Social gaming on the Apple iPad (and iPhone) is one step closer to reality with the introduction of the Apple Game Center. The larger screen size of the iPad is more suited to gaming so the emphasis on this page will be to track the developments of an iPad Gaming Network centered around the Apple Game Center. For games only on your iPhone/iPad check out the pages free iPad Games, free iPhone Games, and best iPhone Games. Stay tuned to this page for the latest news and developments as the Apple Game Center won't be available until later this year.

The Apple Game Center is expected to be a new social gaming network that allows a gamer to see which friends are playing or challenge them to an online match. The Game Center will connect all users of Apple mobile devices (iPhone, iPod touch and iPad) via a centralized location with an integrated friend system, leaderboards, and unlockable achievements. Game players can use this social network platform to invite friends, match them to other players, compare one's scores to others on the leaderboard, and earn awards. Think mobile Xbox according to some analysts.

The importance of social gaming networks is underscored by the importance of the Facebook-Zynga partnership where Farmville and Mafia Wars are critical to the revenues of these two companies.http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-facebook-20100519,0,6483268.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fmostviewed+%28L.A.+Times+-+Most+Viewed+Stories%29 Zynga got center stage at the WWDC 2010 Keynote to announce that Farmville coming to the iPad/iPhone by June 19th.http://www.insidesocialgames.com/2010/06/07/14354/ Push notification may improve the gaming experience over the Facebook version. Thia iPhone app will sync up with players’ FarmVille farms on other platforms to maintain friends lists, game progress, and other data.

Gaming has been an unexpectedly strong application area for Apple on the iPhone/iPod Touch and, for the moment, to a lesser extent the iPad. Distimo reports that 55% of the top applications for the iPhone are games (33% for the iPad).http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2010/04/apples-game-center-more-opportunities-for-social-games-developers.php That Apple would make a stronger move into gaming is a logical move. As iPhone games are adapted to the larger format of the iPad expect to see the percentage of game apps increasing for the iPad.

The Game Center is expected to be available with the release of the iPhone 4.0 OS during the summer of 2010. The iPad will receive the Game Center service in the fall.http://mashable.com/2010/04/08/apple-game-center/

An integral component of this initiative is the GameKit application programming interfaces that developers would need to use to make their titles Game Center compatible. Titles with Game Center integration would be made available through the App Store and only these titles would be compatible with this social network among Apple gamers.

Competition facing the Apple Game Center is from external platforms like the Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3. But it also faces the presence of existing social gaming networks within iPhone game apps. Discoverability is the key to social gaming networks which means being embedded in as many game titles as possible.http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20002083-248.html Ngmoco has the Plus+ social network and more than 75 titles. OpenFeint is even larger with over 1,500 games in the App Store. There are other networks as well so there isn't panic at the moment in reaction to this announcement. However some analysts seeing Apple's move will force all these independent networks to play under Apple rules.http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/193854/what_apples_game_center_means_to_iphone_gamers.html http://wireless.ign.com/articles/108/1082648p1.html

The potential for the Game Platform is more about app discovery than the games itself. According to Brian Akaka with Appular "As much as the Game Center is about games, it's also about app discovery. This will be the first Apple-created way (besides the iTunes store) for people to discover other apps. If the Gaming Center takes off, I would imagine that it would spread to non-games very quickly, sort of a Yelp for apps."http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/193854/what_apples_game_center_means_to_iphone_gamers.html Social gaming is a US$5 billion market that Facebook (with its own social network) has dominated.http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2010/04/apples-game-center-more-opportunities-for-social-games-developers.php

Matt Casamassina, formerly with the game publisher IGN, is now the global editorial games manager for the Apple App Store.http://mouthonfire.com/?p=34 http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20003350-37.html

April 8th Apple Game Center announced during the April 8th Apple OS4 Event.http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/04/08/apples_game_center_aims_to_be_like_xbox_live_for_iphone_os.html

May 7th iPhone SDK 4 beta includes developer preview of the GameKit APIs that allows you to create apps that will work with Game Center.http://developer.apple.com/technologies/iphone/whats-new.html

May 18th OpenFeint Developer's Meeting in Burlingame, CAhttp://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/OpenFeint/news.asp?c=20609 - CEO Jason Citron giving presentation 'Game Center: How it Will Impact Gaming on iDevices'

Apple announced its Game Center during the April 8th Apple OS4 Event.http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/04/08/apples_game_center_aims_to_be_like_xbox_live_for_iphone_os.html Scott Forstall, senior vice president of iPhone Software said during Apple's iPhone OS 4 announcement that "We want to make gaming even better on the iPhone, so we're adding a social gaming network".http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/193854/what_apples_game_center_means_to_iphone_gamers.html This means many if not most of future iPad Games will be a part of an iPad Game Network. The announcement is a significant development because this would be the first mobile gaming network that has a chance for success.http://mashable.com/2010/04/08/apple-game-center/ http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/193854/what_apples_game_center_means_to_iphone_gamers.html

28May 1080p Game Center Apple TV confirmed under developmenthttp://dualshockers.com/2010/05/28/apple-enters-console-war-with-next-apple-tv/

Apple Platform only

Aurora Feint

Ngmoco

Cross-platform

Game House Fusion by Real Networkshttp://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20004119-248.html