Microsoft Confirms App Downloads for Zune HD: 3D Games, Twitter, Facebook and More

There has been little doubt about whether the Zune HD would support apps and games, but Microsoft decided to make it official today by announcing they would have all of that and more available for the Zune HD, which comes out today. Microsoft confirmed that there would be games for the Zune HD and even hinted at some interesting connections to the Xbox 360.

The Microsoft press release gets specific about some of the apps and games we’ll be seeing on the Zune HD pretty soon:

Later this year, Zune plans to release free applications such as Twitter for Zune and Facebook for Zune, in addition to fun 3-D games such as "Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition," "Vans Sk8: Pool Service" and "Audiosurf(TM) Tilt." Games can be added to Zune HD via Zune Marketplace over the Wi-Fi connection or when connected to the Zune PC software.

Those kinds of games and apps, coupled with instant download over WiFi could make the Zune HD a serious media powerhouse. What will be interesting to see is if some of the major game publishers start creating games specifically for the Zune. Could we see the same level of gaming we’ve seen on the iPhone?

For the time being, Microsoft won’t be putting out a lot of third-party SDKs, according to Microsoft's Zune marketing manager, Brian Seitz. Microsoft plans to develop most apps in house or with close collaboration with third-party developers, so you won’t see an app store exploding with apps like we saw with the iPhone. However, it seems Microsoft has gotten all the big stuff lined up so we’ll probably see most of the stuff we want. We’re interested to see if Microsoft is putting together a whole in-house team just to create Zune games. Seitz did say that games would be the primary focus of the Zune HD, after all.

We don’t know what kind of Xbox integration will be happening with the Zune HD, however, the Zune Marketplace site does give us a taste of what’s coming the near future: Xbox streaming.

Zune is coming to the Xbox. Soon you will receive instant HD video streaming from Zune on your Xbox 360. Zune features movies, TV shows, and more in both HD and SD. Browse and watch from thousands of titles for rent or purchase available instantly through Microsoft’s Smooth Streaming technology.

Pretty clear that Microsoft is planning some serious media swapping between the Zune and Xbox, so we’re interested to see what develops in the future.

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