Game Center
| Game Center
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| Basic data
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| developer | Apple Inc. |
| Publishing year | September 8, 2010 |
| Current version | iOS 13 |
| operating system | iOS ( iPhone , iPad and iPod touch ), Apple Macs from OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 |
| German speaking | Yes |
| developer.apple.com/game-center/ | |
The Game Center is a game network from Apple Inc. for iOS devices and for Apple Macs from OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 .
history
After Apple introduced the App Store in March 2008 , the iPhone and iPod touch quickly became "mobile game consoles" due to the large selection of games. However, in contrast to real game consoles, there was no network for gamers, such as the PlayStation with the PlayStation Network , or the Xbox with Xbox Live .
Some companies like OpenFeint or Plus + offered developers interfaces with which they could integrate the games into their own game networks; Due to the large number of different networks and interfaces, it became confusing and impractical for users to have to log into each network again; in addition, not all friends were registered in all networks.
When iOS 4.0 was presented on April 8, 2010, Apple announced a "social network for games", the Game Center; it would be available "later in the year". However, Game Center was not delivered with iOS 4.0, but only with iOS 4.1 on September 8, 2010. All devices are supported except for the first generation of iPod touch and the iPhone , as well as the iPhone 3G .
Game Center, together with iOS 4.2, has also been available for the iPad since November 22, 2010.
At WWDC 2011 Apple announced new features for the Game Center in iOS 5.0, including user pictures, game and friend suggestions, and support for turn-based games (such as Scrabble ).
Game Center has also been available on Macs since the release of OS X Mountain Lion .
Since the release of iOS 10 on September 13, 2016, the Game Center app can no longer be found on the home screen, and developers have had to implement the Game Center widget in their games with the help of GameKit.
Functions
The user logs in with his Apple ID and gives himself a nickname under which he appears in the Game Center. Each user optionally has a status that they can change and a profile picture that they can change (similar to the avatars on Xbox Live).
Two central elements that are present in each of the game networks are highscore tables and achievements (“achievements”). Each game in the Game Center can have several highscore tables (e.g. for different levels or levels of difficulty); users can see where they are and where their friends are. Achievements can be unlocked in the course of the game by doing something specific (e.g. finding something or doing something); for this he gets between 0 and 100 points.
You can add people as friends, either by their nickname or their email address. As soon as they have confirmed the friendship, you can compare your scores and position in the high scores with them, or you can invite them to multiplayer games.
criticism
At the end of November 2010 Apple changed the General Terms and Conditions (GTC) of the Game Center; From then on, the user's full name was sent by default in friend requests. However, you can change the invitation text before sending it.
In March 2011 Apple changed the terms and conditions again. From now on, the full name of the user was displayed in the friends list in addition to the nickname.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Apple is removing Game Center from iOS 4.0
- ↑ iOS 4.1: Release September 8th, no HDR for iPhone 3 GS
- ↑ iOS 4.2 is released, brings GameCenter to the iPad ( Memento from November 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Apple's Game Center gives invitations with real names
- ↑ New terms for the Game Center