Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7

[TrUe GaMeR]

It's pretty ****ing awesome.

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

-Only silver membership required
-Uses real cash no points
-send messages straight to your friends from your phone to the console
-All in the cloud
-Avatar is the same as on the 360. Change him from the phone or the console and he'll update accordingly.
-All xbox live games will have achievements totaling 200 points.
-Online Multiplayer is only through turn by turn for now.
-All xbox live game will have a try before you buy mode. If you want to buy the whole game from the trial it just unlocks the rest of it, no 2 downloads.
-See what all your friends are doing whether their on the 360 or phone.
-They announced 50 launch games, said it was just a taste, including Crackdown tower defense game that uses bing maps.
-New games will be released weekly just like on the 360. (This is separate from the marketplace where games can be released anytime.

-This is separate from the other games in the regular marketplace.

And so it has begun.


I realize that this could be moved to the tech forum but since this is basically only one small part of the whole WP7 and it's talking about xbox live I thought it would be best here.

 

[labwarrior]

I wonder how easy it would be to port a XBLA game to this service ? The 800x480 resolution and 256MB ram spec sure help a huge lot

In fact they seem just about perfect, lowering the game assets from the 921.000 pixel of 720p to 384.000 pixels of the phone, thus cutting huge on memory requirements, making the 256MB seem like a good enough ammount

And of course the DX9 requirement of the GPU helps a lot too

I will definatly consider it for my game later (after hopefully the Xbox 360 XBLA release in full 720p), and hope we also see games like Braid, Castle Crashers, Limbo and Dust later on too

 

[mickice]

Unless this works on an android phone or an iPhone it's useless.

 

[TrUe GaMeR]

[QUOTE="labwarrior, post: 5140130]I wonder how easy it would be to port a XBLA game to this service ? The 800x480 resolution and 256MB ram spec sure help a huge lot

In fact they seem just about perfect, lowering the game assets from the 921.000 pixel of 720p to 384.000 pixels of the phone, thus cutting huge on memory requirements, making the 256MB seem like a good enough ammount

And of course the DX9 requirement of the GPU helps a lot too

I will definatly consider it for my game later (after hopefully the Xbox 360 XBLA release in full 720p), and hope we also see games like Braid, Castle Crashers, Limbo and Dust later on too[/QUOTE]

As long as the game is coded in XNA it can be ported with just a few lines of code changes like controls. So the game could work on the phone, xbox, and PC.

[QUOTE="mickice, post: 5140136]Unless this works on an android phone or an iPhone it's useless.[/QUOTE]

It doesn't work for those. That makes it even better.

 

[labwarrior]

The game i am making is in XNA, and uses SM3.0, it is a 2D game too, so would not strain the GPU i suppose, i hope i will not have to cut back on particles and light effects, i doubt though

This news is just grand for me, more systems i can make the game for

Would take more than changing the code though, since i already fill 400MB ram, so assets would have to be re-created in lower resolution (which thank god is not that hard)

Also i dont know about the action combat, if it would work without a stick and surly some changes in controls, AI and combat pace would have tobe reworked, especially in castle sieges

making the game mobile would be a blast , cant wait to start development on that version later

Xbox Live and NXA seems like the small developers heaven right now, was the only option for me in the first place, but now they have gone the extra mile with supporting Live on mobiles, it really opens the market unbelievably

BTW, any mention on size limitation for games ? Mine is 500MB right now, but with the lower assets for mobile resolution would be far smaller

 

[TrUe GaMeR]

[QUOTE="labwarrior, post: 5140144]The game i make is in XNA, and uses SM3.0, it is a 2D game too, so would not strain the GPU i suppose, i hope i will not have to cut back on particles and light effects, i doubt though

This news is just grand for me, more systems i can make the game for

Would take more than changing the code though, since i already fill 400MB ram, so assets would have to be re-created in lower resolution (which thank god is not that hard)

Also i dont know about the action combat, if it would work without a stick and surly some changes in controls, AI and combat pace would have tobe reworked, especially in castle sieges

making the game mobile would be a blast , cant wait to start development on that version later[/QUOTE]

Definitely not up on my tech game as you are but here is a vague article about it. Posted back in march so things could have changed.

http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/03/09/zune.hd.game.writers.urged.to.move.to.wp7/

One thing they mention in the article is playing your game on the phone then saving it and continuing on the 360. There is actually a video of this I saw when they did it with the phone, 360, and PC but I can't seem to find now.

good luck on your game. I'm currently learning C# so I can develop for the phone. Pretty easy if you dedicate time to it, which is something I'm still working at.


Edit. This wasn't the video that I was talking about but it's the same thing. One thing that's obvious is the game is simple but I could see it working for tank, tower defense, etc games.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/06/microsoft-shows-off-single-game-running-on-windows-windows-phon/

 

[labwarrior]

Thanks

my only worry is that the game is a deep RPG with choices etc and i dont know if MS will take that in a good way (i mean for XBLA games that tend to be simpler, pick up and play right away, at least mostly), i do have the real time combat though that will fit XBLA games specs

Definatly try the ready mini games MS provides in the XNA site, that is how i started and made a big game out of nothing, if it was not for RPG kit, i would have never even thought of starting a big game like that with so much content, since i would still be working out the 2D engine, while now i have a game almost ready and will start the polishing soon

Having some things ready at start can make all the difference imo, has worked wonders for me so far, i practically learned C# by looking at the base game code and change it to my needs

 

[labwarrior]

http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/InsideXbox/Winodws-Phone-7-app-Halo-Waypoint-just-announced/



Windows Phone 7 app: Halo Waypoint just announced

Amazing, first Live games come to mobile with WM7 and now exclusives !!! I think MS will soon conquer handhelds and mobile too

 

[Pez_555]

[QUOTE="mickice, post: 5140136]Unless this works on an android phone or an iPhone it's useless.[/QUOTE]

bit narrow minded aren't you.

this is awesome.

 

[Strung Out]

[QUOTE="Pez_555, post: 5140355]bit narrow minded aren't you.

this is awesome.[/QUOTE]

Actually he's pretty open to considering anything MS related bad.

Having said that... MS's track record in the mobile device area is definitely poor. Zune was actually good, it just wasn't any better. Windows mobile was a disaster. So far the hype on win7 mobile is pretty high though. People are pretty happy about it, especially after windows 7 went over so well.

 

[Wasib]

Microsoft have taken such a beating in the smartphone market. It is well recognized that Apple and Google with their OS are superior. The most amusing thing about this is that it is Microsoft who has the most money. They have been caught napping. Same thing has now happened in the tablet market. I do not really see Windows 7 Phone doing much to stop the growth of both Apple and Google in the smartphone market (and even the tablet market). Steve Ballmer has talked about this recently also - and pressure is growing on him to go as a result.

Even Zune has had little impact against iPod and Apple. Microsoft have a lot of work to do. As for this? Personally they would be better off just moving this service over to a Apple system or/and Google Android OS. However they would face stiff competition over there - something Microsoft does not like!

I can see some Xbox hardcore gamers going for this - but for everything else take an Apple or Google Android device. Whether that be smartphones or tablets. Again their best bet it taking just this service and launching on non-Windows OS. That would 'really' open the market for them.

And if I was Microsoft I would be careful about the browser market situation also. Their Internet Explorer 8 is panned across the web with both Firefox and Google Chrome (and Safari of course) outperforming it. Sure Internet Explorer 9 is coming and Windows 7 is a work-in-progress but they seem to be playing catch-up - and not leading and innovating from the front.

 

[ddPLaNeT]

I think the phone is great and all that but i don't think it'll have a serious impact in the mobile market. As mentioned, iphone and android are way too big now for MS to come in a have a serious shot.
Microsoft are too late in the game. Actually these days, MS are playing catch up to Google and Apple. Since Bill Gates went out, things are not going smoothly for them.

We'll see...

 

[labwarrior]

Well, MS played catch up with xbox, and they did fine, if they can offer a huge ammount of games, i will definatly go for a WM7 phone than any other, also the platform is just so easy to develop for now with XNA4 that i bet will flood with apps

 

[TrUe GaMeR]

[QUOTE="Wasib, post: 5140928]Microsoft have taken such a beating in the smartphone market. It is well recognized that Apple and Google with their OS are superior. The most amusing thing about this is that it is Microsoft who has the most money. They have been caught napping. Same thing has now happened in the tablet market. I do not really see Windows 7 Phone doing much to stop the growth of both Apple and Google in the smartphone market (and even the tablet market). Steve Ballmer has talked about this recently also - and pressure is growing on him to go as a result.

Even Zune has had little impact against iPod and Apple. Microsoft have a lot of work to do. As for this? Personally they would be better off just moving this service over to a Apple system or/and Google Android OS. However they would face stiff competition over there - something Microsoft does not like!

I can see some Xbox hardcore gamers going for this - but for everything else take an Apple or Google Android device. Whether that be smartphones or tablets. Again their best bet it taking just this service and launching on non-Windows OS. That would 'really' open the market for them.

And if I was Microsoft I would be careful about the browser market situation also. Their Internet Explorer 8 is panned across the web with both Firefox and Google Chrome (and Safari of course) outperforming it. Sure Internet Explorer 9 is coming and Windows 7 is a work-in-progress but they seem to be playing catch-up - and not leading and innovating from the front.[/QUOTE]

MS messes up a lot, no denying that. But they have focus with WP7. Just like that have focus with the xbox, Windows 7, Office, IE9, and Zune. When they have focus they will become a big player, it's a given. You can tell how much focus they have because you can see the amount of work they put into it.

So MS putting one of their most recognizable services like xbox live on a competing platform would be idiotic. So don't worry about MS. You go to your game center on the iphone and you're nonexistent android gaming that's even being outpaced by the palm pre.

-Zune on desktop, online, 360, and phone (Stream music from your phone, online through zune website (something apple fans have been wanting forever) and your desktop with the zune pass. and you get to keep 10 songs a month)
-Office on desktop, online, and phone (It's all in the cloud )
-Xbox live on 360 and phone

Hibernation is almost over for this sleeping beast.

 

[labwarrior]

The Xbox Live thing is major, not only we get a huge number of titles at launch, but everyone will want their XBLA games on phones, since it is almost cost free to port, and could get huge profits

Also now that the market expands like that, XBLA will go even more huge than it was, imagine tapping on XBLA, phones and PC with a single game and simple XNA programming

 

[A7]

I'd look at this, if/when it becomes available in AU.

 

[UkHardcore]

Looks great, shame i just got a Galaxy S only last week!

 

[Wasib]

[QUOTE="TrUe GaMeR, post: 5141047]MS messes up a lot, no denying that. But they have focus with WP7. Just like that have focus with the xbox, Windows 7, Office, IE9, and Zune. When they have focus they will become a big player, it's a given. You can tell how much focus they have because you can see the amount of work they put into it.

So MS putting one of their most recognizable services like xbox live on a competing platform would be idiotic. So don't worry about MS. You go to your game center on the iphone and you're nonexistent android gaming that's even being outpaced by the palm pre.

-Zune on desktop, online, 360, and phone (Stream music from your phone, online through zune website (something apple fans have been wanting forever) and your desktop with the zune pass. and you get to keep 10 songs a month)
-Office on desktop, online, and phone (It's all in the cloud )
-Xbox live on 360 and phone

Hibernation is almost over for this sleeping beast.[/QUOTE]

So you admit the way I have positioned Microsoft against their competitors...just that you believe they are now coming out of their 'lull' and that Xbox Live Arcade on Windows Phone 7 will play a part in that. Well it is impossible to predict the future but I can say this. Apple and Google will not be quaking in their boots that is for sure. Whether that is from Windows 7 Phone, this Xbox Live addition (partly because games are only one aspect of a lot of aspects of smart-phones and tablets - thus you need to do a LOT right) and Internet Explorer 9.

Sure Microsoft are putting a lot of effort in but that does not guarantee success. Neither does the boatload of money they have. Arrogance it seems runs deep from the boastful Microsoft executives all the way down to their fanboys. Oh well.

And if I really wanted to play games on a portable I would get a dedicated device. It would be both cheaper and better. When looking at the overall package though you cannot go wrong with either Apple or Google. And I see no reason why that will be changing anytime soon.

 

[TrUe GaMeR]

[QUOTE="Wasib, post: 5142571]So you admit the way I have positioned Microsoft against their competitors...just that you believe they are now coming out of their 'lull' and that Xbox Live Arcade on Windows Phone 7 will play a part in that. Well it is impossible to predict the future but I can say this. Apple and Google will not be quaking in their boots that is for sure. Whether that is from Windows 7 Phone, this Xbox Live addition (partly because games are only one aspect of a lot of aspects of smart-phones and tablets - thus you need to do a LOT right) and Internet Explorer 9.

Sure Microsoft are putting a lot of effort in but that does not guarantee success. Neither does the boatload of money they have. Arrogance it seems runs deep from the boastful Microsoft executives all the way down to their fanboys. Oh well.

And if I really wanted to play games on a portable I would get a dedicated device. It would be both cheaper and better. When looking at the overall package though you cannot go wrong with either Apple or Google. And I see no reason why that will be changing anytime soon.[/QUOTE]

Considering Apple's game center and the rumored Sony android gaming platform it seems that they are taking notice.

As I read comments all across the web about this saying iphone already has most of those game I wonder why they can't see the obvious. It's like the exact same thing thats happened on the console side but now on the phone side. MS is building another community but now for the phone. A lot of people don't like PSN just because there is no sense of community or a social aspect even though it's free and they might prefer the PS3 themselves. People want to be connected these days and all of the MS services allow that and now they're all being built into WP7.

-Causals i think will love gamer scores and comparing the most achievements between their friends in simple games such as bejeweled. Can't be done anywhere else.

-zune has always been social. You have your music cards and your friend list that's added onto your xbox friends list if you have an xbox. You share, recommend music for your friends. Leave messages on their page about music. See what they listen to the most. See other people who have the same taste in music as you do and discover something new. Its all social and its been done for years with zune.

-xbox is the same. We all know the social and community aspect of live.

-They're supposed to be bringing zune music to the xbox 360 this year. We already have zune video. Wonder what kind of tie in that'll bring.

All of this is going to tie in. Go to your xbox live hub see your friend list to see what they're playing or doing. Send them a message from the phone right to the xbox. Social.

-Android is not even above webos when it comes to gaming. Even if they were, where is the social aspect of it?
-Android doesn't even have the equivalent software that is itunes or zune.
-itunes is the mobile gaming king when it comes to phone, but there is no sense of community when it comes to their games or their music. Everything is disconnected just like android.

imagine playing plants vs zombies on your 360 then having to stop and go somewhere. You pull out your phone and you continue from the same spot. They don't even have that on the iphone and ipad when their ****ing clones.

I see so many reasons it will be changing but then that's getting very off topic.


Apple calls most of their products magic. <-- Arrogant. The company you seem to hold highly is arrogant. See how easy that was.

 

[Dennis Dyack]

This is a bit too late for MS. With the great sales of the iPhone and Android sales even better than that, I just don't see this taking off. WinMo has been a mess for quite some time now and the available WinMo phones are scarce, at best, in stores. I can just imagine what MS is going to charge for this OS and with Android being free, it's going to be a hard sell to phone manufacturers to give this new OS more than a thin slice of the smartphone pie.

I have been reading that phone manufacturers like HTC and LG are going to produce one or two models per year while they pump out 6-8 Android phones over that same time.

I'm a huge Xbox and MS fan and everyone here knows that, but this has zero appeal to me.

 

[Firefox]

[QUOTE="Dennis Dyack, post: 5142729]This is a bit too late for MS. With the great sales of the iPhone and Android sales even better than that, I just don't see this taking off. WinMo has been a mess for quite some time now and the available WinMo phones are scarce, at best, in stores. I can just imagine what MS is going to charge for this OS and with Android being free, it's going to be a hard sell to phone manufacturers to give this new OS more than a thin slice of the smartphone pie.

I have been reading that phone manufacturers like HTC and LG are going to produce one or two models per year while they pump out 6-8 Android phones over that same time.

I'm a huge Xbox and MS fan and everyone here knows that, but this has zero appeal to me.[/QUOTE]

I still think you shouldn't count them out. It's not like Android or the iPhone its very different in the way it handles services, pictures, apps etc..

Unlike Android.. Microsoft have set minimum screen specs, graphics etc.. to make a unified experience.

[video=youtube;CLh2-uc_XMs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLh2-uc_XMs[/video]

Plus they don't have online gaming now but Mobile integration with Xbox Live is the future. I hope they include online mobile gaming on the Xbox Live platform soon. (playing games against one another mobile to mobile via Xbox Live)

 

[Dennis Dyack]

Minimum specs and a for fee OS means extra cost to manufacture. Plus, catering to the Xbox/Live crowd really creates a niche market for this phone. It will sell some, but it will only capture a small marketshare. I'd be willing to be less than 10% of the market. The pricing sweet spot for smartphones (aside from the iPhone) is $199 and pretty much everything coming out right now is at that spot. I expect to see phones like this to be in the $250-$300 range because of the extra cost involved in these phones. And don't forget the new tiered data packages that are starting to roll out. That is going to hurt any "on-line" type of gaming.

Oh, and don't forget the $50 for Live. And if you're counting on existing customers being the ones to take advantage of this, you're again limiting your market to existing Live customers if this is who the phone is marketed to.

 

[Firefox]

[QUOTE="Dennis Dyack, post: 5142810]Minimum specs and a for fee OS means extra cost to manufacture. Plus, catering to the Xbox/Live crowd really creates a niche market for this phone. It will sell some, but it will only capture a small marketshare. I'd be willing to be less than 10% of the market. The pricing sweet spot for smartphones (aside from the iPhone) is $199 and pretty much everything coming out right now is at that spot. I expect to see phones like this to be in the $250-$300 range because of the extra cost involved in these phones. And don't forget the new tiered data packages that are starting to roll out. That is going to hurt any "on-line" type of gaming.

Oh, and don't forget the $50 for Live. And if you're counting on existing customers being the ones to take advantage of this, you're again limiting your market to existing Live customers if this is who the phone is marketed to.[/QUOTE]

I can clearly tell you haven't even read the original post. For their mobile gaming they smartly decided it should be free. As for extra costs... unless you are making horrible low quality phones it won't make a difference. Have you even looked at the minimum specs? They aren't too high-end for today's standards.

Microsoft are settings the specs so that their lineup does not become segregated like Android and updates and evolves alongside each of the phones and their gaming platform will grow nicely.

Why talk about Marketshare? Ignore marketshare and just look at what they are doing for now and the advances they are trying to make.

Of course you are an Android fan so its probably pointless to tell you all this or change your mind but I personally love that Microsoft are trying to bring something different to the mobilespace and evolve it the way they envision it not trying to copy the Android/iPhone.

 

[TrUe GaMeR]

[QUOTE="Dennis Dyack, post: 5142810]Minimum specs and a for fee OS means extra cost to manufacture. Plus, catering to the Xbox/Live crowd really creates a niche market for this phone. It will sell some, but it will only capture a small marketshare. I'd be willing to be less than 10% of the market. The pricing sweet spot for smartphones (aside from the iPhone) is $199 and pretty much everything coming out right now is at that spot. I expect to see phones like this to be in the $250-$300 range because of the extra cost involved in these phones. And don't forget the new tiered data packages that are starting to roll out. That is going to hurt any "on-line" type of gaming.

Oh, and don't forget the $50 for Live. And if you're counting on existing customers being the ones to take advantage of this, you're again limiting your market to existing Live customers if this is who the phone is marketed to.[/QUOTE]

While android being free is a plus for manufactures they are still spending money regardless.
-Each OEM of android creates their own custom interface (even though most people just go back to stock android) along with the interface some create their own widgets and keyboards all to put on top of android. <-- money being spent.

-Each OEM has to continue to add features and update their widgets and interface <-- Money being spent.

-Each OEM has to make sure all of their devices made for android get the proper updates to OS such as Froyo. <--Money being spent.

-Each OEM has to fix any problems caused from the updates because of their custom UIs <-- Money being spent.

-Of course each OEM has probably hired people just for those things. <-- Money being spent.

-Having min. spec requirements is only a good thing. We all know what would happen if everyone is allowed to do their own thing. It wouldn't be in MS best interest and would only cause frustrations with the users and developers of the device. Besides most android devices come with 1Gh anyway.

Since MS takes all that away with no custom UI. The OEMs only have to license the OS from MS. Only point I'm making is money is being spent regardless.

If you've noticed At&t hasn't really pushed android at all but they have come out to say that they will be the premier carrier for WP7. Only time will tell. I think people are crazy for taking MS lightly in this instance.

There will be no on-line type gaming at launch it's all turn based.

It's all about the product on the whole Zune, Office, and Xbox Live.

You can create an xbox live gamertag and avatar from within the phone; no 360 is needed. Everything is free. Just like this will expand the zune presence it will expand the xbox live presence albeit in a much smaller way since the zune software is required.

 

[labwarrior]

Will the scaling to the lower later introduced resolution be automatic ?

 

[labwarrior]

[QUOTE="TrUe GaMeR, post: 5143017]

There will be no on-line type gaming at launch it's all turn based.

[/QUOTE]

What do you mean ? That online play will not be real time ?

 

[Wasib]

[QUOTE="TrUe GaMeR, post: 5142661]Considering Apple's game center and the rumored Sony android gaming platform it seems that they are taking notice.

As I read comments all across the web about this saying iphone already has most of those game I wonder why they can't see the obvious. It's like the exact same thing thats happened on the console side but now on the phone side. MS is building another community but now for the phone. A lot of people don't like PSN just because there is no sense of community or a social aspect even though it's free and they might prefer the PS3 themselves. People want to be connected these days and all of the MS services allow that and now they're all being built into WP7.

-Causals i think will love gamer scores and comparing the most achievements between their friends in simple games such as bejeweled. Can't be done anywhere else.

-zune has always been social. You have your music cards and your friend list that's added onto your xbox friends list if you have an xbox. You share, recommend music for your friends. Leave messages on their page about music. See what they listen to the most. See other people who have the same taste in music as you do and discover something new. Its all social and its been done for years with zune.

-xbox is the same. We all know the social and community aspect of live.

-They're supposed to be bringing zune music to the xbox 360 this year. We already have zune video. Wonder what kind of tie in that'll bring.

All of this is going to tie in. Go to your xbox live hub see your friend list to see what they're playing or doing. Send them a message from the phone right to the xbox. Social.

-Android is not even above webos when it comes to gaming. Even if they were, where is the social aspect of it?
-Android doesn't even have the equivalent software that is itunes or zune.
-itunes is the mobile gaming king when it comes to phone, but there is no sense of community when it comes to their games or their music. Everything is disconnected just like android.

imagine playing plants vs zombies on your 360 then having to stop and go somewhere. You pull out your phone and you continue from the same spot. They don't even have that on the iphone and ipad when their ****ing clones.

I see so many reasons it will be changing but then that's getting very off topic.


Apple calls most of their products magic. <-- Arrogant. The company you seem to hold highly is arrogant. See how easy that was.[/QUOTE]

What is obvious that has happened on the gaming side? The fact that a company called Nintendo (which arrogant Microsoft CEO's once wrote off) just came in and blasted Microsoft away in the console market? I do not see that system having these community features you talk about. Does that in itself not show you that such community features are a niche market in the grand scheme of things? Just as they are niche aspects of a mobile platform or/and a tablet? You put WEIGH too much focus on the gaming aspect when all in one devices are meant to do many things well. And then you talk of things such as Zune that are even hard to buy and access in PAL territories!

Then there is something called a brand and hardly anything gets close to iTunes and now these external streaming music applications appearing. This reliance on only your systems as eco-systems where only your devices can work in harmony is going to break into bits in the next decade with open-operating systems such as Android. Only one company will stand a chance at living in that world - Apple simply because there coherence is utterly fantastic. Now are you trying to tell me Microsoft will even come close to that? Come on man, who are you kidding?

Then there is even a bigger issue here at work. Apple is seen as a great company - innovating, pioneering. Its marketing is second to none. People aspire to have those products. Microsoft is common-muck - people just do not get excited in the same way. It is just the way it is. There is no magic in Microsoft.

Anyway Windows Phone 7 is not even out yet (and god knows when it will come out and then even if it will have the all-round quality of Apple iPhones and Google Android smart-phones). Microsoft have got far too distracted over these last few years. I suggest they go back to basics. Maybe they could work on something useful - for instance an operating system on PC's that is not virus/malware prone. Now THAT is something consumers and business users alike would find beneficial.

 

[Dennis Dyack]

[QUOTE="Firefox, post: 5142853]I can clearly tell you haven't even read the original post. For their mobile gaming they smartly decided it should be free. As for extra costs... unless you are making horrible low quality phones it won't make a difference. Have you even looked at the minimum specs? They aren't too high-end for today's standards.

Microsoft are settings the specs so that their lineup does not become segregated like Android and updates and evolves alongside each of the phones and their gaming platform will grow nicely.

Why talk about Marketshare? Ignore marketshare and just look at what they are doing for now and the advances they are trying to make.

Of course you are an Android fan so its probably pointless to tell you all this or change your mind but I personally love that Microsoft are trying to bring something different to the mobilespace and evolve it the way they envision it not trying to copy the Android/iPhone.[/QUOTE]

I am an Android fan, a huge Android fan, but I'm an even bigger MS/Xbox fan. I have been following WinPhone 7 and although I think the concept is great, the smartphone market really has no room at this point. With both the iPhone and Android booming and Blackberry firmly established, I just don't see this new OS being a big seller. MS has neglected WinMo far too long and it lost what marketshare it had.

Of the big 4 mobile carrier in the U.S., Verizon and T-Mobile are going all in with Android, Sprint has 2 of the best Android phones out there and AT&T has the iPhone. And wait until the iPhone goes multi-carrier. Sorry, but WinMo is DOA.

 

[TrUe GaMeR]

[QUOTE="labwarrior, post: 5143107]What do you mean ? That online play will not be real time ?[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately not at launch. At least the xbox live titles i don't know about the regular marketplace titles.

[QUOTE="Wasib, post: 5146567]What is obvious that has happened on the gaming side? The fact that a company called Nintendo (which arrogant Microsoft CEO's once wrote off) just came in and blasted Microsoft away in the console market? I do not see that system having these community features you talk about. Does that in itself not show you that such community features are a niche market in the grand scheme of things? Just as they are niche aspects of a mobile platform or/and a tablet? You put WEIGH too much focus on the gaming aspect when all in one devices are meant to do many things well. And then you talk of things such as Zune that are even hard to buy and access in PAL territories!

Then there is something called a brand and hardly anything gets close to iTunes and now these external streaming music applications appearing. This reliance on only your systems as eco-systems where only your devices can work in harmony is going to break into bits in the next decade with open-operating systems such as Android. Only one company will stand a chance at living in that world - Apple simply because there coherence is utterly fantastic. Now are you trying to tell me Microsoft will even come close to that? Come on man, who are you kidding?

Then there is even a bigger issue here at work. Apple is seen as a great company - innovating, pioneering. Its marketing is second to none. People aspire to have those products. Microsoft is common-muck - people just do not get excited in the same way. It is just the way it is. There is no magic in Microsoft.

Anyway Windows Phone 7 is not even out yet (and god knows when it will come out and then even if it will have the all-round quality of Apple iPhones and Google Android smart-phones). Microsoft have got far too distracted over these last few years. I suggest they go back to basics. Maybe they could work on something useful - for instance an operating system on PC's that is not virus/malware prone. Now THAT is something consumers and business users alike would find beneficial.[/QUOTE]

-What's obvious is that MS created a sense of community within xbox live. People value that. They're going to try to do the same with the gaming on the phone side. Obvious.

-Everyone wrote off Nintendo.

-Just like online gaming was an afterthought on the Dreamcast and PS2 MS came in with the first xbox and changed that way of thinking. With the 360 they introduced a sense of community. It's only because MS pushed this "niche" idea that it's as big as it is on consoles.

-It worked on the console so why not try it on mobile. There is no other mobile platform that's going to be able to compete in this "niche" market with xbox live on mobile. Even android with their rumored Sony gaming platform is trying to get on this "niche" market. Even apple with it's gaming center is trying to get in on this "niche" market that has a sense of community. You have to start somewhere. Good to see that apple and google are not as close minded as their fans.

-I weigh so much on the gaming aspect because this is about xbox live on WP7. I can talk about zune, office, the social integration, zune software, xna, silverlight, their development tools. I can show you a lot of apps that people have posted on youtube for WP7. I can talk about the software keyboards the leaked handsets. I can show you the comparison of making the same apps between android, IOS, and WP7 with WP7 being the far best to develop on. Much more I can talk about. But I'm not. I'll tell you why.
Now listen
listen closely


"This thread is about xbox live on WP7."
So I try to stay on topic
Just in case you didn't listen try given the thread tile an ol read will ya. After that give the ol OP a read will ya. If you're not afraid of comprehension it will become obvious why I put so much weight behind the gaming aspect.

-Zune is coming to PAL territories and everywhere else the the platform is launching this year as part of their launch. Serious face <-- I'm so surprised you did not know that.

-Anyone who uses both itunes and zune will tell you that the zune software is better than the excel spreadsheet that is itunes. And zune does streaming from the desktop or from the website. And their will be third party apps that do streaming too. next.

-So ecosystems will break down in the next decade because of third party something with android reigning supreme because of its openness. With only apple (the most locked down company in the world when it comes to their products) being okay because of their "utterly fantastic" coherence. RRRIIIIIIGGGGGHHHHHHTTTTT.
MS is close to that. They offer features that ifans have been wanting forever when it comes to zune. No. I'm not kidding.

-October for PAL territories, you know, where zune doesn't exist. November for US. That's when it's coming out.

-You're last 2


nah.


EDIT:

Dennis you don't know how big the smartphone market is do you?

And they neglected winmo because it was trash in todays world. That simple. That's why palm started from scratch and came with webos. And that's what blackberry should have done with their 6.0., but instead their slashing prices on that phone.

 

[Christopher]

[QUOTE="labwarrior, post: 5141034]Well, MS played catch up with xbox, and they did fine, if they can offer a huge ammount of games, i will definatly go for a WM7 phone than any other, also the platform is just so easy to develop for now with XNA4 that i bet will flood with apps[/QUOTE]

No, MS did fine when they beat competitors to market. The original Xbox didn't "do fine". It was destroyed by the PS2. I'm with Dyack on this one. It is too late in the game and while Xbox Live appeals to gamers, the cell phone market is much more diverse.

Either way, good to see even more manufacturers are following Apple's lead into this market. Competition is always good.