On Microsoft's side, the inevitable boost to Windows Phone 7's userbase following the firm's partnership with Nokia is undoubtedly cause for celebration.

In Jason Doucette's point of view, however, it's the amalgamation of sorts of the two firm's app stores that might prove the most fundamental part of the deal.

According to Xona Games' co-founder and lead programmer, integrating the Ovi Store into WP7's set up could bring both developers and consumers on board almost automatically.

Back in the game"To be honest, I haven't been following the Windows Phone 7 environment very closely these past few months," says Doucette of the move.

"Based off of the news feeds I've been reading, it appears this is great news.

"It looks like the agreement goes far beyond just the hardware needed to help bring more phones onto the market - which is good, since competition is always great for the consumer, for prices and selection - but also to include the software."

Ovi for all

Doucette has previously complained that games are struggling to get visibility on WP7.

At the start of 2011, he candidly admitted the studio's first release – Decimation X2 – had received very few downloads, namely because no users could find it.

The prospect of Ovi Store software joining the ranks, however, is encouraging. Rather than offering Xona Games more competition, it has the potential to raise the standing of the platform to a far higher level.

"I am not sure how the software is going to help WP7 developers directly, but if the phones are going to sell better because of a better general experience, then the audience is going to increase, which can never be a bad thing," he adds.

"It'll be interesting to see how things turn out."

You can read more developer reactions to the deal here.