Those who see Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7 as a mirror image of Game Center on iOS are mistaken.
While Apple's platform can be integrated into any game on the platform, Xbox Live is seen more as an official seal of approval that brings with it a comparatively higher price and a wealth of Achievement points.
As such, Xbox Live games on WP7 are almost exclusively the preserve of the bigger, better established franchises. By and large, titles from indies simply don't get a look in.
Class system
It's a glass ceiling of sorts Microsoft itself is charged with additional policing, with Chicks'n'Vixens developer JabberWorx claiming its game has been denied Xbox Live status.
The reason? Apparently the gameplay is too close to Angry Birds, which though not actually available on Windows Phone Marketplace is due to launch in April, according to the latest chatter.
"It was officially turned down by Microsoft for Xbox Live," JabberWorx is reported as stating, the game currently available on the platform in beta form.
"They said it was too much like Angry Birds."
The ironic thing is, Chicks'n'Vixens was developed out of frustration regarding the amount of time it was taking Rovio to bring Angry Birds to Microsoft's platform a delay the developer has previously put down to the number of lawyers the Redmond giant has on its side.
[source: WMPoweruser.com]
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With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.
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