Microsoft Games Coming to PDAs Soon

[Jonathon Watkins]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.3gsmworldcongress.com/newsreel/default.asp?url=pages/display.asp&article_section=pr&file_name=9959776908551.xml' target='_blank'>http://www.3gsmworldcongress.com/ne...59776908551.xml</a><br /><br /></div><a href="http://www.pdacorps.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2238">PDACorps</a> sends word that at the 3GSM World congress it was annouced that Microsoft Game Studios are working with In-Fusio to globally port and publish a range of blockbuster games to mobile platforms, including Windows Mobile. Six titles are planned for release "on all major mobile platforms in 2004" and they include Age of Empires 2 Gold Edition, Midtown Madness 3, Zoo Tycoon, Sabre Wulfe etc.<br /><br />"The first game to be launched under the agreement will be the classic car racing game ‘Midtown Madness 3’, which will make its first appearance on ExEn and EGE platforms in June 2004. An ‘alpha’ version of Midtown Madness 3, including 3D and multi-player capability, will be shown at 3GSM in the ‘Gaming Zone’"<br /><br />"IN-FUSIO, said: “We are delighted to join Microsoft Game Studios in this bold initiative. Microsoft’s recent commitment to license some of its best-known titles for the mobile games arena is a clear indication of the industry’s maturity. With our focus on gamers’ fun and innovative services to operators, we look forward to making these Microsoft games on mobile a reality."<br /><br />Mmmmmmm, games! :silly:

[dmacburry2003]

YESSS! This is just what I need!

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I'm soooo glad to see that Microsoft is taking the initiative to put more into Windows Mobile. Hurraayy!! ( :mrgreen: )

[dMores]

MIDTOWN MADNESS 3 ???

the first version didn't even display properly on my (then state-of-the-art) athlon 700Mhz with GeForce gfx card.
now an EVEN BETTER version running on my pocketpc? whoa !

bring it on !!!

[Kevin Remhof]

Wow, that's big news. I'm particularly excited about Zoo Tycoon. That would be a good fit for the Pocket PC. Not too graphic-intense but still very fun.

I better not tell my wife, I'll lose my iPAQ.

[T-Will]

The first game to be launched under the agreement will be the classic car racing game ‘Midtown Madness 3’, which will make its first appearance on ExEn and EGE platforms in June 2004.

Midtown Madness 3, classic??? I'm confused...didn't Midtown Madness 3 just come out less than a year ago for XBox? :? And they expect it to run on Pocket PC??? I'll believe it when I see it...

[Jonathon Watkins]

Well, the press release seems a bit corrupted - it's a bit hard to interpret :? . They don't seem to be promising MTM3 on the Windows Mobile platform immediately.

On the other hand - maybe they know something about ATI and the other graphics chips manufactures that we don't? About time a true 3D GPU was put into a PPC! :mrgreen: Who knows?

[JonnoB]

Two things...
1) This is a license of games to run on multiple mobile platforms including WM2003.
2) Games like Splinter Cell, GTA, etc have already been ported before to mobile devices, but they look nothing like the console/PC versions. This is more about a license to the genre/name and I doubt much more.

Bottom line: Don't get your hopes up to see PC/Console quality gaming on your PDA soon. That said, I am hopeful that good gaming will come to the system, especially with devices like the MPx which will really lend itself to handheld gaming. I have seen many games (Anthelion, Snails, Kursk, Zio, and Hexacto titles... and others for example) show that good quality games are possible.

[dmacburry2003]

Two things...
1) This is a license of games to run on multiple mobile platforms including WM2003.
2) Games like Splinter Cell, GTA, etc have already been ported before to mobile devices, but they look nothing like the console/PC versions. This is more about a license to the genre/name and I doubt much more.

Bottom line: Don't get your hopes up to see PC/Console quality gaming on your PDA soon. That said, I am hopeful that good gaming will come to the system, especially with devices like the MPx which will really lend itself to handheld gaming. I have seen many games (Anthelion, Snails, Kursk, Zio, and Hexacto titles... and others for example) show that good quality games are possible.

Anthelion ROCKS!!! SimCity is also pretty sweet.

[David Prahl]

Anthelion ROCKS!!! SimCity is also pretty sweet.

You got that right!
I seem to remember reading a fantastic review somewhere... now where was it?
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,20141

:mrgreen:

[dmacburry2003]

The only problem I had with Anthelion is that I beat it toooo quickly.

(I guess hard was the level I should have picked :wink: )

[David Prahl]

The only problem I had with Anthelion is that I beat it toooo quickly.


Yeah, me too (especially after entering the cheat code PDAMill gave me!). :D

[sponge]

I'm skeptical about whether we'll be playing these on our PocketPCs some time from now. It looks like In-Fusio make mobile phone games. Anyway, time will tell, can't read in too much to this one little press release.

As for Midtown Madness 3, chances are it can be 3D, but not an exact port of the original, obviously. Or like another poster said and have it just be a stripped down 2D version, like the sad Splinter Cell (As for GTA, the first 2 were already 2D :P)

[egads]

Said it before and I'll say it again. :soapbox: Games will suck on PPC's till someone hires a real directional pad designer and puts it in a PPC. I've messed around with most makes of PPC's out there and the directional pad on every one has sucked !!! A $50 GameBoy has a better game pad on it than a $600 IPaq. Seems to me they design the whole PPC then 15 minutes before it goes to production someone says "Hey we forgot to put a directional pad on it". Then they throw some cheap worthless pad on and ship...

Sorry, had to vent. I just received Atari Classics on SD and tried to play Asteroids on my Dell X5 and got so mad at the pad I almost threw the darn thing across the room (and yes, I have the "fixed" X5 directional pad).

Again, sorry for the venting !!!

[jizmo]

Games will suck on PPC's till someone hires a real directional pad designer and puts it in a PPC.

Words of wisdom. I really don't understand how is it humanly possible to fail to deliver simple directional pad that is feels functional, operative and responsive to keypresses.

Asus seems to be the only one willing to give this a thought or two. The others should take a look at the latest Handango charts to see to what we actually use our devices to :D.

..and that's outcounting the emulators.

/jizmo

[Ryan Joseph]

All this sounds great, but there's really only one Microsoft game I care about: HALO. If it were released for Pocket PC, I wouldn't care about price

Here's hoping. :snipersmile:

[Stephen Beesley]

I am not greedy - if they can get AofE II on the PPC I will be soooooo happy. I have already wasted far to many hours with the original on my PPC.