At the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates made a surprise appearance at his company's press briefing. He was there to talk about an ambitious concept called Live Anywhere, which would extend the Xbox Live social gaming network to PCs and Windows Mobile platforms.
Though Games for Windows Live launched the following year after the release of the often-criticized Windows Vista operating system, little has been heard about the Live Anywhere concept. This week, though, a job listing for a "Live Community Director" surfaced that shows that Microsoft is still planning to extended the Live network to mobile devices--and beyond.
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"The Live Engagement Team is looking for a Live Community Director to manage its Live community strategy and execution across a range of properties, from Xbox Live to Windows Mobile," reads the listing. "This senior position will play a vital role in the community space as the Live Engagement team builds and program’s Microsoft’s next-generation, Live-enabled casual and social gaming platform across the Web, the console, mobile and beyond."
Live's first true extension beyond PCs and Xboxes arrives later this year, when video downloads for Microsoft's Zune media player will be added to Xbox Live. Despite the prospect being raised at the 2008 Game Developers Conference, currently no games can be transferred from the 360 to the Zune, as Sony's PlayStation 3 can to the PSP with certain titles. However, last month Microsoft corporate vice president Shane Kim said that his company plans to get into handheld gaming...eventually.
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