Video: Windows Phone 7 Evokes Xbox Live For Gamers

While announcing the release date of Kinect, Microsoft managed to throw out some details about Windows Phone 7's gaming potential as well. By way of a press release and a short video montage, the company was at pains to explain how it plans to distance itself from competitors in RIM and Apple's iPhone.

The key, as we all knew already, is Xbox Live - WP7 Series devices will allow users to launch their Gamertags and Avatars from the Xbox network and earn achievements from various mobile phone games. In an attempt to counter Apple's seemingly endless roster of available titles for its iOS platform, Microsoft said that many different publishers were on board to develop games for its own system.

Those publishers include Gameloft, Konami, Namco, Popcap and THQ, and the games seen in the trailer is no doubt just a small selection of planned releases. Ports of Max and the Magic Marker, Flight Control and Bejeweled prance around in the video alongside exclusive titles Game Chest and ilomilo. The ability to unlock Achievements and the Xbox Live framework are being touted as selling points, which could draw in the most OCD gamers looking to expand on their Gamerscore.

No doubt Microsoft will have more to shout about when it presents its latest wares at Gamescom this week. In the meantime its closest console competitor, Sony, is also taking snipes at Apple's iPhone in its latest TV advertisement. We're sensing a theme here, somewhat...