Windows Phone 7 devices are set for sale this holiday season, and Xbox Live are going along for the ride. With over 50 titles ready to go and many more in the pipeline, this might be one double act you don’t want to miss.
Kevin Unangst – Microsoft’s PC and mobile gaming boss has already offered a list of titles including “Bejeweled”, “Oregon Trail”, “Halo”, “Crackdown”, and “Zombie”, and a promise of many more titles to come. The initial game list is reproduced below, and is likely to be added to even before the official launch date.
The entire Xbox Live experience has been optimised especially for Windows Phone 7, including a 3D Xbox avatar that can get dizzy using the built-in accelerometer and also invade the rest of the phone. The Xbox Live tile icon can be clicked from the front panel, opening up game invites from friends, downloaded games, and a spotlight area similar to the one on your Xbox console.
The business model is still being ironed out by the folks at Microsoft, although a mix of paid and free games are going to be available. Free trial modes will also be available for commercial titles, so you can always try before you buy. While Unangst has stated that individual game pricing will be structured according to tiers, the exact pricing details of games are as yet unknown.
A few reviewers have been lucky enough to get some hands on time with some of the Windows 7 Xbox Live games, and while still unfinished, the reception has been great. While it is not going to be a PSP or even a Nintendo DSi for that matter, the Windows 7 Phone platform with Xbox Live games should give the iPhone a run for its money in the fun department.
The official list of Xbox Live games that will be available at the launch of Windows 7 Phone are – drum roll please…
“3D Brick Breaker Revolution” (Digital Chocolate)
“Age of Zombies” (Halfbrick)
“Armor Valley” (Protégé Games)
“Asphalt 5″ (Gameloft)
“Assassin’s 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)
