Here are the game developers that Xbox Windows Phone desperately needs

Last week, Gameloft kicked off their much predictable wave of Xbox releases for Windows Phone 8 with Cobblestone 7, a game I call the best racer on the platform in our review. They've followed up this calendar week with the very strong The Amazing Spider-Man and the not-so-strong and highly skippable Real Soccer 2022. With at least 9 more games coming, including first-person shooters, action games, and fifty-fifty an MMORPG, it's safety to say that Gameloft will go on Windows Phone gamers pretty busy this twelvemonth.

Similarly, Electronics Arts and its subsidiaries Chillingo and PopCap have produced a ton of fine mobile Xbox games as Nokia exclusives within the past few months. All of the Nokia EA games are expected to get available to full general Windows Phone audiences six months subsequently release, so they really do do good the platform as a whole.

However large and prolific they might exist, publishers Gameloft and Electronic Arts tin can't keep the Xbox Windows Telephone lineup afloat all by themselves. The globe of smartphone gaming is vast indeed. iOS and Android thrive thank you to many game developers and publishers, both smashing and small. Today we continue our 'How Microsoft can save Xbox Games for Windows Phone' editorial serial with a expect at the game makers that our platform needs in order to thrive.

Microsoft must piece of work to retain Xbox Windows Phone developers and secure new ones.

Temple Run 2
While the first Temple Run is due at some point on WIndows Phone 8, iOS users are already enjoying Temple Run ii (pictured).

I'll acknowledge that Windows Phone is still a niche platform compared to iOS and Android, then expecting a high-volume developer to port all of its games to Microsoft's mobile Os is a bit much – peculiarly when none of the large middleware engines similar Unity and Havok are actually ready however. Simply Microsoft can't afford to just wait a few years and hope that more developers eventually sign on.

For one, we've seen prove of Xbox Windows Phone developers of all sizes condign disillusioned and leaving the platform, including previous supporters like Game House and IronSun Studios. The unpleasant and time consuming Xbox Live certification process, the relatively small-scale user base of operations, and a lack of fiscal incentives from Microsoft are all at fault. The platform needs to be gaining developers, not losing established ones.

Besides, if Microsoft takes a expect-and-meet, low-spending arroyo towards the Xbox Windows Telephone lineup, in a few years' fourth dimension there simply won't be a Windows Phone gaming scene. Gaming might not be the number i selling point of a smartphone platform, but information technology's still big business on iOS and Android. Every yr that Microsoft neglects to put their might behind growing Xbox Windows Phone is another twelvemonth that iOS and Android abound and accelerate further than this underdog platform. If someone doesn't describe a line in the sand and get Windows Telephone properly caught up, there will eventually be no catching upwards.

Cardinal publishers that appeal to gaming enthusiasts must be encouraged to get all-in on Windows Phone.

Alright, and then Xbox Windows Phone needs more developers and publishers, just which ones? Expect at the existing Windows Telephone lineup: it'due south filled with puzzle games, physics puzzlers, and casual games. Those all have a place, only 'cadre' games are woefully defective. The platform needs meatier, more than hardcore games such as tin can be constitute in aplenty supply on iOS and Android. Hardcore doesn't mean limited entreatment; not but do more than serious games sell keen on other platforms, merely think that a lot of Xbox Windows Phone gamers actually come up from the Xbox 360 and want to play console-like games on the get.

The lineup of Gameloft games that I discussed before are a perfect start to providing that deeper, more compelling console-fashion feel on Windows Phone. At present permit'south await at a few more high-priority publishers that Microsoft should be wooing.

Square-Enix

Demons' Score sports some impressive mobile graphics.

This Japanese publisher is already onboard with Windows Phone, having published Last Fantasy and KooZac so far. Both are fine titles, just the original Final Fantasy is clearly dated and puzzle games like KooZac aren't what the publisher is known for. Foursquare-Enix is dipping its toes in the Windows Telephone waters rather than jumping in head first. But the publisher has some top-tier mobile titles that could be ported to Xbox Windows Phone, if merely Microsoft would convince them to do it:

Anarchy Rings 2
Chrono Trigger
Demons' Score
Final Fantasy Dimensions
Terminal Fantasy III
Concluding Fantasy Iv
Final Fantasy Tactics
Secret of Mana
The Globe Ends with Yous

If left to its own devices, Square-Enix might maybe port Final Fantasy II this year – a 3-twelvemonth one-time iOS port of an aged NES game that most RPG fans consider junior to the original, and still quite dated for an RPG. But imagine if the publisher leapt alee to their strongest games, and brought those over at a rate of two or more than per year. The games listed above would sell like hotcakes, plus before likewise long Square-Enix could publish Windows Phone ports much closer to its iOS releases.

Capcom

Street Fighter X Tekken is surprisingly playable on touch-screen devices, so why not Windows Telephone?

Capcom is another Japanese publisher with a huge presence on both consoles and smartphones. Windows Phone has a single Capcom title so far: KenKen (mysteriously non bachelor on Windows Telephone viii). But only like KooZac, it'south not exactly a peak-tier effort. Here are some Capcom games our platform really needs:

Terminal Fight
Ghosts due north' Goblins Gilt Knights Ii
Ghost Play a trick on
Marvel vs. Capcom 2
Mega Man 10
Monster Hunter Dynamic Hunting
Phoenix Wright
Resident Evil four
Street Fighter IV
Street Fighter 10 Tekken

Again, that'due south an extremely solid lineup. If Microsoft and Capcom inked a multigame deal akin to the Gameloft 12 games understanding, Windows Phone could be swimming in stellar Capcom games in no time.

Warner Bros

Batman Arkham City Lockdown
Batman: Arkham Metropolis Lockdown relies on the Unreal Engine that we discussed in a previous editorial.

Another major strength in amusement, Warner Bros. produces smartphone versions of many blockbuster console franchises. But look at this listing:

Bastion
Batman: Arkham Urban center Lockdown
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
Midway Arcade
Scribblenauts Remix
Tapper World Tour
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

Activision

Telephone call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies is a couple of years old, but Windows Phone could nonetheless use information technology.

Activision is ane of the largest console publishers in the earth, correct beside Electronic Arts. While 'The Big A' is less prolific in the mobile arena than the two previous publishers, it withal produces some very of import iOS games.

Activision Anthology
Call of Duty Zombies
Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies
Pitfall! (A 3D reimagining of the Atari 2600 already bachelor on Windows Phone)
Skylanders Battlegrounds
Skylanders Cloud Patrol
Skylanders Lost Islands

That'south right, Call of Duty – the single bestselling videogame brand in the globe – could exist ported to Windows Telephone. Microsoft already has a great human relationship with Activision, often negotiating timed exclusivity of Call of Duty DLC for the Xbox 360. Leveraging that human relationship to bring Activision into the Windows Phone stronghold makes perfect sense. Why allow Gameloft's upcoming clone Modernistic Gainsay 4 take all the fun?

Bethesda

Dishonored Rat Assassin
Dishonored: Rat Assassin - This screenshot speaks for itself.

This panel publisher hasn't been cranking out mobile games every bit fast every bit they used to, with Dishonored: Rat Assassin being their only contempo release. Rat Assassin is a Fruit Ninja clone that ties into last year's critically lauded console release Dishonored. Although a small mobile championship, Rat Assassin has that rare crossover of casual gameplay with hardcore appeal. Bethesda also owns id Software's dorsum itemize of iOS releases, all of which would be highly welcome on Windows Phone.

Dishonored: Rat Assassin
Doom Classic
Doom II RPG
Doom Resurrection
Rage 3D
Wolfenstein 3D Platinum
Wolfenstein RPG

Two of those games are RPG spin-offs of first-person shooters – both genres that Windows Telephone badly needs.

Take-Two Interactive

Tin can any phone gamer e'er be truly happy without Borderlands Legends? I would argue 'no.'

This media behemothic consists of two gaming brands: Rockstar and 2K Games. The one-time has yet to bear on Windows Telephone evolution, depriving us of their fine Grand Theft Auto ports. 2K Games did produce decent Xbox versions of Civilisation Revolution and Sid Meier's Pirates. Still, 2K's biggest mobile title Borderlands Legends is what gamers really want.

Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Machine: Vice City
G Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Max Payne Mobile
Borderlands Legends
NBA 2K13
NHK 2K11 (This would demand to be updated, of course.)

Next installment: The games Microsoft themselves should be making

At present and so, how do you feel about the publishers in this article, guys, gals and hybrids? What other mobile game developers and publishers should Microsoft court for Xbox Windows Telephone development? Let u.s. know in the comments beneath.

If y'all enjoyed these articles, please comment and tweet them to everyone who would benefit from information technology. The problems Xbox games face on Windows Phone won't alter until the right decision-makers realize their importance. Let's do our all-time to brand a difference together!

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