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Microsoft just announced that the Xbox 360 is connecting to all kinds of TV and movie services. At the same time, quietly, it announced a new way for Windows Phone devices to connect to the Xbox.

The upcoming Xbox Companion App allows users to browse the Xbox Live Marketplace on their phones, and then, having found content, play it on their Xboxes. For example, you can control video playback and navigate Xbox menus from your phone -- just in case, we suppose, your controller happens to be out of reach and you don't have a Kinect.

There's no date on the app -- only "coming soon" -- but whenever it does launch, it'll be free.

[Thanks, Menzlo]

#roundup Fans of pig-based mobile games might want to look away, this week in gaming apps was not kind to our porcine friends, though perhaps a little tofu can make things right? More »

A new Microsoft patent depicts a concept for a "slider" type cell phone with customizable control schemes -- in the form of multiple controller attachments that snap into a cavity in the phone. "The second devices can comprise one or more game controllers, batteries, physical keyboards and/or mobile phone handsets with a display," the patent explains. Wait, mobile handsets? Microsoft wants to put a phone in your phone so you can talk while you talk?

The included drawings depict, as examples, a QWERTY keyboard, a game controller with a circular pad and four face buttons, the aforementioned extra battery, and ... some thing that looks like a film strip, which the patent specifies is a second display.

The existence of this patent is no guarantee that this is the next Windows Phone device, but it's an interesting concept that would probably put more attention on the platform if realized. Like, some attention.

#roundup This week our own Owen Good took a moment to remind us that our Gaming App of the Day feature isn't just about the gaming apps we love. It's also about Haraka. More »

#roundup Five games in five days! After several weeks of four or less, we've finally made it back to five whole days of condo-eating, caterpillar-tilting, war-waging mobile goodness. Huzzah! More »

#roundup Between vacations and major gaming events, we've spent far more time playing gaming apps than writing about them over the past few weeks. This week we bounce back with something old, something new, something NFL-related, and something oddly musical. More »

#sonic In the wee hours of PAX, I rushed into the Xbox booth to catch a minute of the Xbox Live Arcade version of Sonic CD. The old Sega CD game is coming back later this year. More »

Sega has officially announced an upcoming re-release of Sonic CD for nearly every device under the sun. Sonic CD will speed its way onto Xbox Live, PSN, PC, iOS (iPhone and iPad), Android and Windows Phone 7 "late" this year. Alas, it looks like a WiiWare release isn't in the cards, presumably because the game and its (Sega) CD-quality soundtrack would exceed Nintendo's storage limit.

Speaking of the soundtrack, Sonic CD will feature music from the Japanese and European version. Overall, the Japanese soundtrack is generally regarded as better than its American counterpart ... however, it doesn't include the classic title track "Sonic Boom," which was created for the American version. We suppose you can't have everything.

As previously revealed, Sonic CD will be playable at PAX later this week.

Microsoft now forces us to ponder a philosophical question: Is a Kinectimal still a Kinectimal if you don't use a Kinect to interact with it? At a GamesCom event, Microsoft announced plans to release a Windows Phone 7 version of Kinectimals.

"Players can care for and bond with their favorite pet cat or bear cub," the fact sheet notes, "using touch screen controls to feed, pet, play and nurture them on-the-go from their Windows Phone while also enjoying Xbox LIVE integration of Achievements and Leaderboards." Yes, this version is with bears as well. And it'll be out this fall.

#roundup Shooting your own mucus at phlegm-hungry monsters? Destroying ice sculptures with multicolored bombs? Attacking a dolphin-headed mad scientist from the inside? It's definitely time for this week's Gaming App of the Day round-up. More »

#gamingappoftheday See those adorable little pink blobs floating on the right side of the screenshot above? They're about to have their eyeballs torn out and eaten. Just one of the many reasons Tentacles is the best Windows Phone 7 game I've played so far. More »

Looking to bolster your games collection on your Windows Phone on the cheap? Today, Microsoft has announced that ad-supported versions of Minesweeper and Sudoku are available to download, free of charge, right now on your Windows Phone 7 device. There's only one stipulation: you've gotta be a US resident.

Both titles feature Achieviements and multiple modes of play -- in Sudoku, you've got Classic or Lightning mode, while Minesweeper boasts Classic and Speed modes. You can download each by following the links below.

[Thanks, Curtis]

#roundup It was inadvertently games that bring to mind other games week here at Kotaku, featuring four mobile games reminiscent of past and present hits and one game about nuts. More »

As far as Deathsmiles developer Cave is concerned, Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 platform can go to hell. Bullet-hell, that is! Makoto Asada, head of Cave's Game Development Department, has announced via dev-blog that the company is currently developing a shooter for Microsoft's burgeoning smartphone OS.

Beyond the fact that development is somewhere between 20 and 30 percent complete, details are scarce. No screenshots or other information have been given, though the announcement refers to the game as an original title, which more than likely means it won't be a port of Cave's recent Deathsmiles release for iOS (above). It's also safe to assume that the game will be bewilderingly difficult.

Cave, known for its bullet hell arcade shooters, has been moving gracefully into iOS games. The studio is currently working on a Windows Phone 7 original shooter. It's currently 20 to 30 percent done. [Cave] More »

As promised, Angry Birds' systematic march onto every conceivable platform continues today, as the swine-filled house-wrecking simulator makes the leap to Windows Phone 7.

The full game is available for $2.99. A free trial version is also available, containing a handful of levels. If, by some bizarre turn of fate, you've yet to play the game, you might want to block out the next few hours on your schedule.

PopCap's Plants vs. Zombies continues to spread its roots throughout the games industry (or, from the other perspective, it continues its slow, mindless march across the industry). Today, PopCap's outrageously popular casual strategy game has launched on the Windows Phone 7 platform for $4.99/€4.99. It's part of Microsoft's "Must Have Games" promotion, preceded by Sonic 4 and followed next week by Angry Birds.

The WinPhone version includes Xbox Live integration, including leaderboards and achievements. It also includes the first mobile versions of the "Vasebreaker" and "I, Zombie" puzzle modes.

[Thanks, Jared]

The official Windows Phone blog has posted a walkthrough of the new Games Hub feature in the upcoming Mango release of Windows Phone 7. As you can imagine, it borrows quite heavily from the popular features of the console Xbox Live, including a new "Recent" games browser, more ways to connect with Xbox Live friends right from the phone and new comparison views between accounts, similar to what's found on Xbox.com.

Additionally, Avatars are now fully 3D -- you can even shake your phone on the Avatar screen to make yours sick, and Avatars will "act out" certain emoticons that show up in messages from friends.

Mango is a free firmware update for all Windows Phone 7 users, and is slated to arrive sometime in this fall.

#squaresandrectangles This fall the Xbox 360 gets a sexy new dashboard update, giving the service a look and feel that should be incredibly familiar to both Windows Phone 7 owners and folks that have gotten a peek at Windows 8. More »

An update for Windows Phone 7 is currently in the works dubbed 'Mango' which brings more features and functionality to Windows Phone 7 devices -- stuff like Office and Facebook Chat, and, uh, Minesweeper? MS Paint?

Look, we're really not that into the whole phone thing, but one thing about this YouTube video of the alleged update has caught our eye: Avatar interaction. Sure, we've seen Avatar accosting before on our phone, but the 'Mango' update looks to implement even more ways for your Avatar to act out -- specifically, the emotions of anger, stop poking me and leave me the hell alone.

Hit the jump to see it all in action for yourself. The Xbox integration stuff starts around the 2:56 mark -- we'd just make sure you mute the video before hitting that play button, though. The music throughout is pretty annoying.

#gamingappoftheday After launching out of the starting gate with an impressive collection of titles the release of quality Xbox Live-enabled games for the Windows Phone 7 slowed to a trickle. Now Microsoft speeds things up a bit with six weeks of "Must-Have" Windows Phone games, and what better way to increase velocity than with the action-packed boat racing of Hydro Thunder Go? More »

#review In the age of smartphones, MP3 players, tablet PCs, and high-quality handheld gaming devices, people need all the electricity they can get their hands on, even if they have to strap it onto their bodies to carry it around. More »

#gamingappoftheday While Pangea Software's dripping liquid puzzle game may have been around in one form or another since 2003, Enigmo is brand-new to Windows Phone 7 users, and it's making a splash. More »

Microsoft revealed at MIX 2011 that the Angry Birds phenomenon will be catapulted into Windows Phone 7 on May 25, and that it will support multitasking. There's no word yet if the various spin-offs are also incoming. [Thanks to Engadget for the video.]

#haloturns10 Lest you forget that Halo is a big deal — and that the series turns 10 this year — Microsoft is ready to remind you. A raft of Halo news hit this morning, including a promise of a Friday upgrade to the Xbox 360's Halo Waypoint and a tease of some big things in August. Plus... a cute 'lil Flood pet! More »

Try as one might, one cannot stop the forward momentum of a simian locked inside an impregnable, high-velocity plastic sphere. Yes, Sega's highly tiltable Super Monkey Ball franchise has crashed through the barriers of yet another mobile platform: Windows Phone 7. It's available through the Marketplace storefront today for $4.99.

So, what's new with this version of the oft-ported game that makes it worth your consideration? Here's a quick list of all the benefits:

• More codified monkey vectors
• Bananas enriched with additional potassium
• Both of those things are made up
• Doesn't cost $40

#waitforthis It helps if you can hear the soundtrack. It helps if you loved Advance Wars. It might even help if you liked listening to the Wu-Tang Clan or watched Kill Bill a decade ago and developed a love for an old martial arts movie like Shogun Assassin. More »

#gamingappoftheday After the initial lineup of Xbox Live-ready games for the Windows Phone 7 platform debuted, new releases have slowed to a crawl, and crawling is just want you'll need to do to score a kill in Deer Hunter 3D. More »

Microsoft is treating its phone platform like a console, planning a release "event" for its Xbox Live games on Windows Phone 7. This spring, Microsoft's mobile platform will get six weeks of "Must Have Games," including Plants vs. Zombies, Hydro Thunder, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, Doodle Jump and more. The press release reiterates that the games, like all Xbox Live games on the platform, include Achievements and leaderboards.

The platform will also be the exclusive home to Fable Coin Golf. Available in March, Coin Golf will let you transfer gold earned in the game to either the PC or console versions of Fable 3. Connecting the console and mobile game will also unlock "three exclusive weapons that can be used in the Traitor's Keep game add-on."

The announcement coincides with the expansion of the Windows Phone platform to another carrier in the US. Sprint's HTC Arrive is the first WP7 device for the carrier, and will be available in March.

Microsoft is treating its phone platform like a console, planning a release "event" for its Xbox Live games on Windows Phone 7. This spring, Microsoft's mobile platform will get six weeks of "Must Have Games," including Plants vs. Zombies, Hydro Thunder, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, Doodle Jump and more. The press release reiterates that the games, like all Xbox Live games on the platform, include Achievements and leaderboards.

The platform will also be the exclusive home to Fable Coin Golf. Available in March, Coin Golf will let you transfer gold earned in the game to either the PC or console versions of Fable 3. Connecting the console and mobile game will also unlock "three exclusive weapons that can be used in the Traitor's Keep game add-on."

The announcement coincides with the expansion of the Windows Phone platform to another carrier in the US. Sprint's HTC Arrive is the first WP7 device for the carrier, and will be available in March.