Silverlight or XNA framework: Windows Phone

When you begin developing Windows Phone applications, you need to choose a framework one from Silverlight or XNA framework. Let’s list down a comparison based on different scenarios which can help one to differentiate on what to choose.

Silverlight	XNA
XAML based event driven application framework	High performance game framework
Create a rapid , rich internet application – UI has more importance	Multi screen 2D and 3D games
You need to use Windows Phone controls	You want to manage art assets such as models, meshes, sprites, textures, effects, terrains, or animations in the XNA Content Pipeline.
Embed video inside your application
Use HTML web browser control

.NET Framework Class Library for Silverlight contains a comprehensive list of classes, interfaces, and value types that are included in Silverlight. It also contains a list of Silverlight features that are supported in Windows Phone. XNA Framework Class Library contains a list of classes, interfaces, and value types that are included in XNA Game Studio.