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Download iOS 4.1 now, get Game Center (on your compatible iProduct)
"Boom!" as one Mr. Steve Jobs might say. Just as promised, iOS 4.1 is available for download through iTunes and, with it, we have Apple's Game Center, the company's first foray into a more connected gaming experience. As seen on the slide above, Game Center offers multiplayer games, matchmaking, leaderboards, and new ways of discovering games. Of course, while iOS 4.1 will run on all sorts of iProducts, Game Center only works on post-3G iPhones and iPod Touches. With Xbox Live coming to Windows Phone 7 in just a couple months, and rumors of PlayStation integration on the Android platform, things are about to get wild on the mobile gaming front. If you're the early adoption type, fire up iTunes and get downloading. If you're the wait-and-see type, maybe the early adopters will share their progress in the comments. We'll go first: Update complete, everything's working fine. [Update: Things are still pretty spartan on the Game Center front. The service is up and running, but with just one game out that supports it – that would be the less-than-stellar iPhone port of Ms. Pac-Man – we're holding out for something better. C'mon Angry Birds! Quick feedback: You can't see your friends' friends, and you can't see their achievements either. We're assuming that changes if you each have the same game but, again, there's not a lot of software available right now. Anyone want to play some Fruit Ninja with OpenFeint?] [Update 2: Touch Arcade is keeping track of the Game Center launch titles, and which ones have been updated, here. To put it more directly, that's the page you're going to want to sit on until Plunderland gets a "NOW LIVE!" note next to it.]
Sound the klaxons: iOS 4.1 now available for download
As announced last week, the new version of the firmware should fix some deeply annoying issues (if you've inadvertently muted or hung up a call with your earlobe, raise your hand). It also adds Game Center, HDR photos, high-def video uploading, TV show rentals and dramatic improvements to the lot of iPhone 3G owners. Chime in below or on our Facebook page with your 4.1 upgrade experience! %Poll-52468%
iOS 4.1 is live, available to download right now
If you can just put down Angry Birds for one minute and plug your iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch 2nd generation, iPod touch 3rd generation, or iPod touch 4th generation into iTunes, you should be in for a pleasant non-surprise: iOS 4.1 is finally out and ready for your consumption. It's not a huge update, but Game Center is an exciting addition (for the few, proud devices that are getting it), and we're sure your face will be happy to stop getting accused for iPhone 4 hang-ups with the long overdue proximity sensor fix (shots of the changelog are after the break). Let us know how 4.1 is treating you in comments below.
iPhone 3G left out of the Game Center fun, 2nd gen iPod touch gets picked last
Thought that every iOS 4.1 device would be compatible with Apple's Game Center mobile and social gaming platform? We're sorry to say that's not the case. Initially it was looking like both the iPhone 3G and second-generation iPod touch would be left out, having to take their copies of Kickety-Kick Ball Bounce Out and go home. But, Apple is now confirming that second-gen touch models will be included after all, however the iPhone 3G is still not invited, nor are first-gen iPhones and iPod touches. That means the final compatibility list includes the iPhone 3GS and 4, along with second, third, and fourth generation iPod touch models. Everybody else: you're out.
Game Center is live... mostly
iPhone developers report that Apple's Game Center has finally gone live. Formerly limited to a sandbox-only development environment, accounts and friends that were created for the sandbox will not apply to the live production system on Apple's servers. Game Center is now prompting for new credentials -- and developers are sharing usernames on Twitter. Older accounts and friends were wiped out yesterday to prepare for the live system. The server is reportedly having some start-up issues, including connectivity and crashing issues, but developers who were limited before are now able to create full accounts and full-on matchups. Currently, Game Center is live in 4.1, which we expect to arrive soon. Developers can submit Game Center applications to iTunes Connect using the 4.1 GM seed. Once the app and iOS 4.1 are available, we'll have a full review. Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Game Center coming in iOS 4.1, Epic Games working on Project Sword
Steve Jobs just showed off some screenshots and functionality for Game Center, which will be officially releasing with iOS 4.1 next week. The official app will provide social networking features for App Store games, including friends lists, achievements, "auto matching" (the rest of the world calls that matchmaking), challenges and a host of other cross-platform features for gamers on Apple's mobile platform. Jobs also invited a few gentlemen from Epic Games onstage to show off "Project Sword," a gorgeous title running in the Unreal Engine inside iOS. It's an action RPG title that's coming soon with full Game Center integration, and the demo featured practically instant multiplayer fighting from a third-person perspective, as well as first-person world exploration. Seriously, this thing looked great, but you don't have to take my word for it -- Epic has already uploaded the very same environment shown in the demo as a free app, so go download and check it out now. It does require an iPhone 3GS or better, but man that's a good looking game. Game Center is finally coming out with iOS 4.1, which Jobs said would be available next week. Looking forward to it!
New iPod Touch with iOS 4, Retina Display, and Game Center revealed
During today's Apple event, Steve Jobs claimed that the iPod Touch was outselling the PSP and DS combined, and revealed a new version of the popular device modeled after the iPhone 4. The new iPod Touch has all the gaming capabilities of the phone, without the AT&T contract: iOS 4.1 with Game Center is a big deal, and Apple's crammed an A4 chip into the new iPod Touch along wit a 3-axis gyroscope, plus upgraded the screen with Retina Display. The redesign even features a front-facing camera. The new iPod Touch will be available next week in an 8GB model for $229, a 32 GB model for $299 and a 64GB model for $399. You can pre-order it now.
Apple claims 50 percent of portable gaming market, iPod touch 'outsells Nintendo and Sony combined'
Nintendo famously called Apple the enemy of the future in the video gaming space, and by golly, it looks like the Japanese giant was right; Steve Jobs just told an audience that the iPod touch alone outsells Nintendo's DS and Sony's PlayStation Portable combined, worldwide. How many games iPod touch users actually play and for how long wasn't discussed, but Jobs said 1.5 billion "games and entertainment" apps have been downloaded -- again, on the iPod touch alone, never mind all those iPhones. Update: As many fine readers have suggested in comments, this particular statistic seems a little hard to swallow, given that the Nintendo DS alone sold roughly 132 million units -- a good bit less than the 120 million iOS devices Apple claims, and only some of which are iPod touch -- as of the Japanese company's July earnings report. We've contacted Apple for clarification and hope to be able to explain the discrepancy soon. Check out our liveblog of the keynote event right here!
Game Center coming to iPhone next week in iOS 4.1
Apple's Keynote just brought news that Game Center is (finally!) coming to iPhones in iOS 4.1. It bears the new, greener look we saw back in July and, as Steve Jobs noted, has a heavy focus on multiplayer. Beyond playing games with friends, there are matchmaking and leaderboards across multiple games; it's more or less Steam for your phone. Jobs says iOS 4.1 - and thusly, Game Center -- will be arriving "next week," though it won't be arriving on iPad until iOS 4.2 in November. We'll be getting our Canabalt scores as high as possible before next week.
'Project Sword' coming to iOS from Epic [update: try the demo!]
Epic Games president Mike Capps took the stage at Apple's live event today to announce "Project Sword" (codename), an Unreal Engine 3 powered game for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad due later this year. Based in a medieval setting, it's a sword fighting game focused on 1-on-1 battles and it looks amazing. To quote Steve Jobs following the announcement: "It's on a phone ... !" Project Sword is being developed by Chair Entertainment, which was responsible for the XBLA hit Shadow Complex. It will support multiplayer and achievements via Apple's Game Center infrastructure. We'll have more details on the game as we get 'em. Update: Cliff Bleszinski has tweeted that a playable demo of the castle environment featured in the Project Sword demonstration is now available on iTunes for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch. Grab it here.%Gallery-101015%
Rumor: Social networking coming to iTunes
There's been lots of rumors in the past about iTunes going to some sort of a cloud-based service, with the ability to store or access music remotely over the Internet, but the new word around town is that what's actually revealed at the event next week won't be quite so ambitious. Peter Kafka over at All Things Digital now says that instead of streaming, the new iTunes might be more social, with iTunes accounts serving as nodes on which users can share recommendations for apps or songs, or even share playlists or song information. You wouldn't actually be able to share music, but the idea would be to lay the groundwork on a more connected iTunes system, and set up the music software as not only a location to store your personal music, but to connect with others through the media. Sounds interesting, and of course a rumor like that dovetails right into what Apple is working on with Game Center, where iTunes accounts will serve as the portal for connections in and around App Store games. This current round of speculation also includes improvements for the web-based version of iTunes pages, and presumably improved ways to browse and post app reviews and recommendations. As always, we'll have to see. Nothing's confirmed until Steve walks out on stage and shows it to us, so even if Apple is working on a system like this, there's no confirmation we'll see it at the event next week until we, you know, do.
Game Center not supported on iPhone 3G and second gen iPod touch
There's bad news for those of you with old iPhones. Apple has confirmed that the latest beta of Game Center is a no-go for anything older than an iPhone 4. That means that iPhone 3Gs and second generation iPod touches are out for Apple's social gaming app. It's probably for the best; you've likely already heard about all of the issues that 3G iPhones are having with iOS 4.0, and freeing itself from the requirements of the older hardware means that Apple should be able to make Game Center as good as it can be. But if you have an iPhone 3G and were looking forward to trying the new app from Apple, you'll have to change plans. Either go grab yourself an iPhone 4 (which is what I'm still planning to do -- my original iPhone is looking super old at this point), or stick with the social gaming networks that you've already got access to.
Latest iOS beta nixes Game Center support for iPhone 3G, 2nd-gen iPod Touch
Apple's forthcoming Game Center service is alive and well in the latest iOS beta, 4.1 beta 3, and as those beta releases get more frequent, we get closer to the release of this "social gaming network" for iPhones and iPod Touches. Unfortunately, with beta 3, we now have to further specify precisely which iPhones and iPod Touches will be supported by Game Center. Originally, Game Center was expected to run on the same iPhone / iPod Touch hardware that iOS 4 would run on, which only excluded the original iPhone and original iPod Touch. Now, perhaps in response to user complaints about the how poorly the iPhone 3G and 2nd-gen iPod Touch run on the new OS, those two (far more popular!) devices have also been stripped of Game Center compatibility in the latest beta. Since this is getting confusing, we'll recap. You can use Game Center when it launches later this year only on one of these products: iPhone 3Gs, iPhone 4, 3rd-gen iPod Touch ... and that's it.
iOS 4.1 beta 3 now available to developers
Hey, that was a quick week for beta 2, wasn't it? Beta 3 is now available to developers, and according to MacNN it yanks support for Game Center from iPhone 3G's and second-gen iPod touches. Go grab that sucker and let us know what else you find, aside from the proximity sensor fix and additional parental controls for FaceTime and Game Center.
iOS 4.1 beta 3 breaks loose (update: Game Center killed on iPhone 3G and second gen iPod touches)
Member of the illustrious iPhone Developer Program? Well, aren't you special? So special, in fact, that you're once again being granted access to a highly-coveted iOS build that the unwashed commoners can't get: yet another beta of iOS 4.1. This time around, it's beta 3, suggesting that Apple might be getting close to having this thing ready for the mass market; after all, it's been just a week since beta 2, and Apple tends to accelerate the pace when a release is drawing near. Now, what about that iPad version? Update: Looks like there's some bad news for legacy users in this update... namely the fact that Game Center compatibility for second gen iPod touches and the iPhone 3G has been dropped. Thanks for nothing, Apple! [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Apple's Game Center goes green
Apple's multiplayer gaming platform for iEverything -- Game Center -- may not have arrived just yet, but it appears that it's getting a bit of a face-lift on the back-end. As seen in the image above (care of Mobile Crunch), the color palette of GC has been lightened and varied quite a bit, going from a black and blue tone to a decidedly more billiard table-flavored one. Given that the new look also bears a striking resemblance to our friend (and yours) Kermit the Frog, we're not exactly on the fence in terms of preference of the two -- what can we say, it's a lot more welcoming! Now all we need is an actual release of the client so we can see what else (other than the frontmost loading screen) it has to offer.
Game Center gets a new look
Mobile Crunch has posted a few pictures of Apple's Game Center app (still only available to developers and therefore still under NDA), and it appears that Apple is still working on the look and feel of the app. Previously, they were going with the dark blue look you can see above on the left (though I'm not convinced that wasn't just a placeholder), but the latest update has a much more colorful and textured look to it, almost like a felt game table or board game set. I suppose it's also interesting that you actually need to sign into iTunes from the app -- I don't know if Apple would be able to simply sync everything up all the time, but I'm still entering my password in the App Store app every time I buy something new, so I suppose that would follow. Game Center is still due out sometime this fall, and Apple is still testing and developing it behind the developer NDA wall right now.
WWDC 2010: Firemint's app success
We've met up with the folks from Firemint before -- back at GDC, they were kind enough to show us Real Racing on the iPhone and share their plans for the iPad. Just a few months later we've found them at WWDC with the extremely popular Flight Control HD and an Apple Design award for Real Racing HD. When we talked with Firemint's community manager Alexandra Peters this week, she was quiet on their future plans. What they don't want to do, she told us, is put pressure on themselves. In addition to all of their success on the App Store, both of Firemint's apps are also playing on iPads in Apple Stores, and all of that exposure for their first iOS titles means whatever they do next has some big shoes to fill. Firemint is flattered by the Design Award, Peters told us, but she admits it "may have added even more pressure."
OpenFeint hits 25 million users, announces 2.5 beta release
OpenFeint has announced that they've reached 25 million users on their social networking service for apps on the App Store. That's an astounding number, and not only does it represent an amazing achievement by the folks at Aurora Feint, but it hints at just how big Apple's official Game Center service will be (whenever they get around to, you know, implementing it). Just for comparison, location networking service Foursquare is still racing to try and hit 3 million users, so in just over a year's time, OpenFeint has picked up many times that number. Those users represent almost a third of the iDevice market and over 85 million devices across 1900 different developers. The service has also announced that they're bringing out the beta of version 2.5 for developers to implement in their iPhone apps and games. The new version includes a revamped API, which will allow for both turn-based and "action replay" multiplayer (a functionality that Game Center won't yet offer, as far as we know); it's also Game Center compatible, so developers who implement OpenFeint in their games will be able to easily transition to Apple's official service when it comes out (that's what we heard from Jason Citron a little while back, too). OpenFeint 2.5 is in beta right now and will arrive on iPhones later this summer.
Capcom joins OpenFeint social gaming network on the iPhone
While Microsoft has Xbox Live as an official network, and of course Sony has PlayStation Network, the iPhone doesn't yet have an official social gaming network, at least not until Apple's Game Center is unveiled later on this year. Until then, a company called OpenFeint has been connecting gamers on iPhones with leaderboards and achievements (which is why you'll often see their logo appear in your iPhone games). And while most of the developers signed on to OpenFeint so far have been pretty small, it's starting to reel in the big fish -- Capcom has signed on to hook its games up to the OpenFeint service. The service will first appear in Capcom's Dark Void Zero and Hatchlings iPhone games, and both OpenFeint and Capcom say they are excited about the possibilities of working together. Of course, the release of Game Center may change the relationship, depending on what features Apple offers later this year. But OpenFeint says they're planning to offer services even on top of Game Center's planned featureset (Capcom has confirmed they want to use OpenFeint X, a platform for serving up virtual goods on the iPhone even beyond what Game Center will offer). So it sounds like even after Apple's official network is released later this year, Capcom will still have a use for its new partner.
