MarketWatch

TOKYO (Nikkei) -- Microsoft Corp. MSFT 0.00% will make video games for its Xbox 360 system available for play on smartphones, a move likely to influence the strategies of rivals Sony Corp. (SNE, 6758.TO) and Nintendo Co. (NTDOY, 7974.TO).

The software giant is mounting a response to the rise of gaming on social networking sites and mobile devices.

Microsoft's new online service will make its worldwide debut as early as next year. It will feature new games for play on smartphones and tablet computers running the company's next-generation operating system, tentatively named Windows 8. Movies and other digital content will also be available.

Microsoft will create tie-ins with the Xbox, such as allowing players to continue console games on their phones and to use their phones as controllers for their consoles.

Excluding portable units, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. sold 20.7 million game systems worldwide in fiscal 2010, followed by Nintendo at 15.08 million and Microsoft at 13.5 million.

A greater diversity of gaming devices gives software developers a broader range of sales channels. With its online move, Microsoft seeks to turn the tables on the competition by clinching promising new titles.

Sony Computer Entertainment will make 20 or so PlayStation games available for mobile devices like smartphones from next month, but only for Sony products at first.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/microsoft-to-offer-xbox-games-for-smartphones-2011-09-24

So do they mean actual full titles? Like a Halo game for smart phones and such?

Is it even possible to run xbox games on smartphones?

I mean I have a dual core S2 and it can play a lot of stuff, but I don't think it can run xbox level games. Perhaps I'm missing something here. Either way sounds very interesting..

sounds like A) only applies to smart phones using windows OS and B) very similar to what sony has already been doing with the playstation suite which makes the first like "...likely to influence the strategies of rivals Sony Corp..." kind of a dumb line.

I'm confused. Is this different to the XBL I have on my WP7 phone?

Sony already made games available on the PS phone thing so are there more phones on the way?

Edit: Meant to say it seems like dated news to me.

Perhaps it is becuase of this:


Modular Windows Phone 7 slider patented by Microsoft



By Michael Kwan, September 24, 2011 @ 3:44am


The popular thing to do these days is to offer a “slate” style smartphone where the front is virtually all touchscreen and that’s about it. However, sometimes you want more functionality and it looks like Microsoft could be moving in that direction. Based on this patent, it looks like the Big M is working on a slider phone where the lower portion is modular in scope.

Basically, you get an empty slot in the slide-out portion where you can insert various modular parts. Want a slide out QWERTY keyboard? Put in that component. Feel like playing some games? Insert the gaming controls. The same spot could be used for extra batteries, a secondary display, or any number of other possibilities.

The modular components may have a physical connection to the phone somehow or they might communicate wirelessly via Bluetooth. In any case, this could offer a huge level of versatility, though it could come at the price of increased complexity, cost, and chunkiness. That and the last time that Microsoft tried to do cell phone hardware, it didn’t go so well.

It’s interesting, to be sure, but it’s yet to be seen whether this would be practical in real life conditions.

http://www.mobilemag.com/2011/09/24/modular-windows-phone-7-slider-patented-by-microsoft/

With growing performance of the smartphones and tablets, I think this should be possible soon. This will be a battery sucker, though.

No, they're not. What they're talking about here is Xbox Live and maybe some arcade titles.

"Microsoft will create tie-ins with the Xbox, such as allowing players to continue console games on their phones and to use their phones as controllers for their consoles."

Seems like it will be more than that. Actually seems like all three companies have a second screen option now. Will make things interesting and make it more likely that games will support the wiiu style of gameplay. I wonder exactly how ms will do it and what kind of games they will have.