| Developer | Apple |
|---|---|
| Type | Online service |
| Launch date | September 8, 2010 |
| Last Updated | October 12, 2011 |
| Platform | iOS |
| Members | 67 million[1][2] |
| Website | apple.com/game-center |
Game Center is an online multiplayer social gaming network released by Apple.[3][4] It allows users to invite friends to play a game, start a multiplayer game through matchmaking, track their achievements, and compare their high scores on a leader board.[3] Game Center was originally announced on April 8, 2010, and became publicly available with the release of iOS 4 on September 8 of that year. With a major update to the service in October 2011, it is officially available for iOS devices capable of running iOS 4.2 or later. The service now comes standard with the current iOS.
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Gaming became a major part of the iOS platform when Apple launched the App Store on July 10, 2008.[5] Unlike the console systems that were currently on the market, Apple had no unified multiplayer and social system for their platform. This gap was soon filled by third parties, such as, OpenFeint, Plus+, AGON Online and Scoreloop. These third parties had control over the online gaming environment and with multiple third parties involved, it left a non-unified experience.
Game Center was announced during an iOS 4 preview event hosted by Apple on April 8, 2010. A preview was released to registered Apple developers in August.[3] It was released on September 8, 2010 with iOS 4.1 on iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch 2nd generation through 4th generation, and is included with iOS 4.2 on the iPad.[6]
An updated version of Game Center was released with iOS 5 that featured the addition of player photos, friend suggestions, and achievement points.[7]
From within Game Center, players can connect with friends, send friend requests, start playing games and organize online multiplayer games. Some games may feature achievements, where for completing a certain task, the player is rewarded points. Depending on the game, a leader board may be present where a player can compare his or her score with friends or the world.[8]
Some iOS games are connected to Game Center, but not all of them feature multiplayer play.
A nickname is the player's username on Game Center. Nicknames must be unique, but are allowed to be changed by the player in account settings at any time.[9][10] A nickname can be used as a search term for a player when another player is performing a Game Center friend search.
A player must establish an Apple ID to associate with a Game Center nickname. A player has the option to create an Apple ID from within Game Center if he or she does not already have one. Only one nickname may be associated with an Apple ID at any given time.
Points are awarded to players as a part of Game Center's achievement tracking system. Players can earn points by meeting specific in-game challenges.
Each player is assigned a profile in Game Center. A profile consists of the player's nickname, the number of Game Center-compatible games the player owns, the number of friends the player has, the number of achievement points a player has, and an optional photo and player-defined status.
Game Center on IOS is supported on iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad running iOS 4.2 or later. The devices that can run iOS 4.2 are iPod Touch 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation; iPhone 3GS, 4 and 4S; and both models of the iPad.[8]
There is no support for the iPhone 3G and original iPhone. However, Game Center is unofficially available on the iPhone 3G via jail breaking.[11]
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