I’ve heard some shady things before, but this takes the cake. Sure we have some iPhone developers porting games to Android, but that is by choice. When you’re approached by Microsoft, it reeks of desperation. Does Microsoft not have their own developer community that’s ready to jump at the chance to develop for Windows Phone 7? Apparently not.
Pocket Gamer reports:
“One developer has told PocketGamer.biz that Microsoft is contacting successful iPhone developers, offering them upfront cash to port their games to the new platform.
Amounts are said to be substantial, although not enough to tempt the developer in question. Because Windows Phone 7 is limited to Silverlight or XNA Framework (C#) development, the cost of reworking its games from C++ remains too high.”
The odd part is why Microsoft is targeting game developers. After all, Xbox 360 integration should be deep with Windows phone 7 (specifically with the Xbox Live Arcade), so why does Microsoft even need casual games on their platform when they already have a library of serious titles? The whole thing is weird. But hey, at least Microsoft recognizes that iPhone developers are totally awesome.
