Xbox Live integration the “hook” that sells Windows Phone 7, says MS exec

Microsoft executive Matt Thompson said today during the GigaOm Mobilize conference in San Francisco that Xbox Live integration will be the "hook" that sells Windows Mobile 7 to the masses.

According to Thompson, the feature will help players take their online selves with them where ever they go, which Microsoft hopes will help it unseat operating systems in such heavyweight offerings such as iPhone, BlackBerry and Android.

"Clearly the phone is you, so the most unique thing we’re trying to do is bring XBox Live so you can carry the online ‘you’ into the rest of the world,” Thompson said.

Along with third-party social games such as Farmville, Microsoft's developing 2D and 3D games for the platform, which will personify the experience users have on Xbox Live, Thompson said. Games for the phone are written on XNA, and the marketplace for apps will be open in the next couple of weeks.

Last month, a Microsoft representative said phone-to-console gaming functionality for Windows Phone 7 is in the cards with turn-by-turn play functionality out of the gate, with eventual phone-to-console and gameplay between PC and mobile “using the Xbox Live infrastructure” being worked on.

Thanks, VentureBeat.