Everyone out there who ones a Microsoft Zune player is looking for and hoping for Microsoft to open up their marketplace to sell games for the player. The fact of the matter is that the iPod has been offering games for a very long time. In many respects the Zune is an amazing machine, and Microsoft has plainly stated that they don’t want it just to be a Microsoft edition of the iPod.

But that’s not what a Zune game marketplace and functionality would be . Because the things is, that unlike Apple, Microsoft has a large demographic it has reached through the gaming industry. The X-box made great inroads into the gaming market for them but the X-box 360 has been a monster in terms of popularity and Microsoft would really be able to widen their dominance in the gaming field by making games that are available on the Zune through their marketplace.

So, are there ways to get games on the Zune? Yes. But the fact of the matter is that the way we use technology and downloads is changing. Anything you download from a non-official site these days seems so riddled with spyware and adware that it’s stopped being worth the hassle. Many people would rather just purchase from a legitimate marketplace site and avoid all the headaches that go along with trying to do things the other way.

Of course playing games on the handheld device isn’t the primary reason for its existence. As an MP3 player and video player the Zune is an excellent machine, with styling and functionality that many people really, really enjoy. The games are more like a cherry on top. No hard core gamer expects to get great gaming functionality out of an MP3 player. It’s more just a nice finishing touch. Something else to alleviate the boredom that these handheld devices are meant to ward off. The Zune is a pretty complete device as it is but an official Microsoft Gaming Marketplace for it would really round it out nicely.

Without worrying about being in competition with the iPod the Zune still has a very good reason to takes its place with some downloadable games. Microsoft’s gaming reputation is a good one, and should be capitalized on and enjoyed by its consumers.