Game Center is an online

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

 multiplayer social gaming network released by Apple. 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.

History

Gaming became a major part of the iOS platform when Apple launched the App Store on July 10, 2008. 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

OpenFeint

OpenFeint is a social platform and application for the iOS and recently also available for Android. It was developed by Aurora Feint, a company named after the video game of the same name, by the same developers. It is used by multiple iPhone applications...

, Plus+

Plus+

Plus+ is a network created by ngmoco in June 2009. The network is much like that of Xbox Live where users have friends, what games they are playing, and news. This network relates a lot to one already existing known as OpenFeint as seen in the later topic. Jordan, Jon. "Ngmoco unveils its social...

, AGON Online

AGON Online

AGON Online is a social gaming platform for the iPhone. It supports leaderboards, location-aware scoring, and friends lists. It is similar to OpenFeint, Plus+, and Scoreloop....

 and Scoreloop

Scoreloop

Scoreloop is a cross-platform social gaming network for the operating systems Android, Bada, iOS and Windows Phone 7.-History:...

. 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. 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.

Experience

Game Center allows users to sign in with their Apple ID, but may create a unique nickname just for Game Center. From the homepage within the Game Center app you can connect with friends, send friend requests, start playing games and start online multiplayer games. Some games may feature achievements, where for completing a certain task, the player is rewarded points and a medal. Depending on the game, a leader board may be present where you can compare your score with your friends or the world.

Some iOS games are connected to Game Center, but not all of them feature multiplayer play.

Devices

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.

There is no support for the iPhone 3G

IPhone 3G

The iPhone 3G is the second generation of iPhone designed and marketed by Apple Inc.. It was the successor to the original iPhone, and is succeeded by the iPhone 3GS. Introduced on June 9, 2008 at the WWDC 2008 at the Moscone Center, San Francisco...

 and original iPhone

IPhone (original)

The iPhone—retroactively labeled the original iPhone, iPhone 2G, or iPhone EDGE—was the first generation of iPhone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. and was succeeded by the iPhone 3G. It was announced on January 9, 2007 after months of rumors and speculation. It was introduced in the United...

. However, Game Center is unofficially available on the iPhone 3G via a hack.

See also

• Social network game
  Social network game
  A social network game is a type of online game that is played through social networks, and typically features multiplayer and asynchronous gameplay mechanics. Social network games are most often implemented as browser games, but can also be implemented on other platforms such as mobile devices...
  
  , online games played through social networks.
• Xbox Live
  Xbox Live
  Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
  
  , a similar service by Microsoft
  Microsoft
  Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
  
   for its Xbox
  Xbox 360
  The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
  
   platform.
• PlayStation Network, a similar service by Sony
  Sony
  , commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
  
   for its PlayStation
  PlayStation
  The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
  
   platform.
• Steam Community, a similar service by Valve
  Valve Corporation
  Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
  
   for Mac
  Macintosh
  The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
  
   and PC
  Personal computer
  A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
  
  .
• Social discovery platform
  Social discovery platform
  A Social Discovery Platform is an implemented software platform for consumers to search for other users, either by physical location or by other criteria such as age, name, interests, gender, etc. Social discovery platforms are a tool for social networks to build themselves, when each connection...