If there’s one card Microsoft could play to make Windows Mobile relevant again, it’s the Xbox card. A recent job posting pretty much spells out the plans for Windows phones in black and white:
"We need a Principle Program Manager who can help drive the platform and bring Xbox LIVE enabled games to Windows Mobile. This person will focus specifically on what makes gaming experiences “LIVE Enabled” through aspects such as avatar integration, social interactions, and multi-screen experiences."
Third party apps have been busy getting this kind of stuff onto iPhone, so it only makes sense that Microsoft provides some kind of native integration in their own operating system. At the very least, a WinMo device would be a great text input mechanism, since the Xbox 360 gaming console suffers a belaboured on-screen keyboard that requires you to chose keys with the directional pad and peck away one at a time. What Microsoft is talking about here, though, is more in line with what we’ve been seeing with “companion” apps, which let you access extracurricular game content like achievements and messaging without having to exit or pause the game. Another job posting outlines the worst case scenario: that Microsoft is simply tacking on LIVE connectivity for mobile games or porting 360 games to mobile. Windows Mobile is still in no position to compete with iPhone-grade gaming, even with direct help from Microsoft, but they’re still doing extremely well with consoles, which should be used to their advantage.
[via Mobile Tech World]