The Windows Phone 7 has a gaming hub built around Xbox Live. You'll be able to access and communicate with your friends list, buy games and content from the Marketplace, access the Xbox Live Spotlight feeds, and contribute to your overall Gamerscore with the games you play on your phone.
The downsides? Don't expect to be playing full-fat Gears of War in your pocket. Although franchises such as Halo and Crackdown have been mentioned, we're very much looking at mobile-focused spin-offs rather than the main games. No PlayStation-styleremote playhas been mentioned, so you'll be playing the likes of Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst rather than the original Crackfown 2. Not that a touch screen is really a replacement for a 360 pad anyway. And while multiplayer will be available, it will be turn-based rather than simultaneous.
And we can't help wondering, with a bunch of this functionality already available over any mobile browser from Xbox.com, is a dedicated device really necessary, except in terms of earning Achievements on the move? Let us know what you think. In the meantime, check out the current list of confirmed games, which at the moment sounds a bit like standard mobile stuff. But you know, with Achievements.
“3D Brick Breaker Revolution” (Digital Chocolate)
“Age of Zombies” (Halfbrick)
“Armor Valley” (Protégé Games)
“Asphalt 5” (Gameloft)
“Assassins Creed” (Gameloft)
“BejeweledTM 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)
We'll bring you more Microsoft Gamescom announcements after the press conference later this morning. Stay tuned for the deets.
