As a loyal Verizon wireless customer I have for the longest time been waiting. For being such a major provider it has been amazing to see just how long it has taken them to actually get some of the major devices on their network. First was the long wait for the iPhone. I have wanted one since they came out but was not able to and willing to switch networks to acquire one. While waiting for the mythical Verizon iPhone to rear its head Microsoft launched Windows Phone 7. Admittedly I am a bit of a windows fan boy but it did not blind me from how amazing the iPhone was and was not the reason for me not acquiring one. However, being a fan of Microsoft products did make me want to own a Windows Phone 7 device. I am an avid Xbox 360 player and have been on Xbox Live for 7 years; I own a Zune and have a Zune Pass subscription. For these reasons I would be able to enjoy and get a good deal of use out of a WP7 device. However, I find myself waiting again. Now I know I could get the iPhone 4 since it is finally coming to Verizon but for the reasons above WP7 is better suited to my likes.
This brings me to the meat of this post a question I have asked on other forums about Microsoft’s strategies with WP7. When I see the ads for WP7 Xbox Live is a major selling point. This being said would it not be a great opportunity to ship a device that had a slide out controller much like the Xperia Play that Sony is about to announce. This would make Xbox Live gaming on a WP7 device all the easier and attracted a large number of Xbox Lives massive user base. It just seems like a no brainer that a company that has done so well in the video games market and has a platform that integrates their great gaming service with other services they offer would make this a reality. I don’t know what the rest of the GDGT community thinks but seeing the Xperia Play just got me thinking about how much of a missed opportunity this is for Microsoft and Windows Phone 7.
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Is Microsoft missing out on a huge opportunity for Xbox Live gaming on WP7...?
I totally agree with you and am in the same boat waiting for a CDMA WP7. But I think it came down to Microsoft wanting a platform that runs the same on multiple phones and multiple carriers and not everybody would want the slide-out controller. However I think MS still could cash in on this idea down the road after WP7 has picked up some steam. They could do it in the same way they are handling Kinect. They could make some phones with slide-out controllers and some without and then certain games could say that they require a controller and others wouldn't - They could even do some games that gave the option (Kind of like the whole idea of "better with connect" games) A game like ilomilo which is currently available and does not require a controller could be easily set up to work with the touch screen or, when available, a controller. Right now I'm waiting for the HTC 7 Pro to come out but if I was given the option to have the slide-out keyboard be a slide-out controller I would take it in a second
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