Today 3D gaming comes to the Zune HD. As anticipated for quite some time, and as a postlude to last Friday’s 4.3 firmware update, six new apps are coming to the Zune Marketplace. This brings the total app count to fifteen apps. To be able to take advantage of these new apps you need a Zune HD with the optional 4.3 update installed. The applications are Audiosurf Tilt, Checkers, Lucky Lanes Bowling, Piano, Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition, and Vans Sk8: Pool Service. The Twitter and Facebook apps are still cooking and will not be released at this time.

Not only are there games, but there is another fun little app as well, Piano. What is important to note is that all these games are free downloads from the app marketplace. These games are free because they are supported by advertisements. So be prepared to see 30-second ads before getting into the game. You should not have to switch regions to to get these games to appear. Checkers is two-player multiplayer capable on the Zune HD. Texas Hold ‘em is multiplayer capable with up to six Zune HD’s wirelessly. Bowling is also a wirelessly multiplayer game, supporting up to four players.

Because of the Zune Team’s desire to keep the keep Zune HD app development an invite-only affair, there is still no way for developers to get their apps into the Marketplace, via an SDK or app approval process. Though side-loading through XNA Games studio is still an alternative for those interested. While fun and entertaining, these games also do not represent Microsoft’s foray into the portable gaming space. The Zune HD is a media player with gaming capabilities. And while PGR is a different iteration of an available Xbox title, I wouldn’t expect more Xbox game ports to come right away. As it relates to Xbox, this update is purely about gaming on Zune HD and isn’t tied to any deeper focus on Xbox360 integration.

So, sit back, relax and enjoy some 3D Tegra gaming on your Zune HD.

November 12 Update:

Here are a few more things I discovered after some more analysis of the new Zune HD apps. In total, all fifteen apps take up 302.2MB of space. Bowling has a local multiplayer component, supporting a total of four players using the same Zune HD. The Piano app, along with the Calculator and MSN Weather app are now ad-free. This is great news and should probably put a smile on some faces. Finally, I added videos and pictures of Checkers and Piano to the end of this post.

 

Project Gotham Racing:

    

Lucky Lanes Bowling:

 

 

Vans Sk8: Pool Service:

The game features songs by The Methodones, Penukle, Slowride, and The Dwarves

 

 

Audiosurf Tilt:

 

 

Checkers:

 

Piano: