Live Anywhere for Windows Mobile

Mobile gaming is finally coming to the Windows Mobile platform in a big way. Microsoft, looking to leverage their massive Xbox Live online gaming service, will be launching "Live Anywhere" a cross-platform gaming service that will excite everyone from the casual to the hardcore gamers. Best of all, Live Anywhere will unite the mobile gamers with their desktop and Xbox 360 counterparts for the very first time.

Live Anywhere brings your Xbox Live Gamercard to your Windows Mobile device and -for the first time- puts serious mobile gaming on your handheld.

With an audience of millions already playing on Xbox Live, (an online gaming service for the Xbox and the Xbox 360), next year, Microsoft will offer mobile and PC users the ability to join this unique community. With a single identity (one username and password), you can log in on your game console, your PC and your handheld device to partake in single-player and multi-player games.

Check your Friends List to see what your companions are playing and click on the Messages tab to send text messages to users whether they are online or offline.

Like the current Xbox 360 games, every Live Anywhere game will have a set of "Achievements" or accomplishments that you earn Gamerscore by completing within the game. To add a competitive element to the mix, you can compare your achievements with any other player on the Live Anywhere service (see image below) right on your handheld.

For bragging rights, you can display a comparison of your achievements with any player on your Friends List, right on your Windows Mobile device. This screenshot shows a comparison of two player's achievements in the Xbox 360 title Project Gotham Racing 3.

Another feature, that is exclusive to the Live Anywhere mobile platform, is the ability to beam Gamercards to each other (see image, below). For those who are unfamiliar with the Xbox Live service, currently you must manually type in a Friend's "Gamertag" (their nickname on the Xbox Live service) or meet them in a game and punch several buttons to select their card to add them to your friends list.

The Live Anywhere mobile client allows you to beam your Gamercard to other players, instantly adding you to their Friends List with minimal effort.

Now, with one touch on the main menu of the Live Anywhere menu of your Windows Mobile device, you can instantly add someone to your Friends List. And, because Live Anywhere is cross-platform, that friend will be automatically added to your Xbox 360 and PC Friends Lists as well.

Currently, the announced title list for Live Anywhere on the mobile platform is very light, with MSN Games "Bejeweled," "Zuma" and "Hexic" expected to debut with the service. But Microsoft has also shown some innovative potential features, like the ability to "tweak" the settings on your racecar in Forza using your mobile device, then upload it to your Xbox 360 to use it in your game.

Microsoft would not discuss pricing and availability options with me, but Live Anywhere will reportedly be available for Windows Mobile, Java and BREW-based handsets. I expect the Live Anywhere client to debut sometime near the release of the Windows Vista operating system and “Shadowrun” (a highly anticipated desktop game that will support Live Anywhere) sometime this winter. Microsoft's press release dated last May announced that it would be available "by this time next year" but with the robust demo I saw, I doubt we'll have to wait long. I only hope that Live Anywhere is available to all Windows Mobile users and not as an application that only ships with newer handhelds.