Microsoft banking on Xbox Live to boost Windows Mobile sales

Back in July, Shane Kim, corporate VP for Microsoft Game Studios spoke about how Microsoft wanted to take Xbox Live out of your living room. At the time he said that Windows Mobile was the most likely platform for that. And now that prediction has come true, as Microsoft is advertising to hire people who can help them port Xbox Live games to its mobile phones.

What’s Xbox Live?

Xbox Live is one of the most successful gaming platforms of all time. It’s an online service that allows you to play against other gamers all over the world - but not just in random matches. Live really focused on allowing you to create on-line communities through your console, so that you can play games with the people you really want to. And on top of all that it allows you to download games and content. It’s one of the main differentiators that make Xboxes really worth buying.

And Microsoft wants to take that success and replicate it on different platforms.

How does Windows Mobile factor in?

Microsoft has been working on Live Anywhere for a while now, so that gamers who enjoy the Live experience can access it from any platform. In the last week or so, Microsoft began advertising for high-level, experienced new employees to help bring Windows Mobile into the Live Anywhere fold - which so far only contains the Xbox and Windows PCs. According to the Independent, Microsoft is most intent on making sure that the essential community aspect of Live works perfectly on mobile, with your on-line avatar and social networks being maintained perfectly on the new platform.

What we think?

Honestly, I reckon this is more about boosting WinMo sales than anything else. The number of sales that Xbox has picked up from the Live service is not inconsiderable - it’s a really, really great on-line platform and it has tempted more than one person to buy the Microsoft console. It might be hoping that the same will apply to mobile, and that the Live platform will generate sales for the flagging WinMo platform.