Microsoft announced this evening that they have added nine new Zune HD apps to the Marketplace. This news comes less than 48 hours after Dave McLauchlan announced that a new wave of Zune HD apps was on the way.

Today’s wave contains of six brand new games, two handy utilities, and one entertainment app. This update is massive when compared to the last two apps, which were released on April 1.

One of the apps, Echoes, was developed by Halfbrick Studios, the people behind the hit title Fruit Ninja. Barbaroga recently announced that they are working on four new Zune HD apps, only one of which–Bees!–is included in today’s release. DecoderRing and the other two unnamed games are still on the way. The same can be said for Splatter, Tuginator, and Young Ninja, which are being developed by 2PlayMobile.

Hit the jump to see what’s included in today’s update.

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One of our readers, Matt, alerted us to the fact that game developer Babaroga is working on four new games for the Zune HD. Two of Babaroga’s games, Space Battle 2 and Lucky Lanes Bowling, are already on the Zune HD App Marketplace.

In an interview with WPCentral, CEO and Founder Andreja Djokovic mentioned that his company is finishing up four new games for the Zune HD, including DecoderRing and Bees!

Babaroga has developed more than 40 games for various platforms, including a few on behalf of video game giant Electronic Arts. Their portfolio includes the Xbox LIVE-enabled game ZOMBIES!!! for Windows Phone. Babaroga is also considering porting their Zune HD apps over to Windows Phone, no doubt at the request of Microsoft.

Dave McLauchlan recently revealed that a new wave of Zune HD apps is coming soon. He was unable to provide specifics, but the apps should be available in the near future.

[WPCentral]

A fresh wave of Zune HD apps will hit the Zune Marketplace soon, says Dave McLauchlan. When asked when Microsoft would “roll out the next app updates,” Zune’s senior business development manager replied “Very soon actually…”

McLauchlan was unable to provide specifics, like whether they will be released before the end of the week. When it comes to Zune HD apps, things are always in flux and they can change very quickly.

The Zune HD app marketplace doesn’t have the biggest catalog, but Microsoft has continued to support it over the years. The most recent wave of apps landed on April 1 and was composed of an email application–a much requested feature–and a BBQ Battle game.

Microsoft has yet to announce which apps will be included in the next wave, so we can only speculate. A few months ago, 2PlayMobile announced that they were working on three Zune HD games: Bug Splatter, Tuginator, and Young Ninja. The company’s Twitter account has been silent since then, but the games are still listed on their website.

The software giant recently added support for Zune HD apps in Canada. Unfortunately, a bug in the software is preventing Canadian customers from downloading the apps. This issue will be addressed in the next Zune software update, which Microsoft hopes to have out as soon as possible.

McLauchlan also recently revealed that Microsoft is considering bringing Zune HD apps over to Windows Phone. More details can be found at our sister site, Anythingbutiphone.

[Dave McLauchlan]

Windows Phone Radio #30 has a great interview with Richard Winn, the man responsible for managing the Zune Music Marketplace. In it, they discuss how the Music Marketplace works and how Microsoft has improved it over the years, particularly in regards to Zune Pass.

Winn mentioned that Microsoft has worked very hard over the last three years to “bring the [Zune Pass] catalog up to a level where [they] have the majority of recorded music in their catalog at this point.”

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Manan Kakkar over at Techie Buzz was able to uncover an interesting Microsoft design patent for a small Zune device, a la the iPod Nano. According to the description, the patent, which was filed on April 27, 2009, depicts “a front perspective view of a media player showing [Microsoft's] new design.”

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Good news! For a limited time, those who haven’t jumped on the Zune HD bandwagon can pick up the great media player for a much cheaper price. The 16 GB device is now listed at $169.99 (formerly $199.99), while the 32 GB model is now $199.99 (down from $269.99), a whopping $70 in savings. The 64 GB version, unfortunately, is still at $349.99. It can, however, be picked up for much less on various websites.

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