Xbox Live Integration for Windows Phone 7 Revealed
So one of the new key features for Windows Phone 7 (that also happens to be one of it’s major differentiators from other OSes) is Xbox Live integration. Unfortunately, Microsoft hasn’t shown more than the Home Tile and a quick demo of a non-functional Xbox Live Avatar screen.
Well, apparently that has changed. Engadget got their hands on a device with Xbox Live Integration all up and running and some extra info on what games will launch with the new OS as well. Here’s the jist:
- Avatars are fully integrated; clothing/accessories available, interactive and animated, and they even appear in some other apps like Flashlight and Level apps.
- Gamerscore and achievements are all there. You can see your Xbox friends and even compare achievements as well.
- You can see what your friends are doing on Xbox Live (whether they are online, what game they are playing, etc. and it works whether they are on their console or phone).
- You can send messages through Xbox Live on your phone (which can be accessed on either the console or phone).
- Games all have try before you buy.
- You can use your Xbox Live Gamertag and profile in Windows Phone 7 and use it to play against friends just like on the Xbox console.
- There will be multiplayer games, but at launch they will only be turned-based. There is a good chance that Microsoft will have head to head multiplayer in the future.
Here is the Microsoft Demo video:
And here are Engadget’s quick video snippets of some of the features:
Check out Engadget’s full review at the source.
Have to admit, if they get that head to head gaming thing up and running, this could be a nice selling point for Windows Phone 7. Now, to see if the rest of the OS, hardware, and other apps can meet expectations…
What do you guys think?
