Windows Phone successes and failures at E3 2022

Mateo and Paul before Warthog

Mateo Nunez and Paul Acevedo at E3

E3 2022 – the Electronic Amusement Expo turned out very much like we predicted. During their printing briefing, Microsoft touted upcoming Xbox 360 sequels: Halo 4, Forza Horizon, and Fable: The Journey; a new Gears of War prequel from Epic; plus several non-sectional but absurd console titles like Southward Park: The Stick of Truth, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and Tomb Raider. They also announced several Xbox Live Arcade games, including Arise, Lococycle, Matter, and Wreckateer. Oh, and Conductor mystified us with a operation in the proper noun of Kinect update Trip the light fantastic toe Central 3. I fearfulness Harmonix may be in danger of running the dancing genre into the ground with these yearly sequels every bit once befell the music game genre, but time will tell.

SmartGlass

Xbox amusement library

We besides knew to expect the rebranding of the Zune service to Xbox Music and Xbox Movies. Not a particularly exciting annunciation, since nothing only the branding changed. The SmartGlass initiative is more than noteworthy. Basically an development of the Xbox Companion App, it allows users to control Xbox 360 system functions (including the upcoming Kinect-enabled Net Explorer), plus interact with movies, music, and games in new ways. Specifically, we can expect far more than console titles to connect with Windows Telephone – definitely a adept matter.

Head past the interruption for our total E3 coverage summary, new videos, and lots more!

Windows Phone: pocket-sized fish, large pond

Just similar terminal year, Windows Phone didn't quite get its due either during the printing conference or on the E3 show floor. Besides the same connectivity features, the sole mobile game mentioned (in passing) was Indicate Studios' Ascend: New Gods, which we thankfully managed to investigate while playing the XBLA version.During the actual convention, Microsoft's Windows Telephone display consisted of something like six phones stashed off to the side near the Forza Horizon display. Comparatively, Square Enix had more than than 10 iOS and Android devices in their own area, each running a dedicated game. Could information technology be that Foursquare Enix is more serious nigh their iOS games than Microsoft is about promoting Windows Phone to gamers?

Each Windows Phone device held the same seemingly random selection of 8 Xbox Live games: Civilisation Revolution, geoDefense Swarm, iStunt 2, PES 2022, Wordament, Battleship, MUSH, and Shoot1Up. Permit's recollect well-nigh these for a minute: Civilization Revolution takes anywhere from 1-4 hours to play, has a cliff-steep learning curve, and looks as pretty as the smear nether a person's shoe. It is impossible that playing it on a testify flooring could give someone a positive impression of the platform. We were glad to see the iii upcoming games in the mix (two if we count Battleship launching during day two of the bear witness), simply even that number is smaller than 2022's option of new Live titles.

Why wasn't this week's release, Final Fantasy I on-mitt? We've seen far more interest re: that game than any other title this year likewise maybe Wordament. (Last Fantasy I should also have been at Square Enix's berth, but I digress.) Speaking of Wordament, the phones we saw weren't actually continued to the internet, so I doubt that championship managed to win anyone over.

Room for improvement

From Microsoft'south E3 Windows Phone area we tin can take away two things: ane, the big MS should really give their mobile platform at to the lowest degree equally much attention and room as other large software publishers. Aye, the Xbox 360 sectionalization brings dwelling the bacon, but you tin't grow your other platforms by neglecting them. Besides, phones don't exactly take up that much room to begin with. When plenty of other publishers who don't even have their ain platform are showing off more mobile devices and games than Microsoft, things wait a little off. Windows Phone Xbox live lineup

Two, the team responsible for advertising mobile Live games at trade shows and elsewhere could seriously benefit from the presence of a knowledgeable gamer. The games on the show floor should fall into one or more of these categories: upcoming (and thus exciting for both the press and readers at habitation), sectional, graphically impressive, and/or piece of cake to larn. Civilisation Revolution (despite really being quite a good game) doesn't come across any of those qualifications. Some existing games that would've been improve choices include Chickens Tin't Wing, Gerbil Physics, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, Zombies on the Phone – heck, even BulletAsylum. And again, let's bring more new stuff to the table side by side time, please Microsoft?

Big publisher support

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed was super fun. How well-nigh a mobile version, SEGA?

Sadly, big publishers like SEGA and Konami who have been producing Windows Phone games for quite a while at present did not cull to vocalism their support at E3. In their defense force, SEGA had no mobile department at all, and Konami's consisted of nothing but a couple of crawly Frogger Pinball displays. Rather than actual spurns, the absenteeism here seems due to the general misconception that mobile games don't belong at E3. It'south true that in years past, the presence of mobile games at the evidence has been negligible. But most no i in the gaming industry fails to encounter the growth and potential of the mobile market – some publishers are just slower to react than others. Let'due south hope Japanese publisher Gree hops on the Windows Phone bandwagon sooner rather than after; their berth actually dwarfed many console publishers'!

Windows Phone beloved

All this talk about what wasn't at E3 threatens to overshadow the cool stuff that actually was there! Get-go and foremost, the indie team at 17-BIT wisely chose to promote Skulls of the Shogun, a cute strategy game that's coming to Windows Phone, Xbox 360, and Windows 8. Nosotros managed to sneak a peek at the mobile version besides every bit snagging a great interview.

Glu Mobile, one of the near successful publishers of freemium games, took the fourth dimension to meet and speak with us about their plans for Windows Phone and Windows 8. Naturally we had to play Gun Bros and Contract Killer, two Xbox Alive titles that should release this summer. Both games volition be free with the selection to purchase weapons and items every bit DLC. Since freemium games don't bring in any money unless players actually like the game, Glu has a lot of incentive to make sure their titles are really fun. From our time with Gun Bros and Contract Killer, they look to accept succeeded.

Fun with consoles

Fable the Journey With so many Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and now Wii U titles on the show floor, a mobile-focused site like ours could never manage to play or encompass them all. All the same, nosotros spent our extra time checking out a couple of categories that should appeal to many of our readers: Xbox Alive Arcade games and Kinect titles. The XBLA platform has grown truly massive since the Xbox 360 launch, making for a huge multifariousness of downloadable console games. Of the dozens nowadays at E3, our meridian XBLA picks (that don't have mobile versions) are Double Dragon: Neon, Retro City Rampage, and Pid. Nosotros squeezed in a fantastic interview with Double Dragon's producer, so be certain to bank check it out.

Every bit for Kinect, the library of motion-controlled Xbox 360 is truly taking off. Microsoft pushed Fable: The Journey, Avengers: Battle for Earth, and Wreckateer pretty difficult. We were also taken by several third-party efforts. Majesco's NBA Baller Beats combines the sports and rhythm/music game genres for an amazing issue. The sight of someone dribbling an bodily basketball (included with the game) while matching the crush of numerous catchy songs was mesmerizing. Our newest staff member Mateo Nunez and I also played a couple of fun licensed games at the Namco Bandai booth: Dragonball Z Kinect and Ability Rangers Super Samurai. Both titles are sure to hit habitation with kids and the young at heart,

Without farther ado, here'due south a total directory of Windows Phone Central's E3 coverage:

Pre-E3 coverage

Microsoft to unveil cross-platform Zune successor at E3 this twelvemonth
Windows Telephone Central comes to E3 2022 (our predictions)
E3 sneak peek: Xbox SmartGlass
E3 2022 Weekend Trailer Roundup

Microsoft'southward E3 Press Conference

Microsoft's Xbox E3 Liveblog
Summing up the Microsoft E3 presentation
Zune and Xbox websites denote the arrival of Xbox Music
The Xbox Live Arcade games of Microsoft's press conference
The dazzling cars of Forza Horizon

Windows Telephone games and apps at E3

Get-go look: Battleship for Xbox Live on Windows Phone
Hands-on with MUSH for Xbox Live on Windows Phone
Easily on with SmartGlass at E3 – Windows Telephone, Windows 8, and Xbox 360
Early look at Shoot1Up for Xbox Alive on Windows Phone
Easily-on with Skulls of the Shogun for Xbox Live on Windows Telephone
Stepping into the shoes of the Gun Bros on Windows Phone
Contract Killer for Windows Phone exclusive demonstration
Skulls of the Shogun developer interview and multiplayer demonstration

Panel games and more at E3

Photo gallery – the Microsoft Alive berth at E3 2022
Ascend: New Gods XBLA gameplay and Windows Telephone details
Our favorite Xbox Live Arcade games of E3 2022

We look forward to bringing y'all even more than Windows Phone stories from E3 side by side twelvemonth!

The AT&T version of Surface Duo is now getting Android 11

It'south here

The AT&T version of Surface Duo is now getting Android eleven

Later on a very long wait, the original Surface Duo is now eligible to receive its over-the-air OS update to Android 11. Here is what is new and fixed with the biggest update yet for Microsoft's first dual-screen Android device.