http://www.developmag.com/news/31950/Microsoft-Zune-HD-could-be-a-major-player-in-handheld-games
Stephenson confirmed that games are on the agenda for the device in future, but timing is not yet confirmed.
“Gaming is a big opportunity for us. We’re not announcing the specifics around our gaming plans for Zune HD right now, but it is definitely an area that we have done some work in – we had some smaller XNA games on Zune previously.
“There is clearly a great opportunity for us to be a major player in that market.”
Stephenson added that within Microsoft there is plenty of collaboration between the Zune team and Xbox team given their companion places in the company’s services and entertainment division and the devices’ shared heritage (Microsoft exec J Allard played a key role in designing both).
He added: “Clearly we have great partnerships around XNA business over at Xbox and we lean on those internal partnerships a lot to make sure we are leveraging the community that Microsoft already has a relationship with.
Whatever happens, it’s clear that the Zune team is hoping to tap into the gaming userbase cultivated by 360 and also the broader market growth the games industry is experiencing.
“We’ve not trying to create a separate Zune games community – we’re leveraging the one we already have.
“When you think about Microsoft there’s a huge number of users there – from Windows on PC through to mobile and Xbox. Xbox is the place where we have a the real impact opportunity.”
