Microsoft's Mobile Gaming Strategy is Brilliant

Colin Gibbs of GigaOm thinks that Microsoft’s Mobile Gaming Strategy is a mistake, he cites that Microsoft will be bring “twitch” games like “Halo” which don’t make sense on mobile… I think that’s a little presumptuous, I think Microsoft’s focus on integrating Xbox Live games with Windows Mobile 7 is a brilliant move and Colin discounted the game database that Microsoft has and it’s ability to bring in games that mobile gamers would love.

Tomi Ahonen points out in his analysis of iPhone Economics that “most paid iPhone apps are games”, this reveals that decent quality games are a big hit with people and they are willing to pay for them so Microsoft’s focus on mobile gaming is a smart move.

In one of his keynotes, Steve Jobs said that one of the big differentiators for iPhone is that it plays full games, not miniaturized “baby” games like other Smartphones. Microsoft will up the ante on this by even better games and an integrated experience, besides, it is a distinctive feature that competitors can’t duplicate.

With the Xbox Live integration Microsoft will tap into an already existing set of users, plenty of whom looking for new ways to boost their game scores, and this could give them an opportunity to do so while they’re away from their consoles at home. I’m sure Microsoft is acting on a bunch of strategies around their phone and mobile gaming is just one of them, but if they can pull off something compelling with their Xbox Live support on the phone, it could be a big win for them.

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