Mango: Closer Look at the Games Hub
June 25, 2011 No Comments
Recently Microsoft has detailed the many changes coming the the games hub in the Mango update. It has gone through a major transformation and come this fall both the Windows Phone and Xbox will share the same look and feel. The following is a detailed overview by the Windows Phone Team.
Improved Collection view
In Mango, games are neatly organized in the same familiar alphabetical list view as your apps—icon on the left, name on the right. Once you’ve amassed more than 20 games—something that can happen pretty quickly on this Xbox-friendly phone—finding titles you play frequently can become a chore, requiring multiple swipes. Our customer research and your feedback told us people want to quickly
and easily get back to recently-played games.
To fix that, in Mango we’re introducing a new Recent category. When your collection exceeds 20 games, the last three titles you’ve played now appear right up top, so you can get to favorites faster.
New 3D avatars with attitude
We know how much Xbox LIVE users love their avatars. In the current release of Windows Phone, the Games Hub displays avatars as a static 2D image. To flesh out your alter ego with an extra dimension, you need the free Xbox Live Extras app from Marketplace.
Avatars on the phone are also now more playful: They wave at you, yawn, and perform a host of other actions. Shake your phone and your avatar dances—or even faints. Bug your poor alter ego too much and it might lash out at you or pull the Collection screen into view to hide behind.
Better Xbox LIVE experience
Besides better avatars, all the features previously found in the Xbox LIVE Extras app are now built into the Games Hub. These include:
- Improved Xbox LIVE messaging: Read and reply to Xbox LIVE messages sent from another Windows Phone, a PC, or an Xbox console. We’ve also added more avatar delighters here. If a message contains certain emoticons (e.g.
, 
), you’ll notice your avatar’s expression change to reflect that emotion! (If a sender overloads a message with conflicting emoticons, your avatar will look bewildered.)
- Connect with Xbox LIVE friends: Find out if your Xbox LIVE friends are currently online through the friend status view. You can also search, browse, initiate, and respond to friend requests right from your Windows Phone 7.
- Integrated achievements and new comparison views: See the recent
games your friends have been playing, and compare gamerscores and achievements
for all Xbox LIVE games played on the phone, console, or PC.
- Edit your profile: Moved to a new city? Have a new motto in life? Now you can update your name, bio, motto, and location right from the phone.
- Improved Spotlight content: We’ve improved the news and info delivered to you via Spotlight in the Games Hub. Your window to the Xbox LIVE community will now be complemented with rich and vibrant images!
- Improved game request notifications: In Mango, you’ll receive notifications for multiplayer game or turn requests and can track them in the Requests section of the Games Hub.
Source: Windows Phone Team
Games, News