Microsoft’s Live Anywhere Adopts Another Platform

One of the most interesting things to come out of Microsoft's pre-E3 media conference last month was their Live Anywhere vision, which was introduced and demonstrated for the assembled media crowd by none other than Microsoft's Chairman and Chief Software Architect and all round uber-nerd, Bill Gates.

The Live Anywhere vision is simple - the idea being to enable gamers to be able to use a common user interface on Windows Vista PCs, Windows (and other) Mobile devices and their Xbox 360 console. The basic idea is to allow users move easily and play together between different online gaming environments and other online communities - namely MSN Messenger, MSN Games and Xbox Live.

Of course, while the combined numbers of gamers and potential gamers across these communities is huge, the technical capacity to seamlessly bring them together is not something which is going to be in place in the short term future, but it's an interesting long-term strategy nonetheless.

In terms of appealing to other non-Windows mobile platforms, Microsoft made a major step forward this week, reaching an agreement with Qualcomm, who will build extensions for Microsoft's Live Anywhere technology into its own Brew mobile software development and delivery platform.

Although nowhere near as big as Java, Brew is offered on phones from 69 operators in 31 countries, according to the San Diego mobile technology company. Microsoft also plans to extend Live Anywhere to other mobile platforms, including Symbian and the aforementioned Java.

According to Chris Early, studio manager at Microsoft Casual Games, users should see some elements of Live Anywhere on their phones by the time of the next E3 in May 2007. Early also outlined the general Live Anywhere mobile strategy, which is for Microsoft to work with handset makers, content providers and mobile operators in getting Live Anywhere products to handsets.

SPOnG is not a fan of current so-called 'casual' games available on most mobile phones, but the idea of properly integrating elements of a game on your phone, your home console and your personal computer, to enable you to play either alone or against friends from any of these platforms is mighty appealing.

And while Live Anywhere has numerous critics, it really should be noted that - love 'em or loathe 'em - with Xbox Live, Microsoft really has shown an exemplary way of bringing online gaming to the mass market. If they can successfully extend this with Live Anywhere across numerous mobile networks and the huge MSN messenger network, then they might well just reach their ultimate goal of total world domination by 2012.

Watch this space.

(Source: DigitalWorldTokyo.com)