Wednesday, February 20,2008 @ 4:40pm
Games headed to Zune
Games will finally be added to the Zune in the near future, Microsoft has announced. Although games are not typically the focus of most media players, the Zune is conspicuous for lacking any sort of interactive entertainment, whereas a continuous flow of new titles is available for Apple's iPod. Development for the Zune must be accomplished using XNA Studio, which was originally conceived for the Xbox 360; significantly, Microsoft indicates that first-generation Zunes will not be supported.
Developers will however be able to exploit the second-gen Zune's touchpad, which allows swiping in addition to button presses. It is further hinted that games will support multiplayer play, though whether this means "hotseat" play from a single Zune or connections over Wi-Fi has not been made clear. No date for a shipping Zune title has been announced.