Julian Prokaza on Wednesday 10 March 2010 1 Comment

We only touched upon gaming in yesterday’s story about Xbox Live integration in Windows Phone 7, but now some more details have emerged about what sort of titles we’ll see on the mobile platform.

As mentioned yesterday, Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio 4.0 development software allows cross-platform games to be developed for Windows Phone 7, Windows 7 and the Xbox 360, and gameplay on a shared title can be saved on one device and picked up on another. The game shown in the demo was a simple platformer, but it looks like much more sophisticated games are possible.

Microsoft has released a number of screenshots of a couple of Windows Phone 7 3D games that are in development and although a still image is seldom a good indicator of how a game actually plays, they still look pretty impressive.

 

 

The screenshots come from Engadget, who also snagged a live demo of the same platform game shown at last week’s TechEd Middle East get-together. The game itself isn’t so impressive, but like we said in yesterday’s story, it’s the potential that’s more interesting and wide support from games developers will be one way to sell Windows Phone 7 devices.

Speaking of Windows Phone 7 gaming, ZDNet also reports on a rumour that Microsoft is planning to revamp its Zune media player to support the new mobile operating system.

Mary-Jo Foley reckons that XNA Game Studio 4.0 will not support the current Zune HD device, but that Microsoft will be launching a Zune HD2 device that will be part of the new development platform. The apparent thinking is that this will relate to a Windows Phone 7 device much like the iPod Touch does to the iPhone — a lower price and everything but the phone features, in other words.

[via Engadget]

Originally published on www.mobilecomputermag.co.uk, now incorporated into Broadband Genie

 

Comments

  • happy

    by Check Me Out at 16:32 on 10 Mar 2010Report abuse

    Gaming, a proponent of entertainment, will certainly be a major push apart from "Apps." Gamers, not all but most likely apart from early-adopters, are more technically knowledgeable. Gamers are not scared to explore other territorial grounds in pursuit of broader or newer gaming experiences.
    For Microsoft this is just a safe side, but Microsoft still needs to not only meet what is experienced in other competing products(Android, iPhone) but separate itself to provide that unique experience no other can provide. Certainly "Apps, open-market" are just some notions raised but business is business, -profits are the goal- so market share is important.

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