∞ The argument for an Android Game Center

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Inside Mobile Apps:

Without a platform-wide offering from Google, the individual providers will have to continue to battle it out for domination. Hopefully, eventually one (or possibly two) will win and everyone will use that service for social connectivity. But until then, I think things will be messy.

Android advocates would have you believe that everything is better without Google in the way, and point derisively to iOS’ “walled garden” approach. Situations like this remind me that I’d rather be in a walled garden than an open sewer.


  • Anonymous

    There isn’t really user choice on this, it’s a decision by the game developers themselves. even on ios game developers have a choice. i don’t think apple forces them to use game center. OpenFeint seems to be 2nd most popular in the games i have. I usually don’t bother unless it’s game center though.

  • http://twitter.com/pberry Patrick Berry

    Without Game Center I never know which of my friends has figured out a way to cheat a game for massive high scores.

    • http://mangochut.net/ mangochutney

      This is something that for some reason actually bugs me about Game Center (I really don’t know why apart from the fact that I hate cheating).

      Here’s a solution: Let devs add a theoretical maximum score. Anything beyond that will be dismissed.
      I understand there are some games that are unsuited for this approach, but if someone enters a highscore that is beyond the physical limits of both a human and the devices capabilites to register input, something is wrong.

  • Anonymous

    Both Apple and Google, as well as others, have something to learn from MS here (which is rare). They’ve managed to to create the best experience when it comes to online play.

    Apple should care about games more since they control this market on mobile devices.