Windows Phone 7 will feature 3D gaming

Microsoft’s announcement of Windows Phone 7 Series at MWC was all very well for gamers, but it’s safe to say that all of us were hoping for more than just asynchronous multiplayer casual games and the ability to check out your Xbox Live Gamerscore on the move.

We wanted full on 3D gaming, and even the chance of playing certain full Xbox Live Arcade titles on our phones, similar to the way Sony’s PSN Store offers up games that run on both PS3 and PSP.

Well, it appears that we might be getting what we wanted.

Microsoft’s Michael Klucher has been speaking about XNA 4.0 – a development tool that will allow programmers to make their games across Xbox 360, PC and now Windows Phone 7, offering the tantalising prospect of multi-platform releases.

But what good’s that if the Windows Phone 7 handsets are ill equipped on the hardware side? Fear not:

“Yes, we have hardware accelerated 3D API’s on Windows Phone 7 Series” Klucher confirmed. “Yes, we have Visual Studio 2010 integration with our toolset. We’ve even added buffered audio support to the Audio API’s that many of you have asked for.”

Klucher also made reference to a "premium gaming experience on Windows Phone 7 Series," but this appeared to be referring specifically to the ability to unlock achievements and to pull in your Gamerscore and Avatar from your Xbox Live account.

Still, there's plenty there to make us feel optimistic. Your shiny new Windows Phone 7 handset will be fully capable of beautiful 3D gaming experiences upon release – and the developers will have the tools to produce them.