We reported last week that with Windows Phone “Tango” in China, Microsoft will be removing Xbox LIVE from the Games hub, due to the fact that the service is not available in that region. Today, Chinese newspaper Shanghai Daily reported that Nokia and Tencent Inc, one of the largest internet companies in China, have reached an agreement to bring Tencent’s QQ Game Hall to Nokia Windows Phones in China. Below is an excerpt from the report:
Tencent, China’s No. 1 dot-com firm by user base and market value, will provide the QQ Game Hall mobile end for Nokia’s WP7 phones in China, similar to the Game Center service on the iPhone and iPad, according to an industry source, who declined to be identified.
"It will allow users to log in through their QQ accounts and find their QQ friends immediately," the source said.
Through the QQ Game Hall, users will be access a variety of games and take part in interactive activities with friends, just like Apple’s Game Center service on the iPhone and iPad.
The report only mentioned Nokia Windows Phones, suggesting that the QQ Game Hall service might not be built-in to Windows Phone “Tango”, but rather exist as an exclusive app (plus games) for Nokia Windows Phone users in China.
We’ve previously reported that built-in social networking services such as Facebook and Twitter will also be replaced by local Chinese social networks, including Renren, Sina Weibo, Tencent Weibo, and Kaixin. It is not known whether China’s largest instant messaging service, Tencent QQ, will be integrated within Windows Phone “Tango” for the Chinese market or not.