While Microsoft’s Windows Phone has a ways to go before it starts to seriously entice developers, the company did show off a promising integration between the OS and Kinect today at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. It could bridge the longstanding gap between the console and mobile worlds.

Joe Belfiore, the corporate vice president and director of the Windows Phone program, showed off footage of a woman commanding an Xbox game from her phone. She created an obstacle course on the fly for her partner, who had to duck and dive to avoid incoming balls through the Kinect.

It’s a prime example of one of Microsoft’s competitive advantages as it comes from behind in the smartphone OS race. While the company is three to four years late to the market after Google and Apple, it does have longstanding relationships with the top gaming studios through its Xbox business. Traditional studios are testing the waters on mobile devices even though revenues are a fraction of what they would be for a hit console game right now. Electronic Arts’ Need for Speed was one of the top 15 sellers on the Windows Phone platform in January, according to mobile business intelligence firm Xyologic.