Calling all mobile game enthusiasts

Microsoft has changed the gamespace, with the tightest integration yet of videogame console, PC and cellphone.

Mobile gaming on cellphones like Apple's ubiquitous iPhone, the dearth of smartphones running a mad variety of Google's open source Android operating system and Microsoft's own Windows Phone 7, has become a golden segment for developers.

Game makers pocket around 60 per cent of the payments for their titles - and with online application stores making one-click buying possible for users, it becomes a very lucrative market indeed.

But Microsoft has taken the game one step further, integrating Xbox Live into Windows handsets, and fusing them with Xbox 360s and PCs over the internet, using "the cloud".

Xbox Live is the online playspace where Xbox owners can play online, download content like game updates and even high-def movies. The Xbox Live app on Windows Phone 7 is used to download games, share achievements and chat with other users of Live.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, a host of game announcements were made, including more uses for the Kinect sensor for the Xbox 360.

But the phone-related trickery was more exciting to gamers.

The most interesting announcements were around tighter integration between phone and device. For instance, credits and booty earned in games played on the Windows phones will now add to Xbox 360 games via the Xbox Live "cloud", and avatars will be playable in upcoming mobile titles.

While the iPhone is leading the mobile gaming charge, there is no integration between Apple's mobile iOS operating system and Mac computers. But by leveraging the powerful Microsoft cloud, it gives Xbox Live a unique position of strength above what is already the superior console online experience.

Microsoft's senior director for Windows games, Kevin Unangst, admits he has been surprised by the demographic that has embraced Live through the phone OS since its launch in November.

"It's a really interesting mix - the people who are buying the phone and using the Xbox Live features," he said. "Of the people that have downloaded Xbox Live games, about half are new to the service; it's the first time they've used Xbox Live."

The other half of the game downloaders are those who have used Xbox Live on the 360 console.

"So a significant number of people coming in are not console owners, they're not yet part of the 'faithful', which shows that it's the mix of games and the experiences - we get people who just love sitting there creating avatars.

"We're also bringing in the console owners - it's a really interesting distribution of behaviour and shows that we are bringing new people in, and still keeping the faithful. That will only get better over time as the portfolio continues to grow."

Games for the Windows phones announced at CES included strong titles such as Fable, Pro Evolution Soccer and even Assassin's Creed from third party developers.

Some news games offer a full last-gen console-like experience with multi-touch and accelerometer support, while others are mini games and puzzlers, or rehashed classics like Pacman.

The Lionhead Studios title Fable Coin Golf is now the best example of cross-platform integration. It is basically a rehash of an old pub game that involves flicking a coin to hit others, but the rub is that coins collected will become part of players' cash haul in the Xbox 360 game Fable III. When the game lands on PC, the same will be true. Three devices, one gamer - and a masterstroke in convergence.

"We launched with a bigger portfolio of games than we launched the console with," explains Unangst. "This is our portable play - this is our big focus for portable gaming, so it's been great to see that we're around 50 Xbox Live games, adding a couple every week.

"Having a studio behind it, and having the same creative folks - whether it's Lionhead or the folks doing Crackdown, or the Halo guys with Waypoint - I think it's going to stand to be a real differentiator for us."