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Android versus iPhone live multiplayer gaming made possible in SGN's Skies of Glory
Shocking as this might sound, there are no only a few games in which iPhone and Android users can go at each other in live multiplayer mode. Exploiting this vast void is Social Gaming Network, whose Skies of Glory aerial dogfighting title has been ported to Android (2.0 and above) while retaining the ability to communicate with iOS devices over WiFi, 3G or Bluetooth connections. Frankly, we can't think of a better game to get the cross-platform multiplayer movement going: fAndroids and iPhoneys gunning each other down while talking smack to themselves should prove therapeutic for both parties. On a more serious note, given the tireless growth that both platforms are showing, this kind of thing should hopefully tend toward being the rule rather than the exception. Update: Our readers have sagely reminded us that Raging Thunder 2 and Homerun Battle 3D have done the cross-platform dance already. The more the merrier, we say.
OpenFeint's Jason Citron talks Game Center and Aurora Feint 3
The first thought on everyone's minds as we heard during the event yesterday that Apple would be forming their own social gaming network on the iPhone called Game Center, was probably, "What about OpenFeint?" Since almost the very beginning of the App Store, OpenFeint founder Jason Citron has been working hard to provide developers with a free and easy solution for implementing a social network and social features on their iPhone apps, and with one small announcement, Apple appeared to make all of that work obsolete. Quite a few unofficial social networks have spawned on the iPhone (OpenFeint is one of the first and definitely the biggest, with over 12 million users at last count), and with one fell swoop, it appeared that Apple's new official network would make them all unnecessary. Not so, Citron told us in a quick interview today. Yesterday, he confirmed in a statement that OpenFeint would still do their best to sit on top of any official network that Apple would build, and today he talked a little more with us about the future of OpenFeint, his worries about Game Center, and how the company's first iPad title, Aurora Feint 3, is doing.
iPhone OS 4.0: Apple announces Game Center, a social gaming network for the iPhone
This is huge -- Apple has announced Game Center, an official social gaming network for the iPhone, coming to the device along with OS 4.0 this summer. So far, there have been a few social networks vying for an audience in the form of OpenFeint and Ngmoco's Plus+ system, but Apple's going official, bringing in friends lists, leaderboards, achievements, matchmaking, and so on all to the iPhone themselves. Jobs said on stage in Cupertino that they will combine GameCenter with the App Store's over 50,000 games and entertainment titles. It'll be extremely interesting to see how Apple's network interacts with App Store titles, and it looks like OpenFeint and the like have some serious first-party competition.
2008 Worlds in Motion Summit schedule announced
The 2008 Worlds in Motion Summit schedule has been announced, along with a synopsis of this year's speeches and panels. The conference on virtual worlds and social gaming will be held on September 16th and 17th, during the Austin Game Developers Conference.Worlds in Motion bills the 2008 Summit as a conference geared toward those who wish to better understand the business opportunities offered in the expanding social game networking space, and who plan to leverage their content and brands into interactive online worlds. Early bird registration ends July 31st; details can be found at the Austin GDC homepage. Read on after the jump for highlights of the upcoming 2008 Worlds in Motion Summit.
