Look over some of the names that have graced Windows Phone in the last day. Temple Run, Gravity Guy, Square Enix's Chaos Ring, Unity 4, The Sims... all notable names, power-house tools, or notable franchises. These aren't little experiments, or indie dev houses trying to replicate a bigger title. These are the bigger titles.
Of course, anyone who knows their games will realise that these are not brand new titles. Temple Run's sequel was released in January this year, so to have the first title arrive on Windows Phone now is a bit... delayed. But the point is that these games are now here, and the developers feel confident enough in the OS to release titles publicly. The majority of these are targeted at Windows Phone 8, so it would be fair to say that the changes to the developer environment, including the addition of native coding options, have been a driving force.
And the native code has a bigger impact than just helping out individual applications. It allows game engines and middleware to be coded for Windows Phone, middleware that already exists for iOS and Android, and middleware that is already familiar to developers.
That's why many of the titles coming out now are older titles. The central code does not need a huge amount of work because it runs on the middleware, so the time and effort to port it is less than it would be to start from scratch. Neither does a 'new' project need the distraction of Windows Phone - a tiger team of coders can step into the Windows Phone world and see what's going on with an application that is fully coded and understood on the other platforms.
One interesting point is how the games are being published. Not every leading title is coming out as an XBox Live title. Judge Dredd is a prime example, but it's not the only one. Rovio's release of Angry Birds Star Wars for Windows Phone 7 devices was a 'vanilla' release, even though the Windows Phone 8 version made it into the XBox Live cut.
Dredd - not on XBox Live
I'm in agreement with Paul Acevedo over on WP Central here - the certification process to clear a title for XBox Live is another layer of complexity (and time) on top of the regular clearing process. If it reduces time to market and productivity headaches for the developer, then they are going to look very favourably on the option to skip XBox Live altogether.
This is an interesting double edged sword here. Developers are looking at Windows Phone, and they are bringing some of the main titles to the platform. That's a good thing. But they're still in 'experimental' mode, and not ready to commit extra resources to navigate another layer of the store. Is Windows Phone going to be profitable for them? The point here is that Microsoft have made it easy to get on the platform.
At the same time, Microsoft really needs to decide how they want the XBox Live part of Windows Phone to be perceived. In my mind it should be the blue ribbon of gaming. That means the big names should have the green stripe along the top, those that push the envelope should under the tent, and it should be seen as an achievable goal for an indie developer to gain an invite.
Whatever the distractions, the last six months have not been the best for XBox Live. It's time to re-discover the mojo.
And I think, as a whole, that's what GDC has managed to achieve for Windows Phone. Gaming is a significant part of any mobile platform, and while there have been some impressive and addictive titles over the last two years, the avalanche of apps in the last twenty four hours has been a genuine pleasure.
Of course, it should be an expected pleasure, and titles like those coming out of GDC should be with us week in week out. But it genuinely feels like a corner has been turned, and we're starting to walk out of the desert and into a little bit of green.