Now herea4‚¬a4„s a cool demonstration of some possible integration between Microsofta4‚¬a4„s Windows Phone 7 and its Kinect motion gaming controller: using a phone to throw balls at gamers playing the Rally Ball game on the Xbox 360.
Microsoft showed off the demo at the Mobile World Congress event today in Barcelona. It doesna4‚¬a4„t appear as if the integration will ever make its way to consumers, but ita4‚¬a4„s a sign of the sort of integration possible between Microsofta4‚¬a4„s devices.
Windows Phone 7 devices also feature integration with Xbox Live, Microsofta4‚¬a4„s online gaming service. At the moment, that integration amounts to being able to view your friendsa4‚¬a4„ activity, achievements, and play some arcade games. But as this demo shows, Microsoft could eventually use its phones as a way to interact with console games in real time.
Microsoft likely wona4‚¬a4„t spend too much time making this sort of thing a reality until Windows Phone 7 devices start selling better. The company announced last month that it has shipped 2 million WP7 devices in 2011, but that number doesna4‚¬a4„t tell us how many consumers actually bought them.
The integration reminds me of the way Nintendoa4‚¬a4„s Gamecube could connect to the Game Boy Advance for games like Final Fantasy Chronicles. That game allowed you to use the Game Boy Advance as a controller, but it also took advantage of its portable screen to manage items without interrupting gameplay on the television. Microsoft is definitely far off from that sort of integration, but it certainly would be cool to see.
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Companies: Microsoft
Companies: Microsoft
Devindra Hardawar is VentureBeat's lead mobile writer and East Coast correspondent. He studied philosophy at Amherst College, worked in IT support for several years, and has been writing about technology since 2004. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can reach him at devindra@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @Devindra.
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