At this years BUILD conference, a Microsoft event centred around the innovations of Microsoft properties, it was announced that Windows 8 will have Xbox Live integration right out of the box. As Major Nelson puts it on his blog: “Bringing Xbox LIVE to Windows 8 is part of our vision to bring you all the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, made easy”
Sure that sounds great but what exactly does it mean for gamers. Well, there wasn’t much said at the keynote unveiling the announcement but it appears up to the games developer as to whether they wish to include the service in their game. Outside of games not much is different from Windows 7, which has access to the Zune service already which uses your Live ID for everything mutimedia.
It appears the most significant aspect of this integration is when you switch over to the Metro UI for Windows 8, as you will notice a very familiar layout(as shown above) giving you quick and easy access to many things you regularly use on your Xbox.
I think this integration was inevitable and is great for people who already use Microsoft’s other service such as Windows Live, Zune and Windows Phone 7. I just hope this means that Microsoft will finally deliver on the ambitious promise of cross platform gaming (PC,XBox, Windows Phone).
