Microsoft is taking concrete steps to unify their themes and services across different platforms. The first efforts for this appeared in the form of the Metro design language which started from Windows Phone 7 and then moved on to Xbox Live, Office and Windows 8.
Today’s news, however, takes the process of unifying a step further: Xbox LIVE, Microsoft’s gaming and entertainment service for WP7 and Xbox 360, is coming to Windows 8 next year!
The news was revealed by Mike Delman (VP Global Marketing at Microsoft) in an interview with The Seattle Times where he said:
Interviewer: Speaking of phone, I was surprised we didn’t hear about connections between Xbox and Windows Phone here at E3.
Delman: Live has been successful on the Windows Phone. Live will be built into the PC. It will be the service where you get your entertainment. We were talking about it — you will not just see consoles and handhelds at this show next year, this show’s going to morph into other devices.
Interviewer: How will your services and content be part of Windows 8?
Delman: There will be a lot of similarities in design and service philosophy. Whether it’s us or Apple or anybody else, people want to be able to navigate through multiple devices in a certain ecosystem very seamlessly so we’re committed to that.
It is unclear how it will exactly work like. We don’t know if it will be a full blown Xbox dashboard on a Windows 8 PC so you can get your videos, music, Netflix, games in one place or if you’ll just be able to play around with your avatar, check up on friends and view your achievements etc.… Maybe this could be Games for Windows Live done properly? Only Microsoft knows at this point.
Or maybe, just maybe, Microsoft will unify their “Live” services: Xbox Live and Windows Live. A little brand unification can go a long way in improving brand image!
Windows 8 is set to release sometime in 2012. It will be used not only on desktops and laptops but on tablets as well. The new Metro-based UI looks beautiful!
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