With speculation suggesting Sony could be considering launching a range of handheld PlayStation products that all tap into the same marketplace, cross-platform functionality appears to be the next step forward for the mobile industry.

It's a prevalence that explains Microsoft's decision to demo a single Indiana Jones game running on Xbox 360, Windows 7 and, most importantly, Windows Phone 7 at TechEd Middle East.

The game was developed in Visual Studio and allows players to enjoy virtually the same experience on all three formats, users able to save their progress on one version and pick up their play on one of the other two platforms from the exact same point.



Speaking at the event, Microsoft's senior VP Eric Rudder said linking up formats in this manner is a key step forward for the development community.

"I think that the work that we're doing and commonality of the platform across all of our offerings...is really going to create a new wave of applications unlike anything we've ever seen," he said.

"We talk all the time in the tech industry that the best is yet to come, but I really think the best is yet to come."

Microsoft claims 90 per cent of the code for games running on all three releases would be identical, the remaining 10 per cent allowing developers to make use of each respective format's control set-up - touchscreen on Windows Phone 7, gamepad on Xbox 360, and keyboard and mouse on Windows.

As well as offering advantages for consumers, cross-platform convergence would also aid developers. The benefits of working on one single title that can be sold on three major formats at the same time are fairly self-explanatory.

Engadget