Apple has confirmed that its Game Center service will come as part of the new iOS 4.1 update, coming next week for iPhone and iPod Touch.
The Game Center seems like Apple's shot at bringing Xbox Live-like services to its increasingly gaming-focused iDevices. It's billed as a "social gaming network", and will bring with it the ability to add and invite friends, leaderboards, achievements and will power matchmaking for online multiplayer games.
As Apple demonstrated, sending invites to a friend makes their device display a Push Notification on screen, rather like receiving a text message.
The introduction of Game Center will work with new, more powerful iPhone/iPod Touch games, such as the graphically impressive Unreal Engine-powered action RPG 'Project Sword', which Apple compared to Fable 2 (see screenshots).
iOS 4.1 will also bring with it much-requested bug fixes for iPhone 4, including the proximity sensor (which currently refuses to keep the screen shut off while the phone's pressed to your face), Bluetooth, and performance enhancements for the iPhone 3G.
It also adds High Dynamic Range photo-taking options, HD video uploads via WiFi and TV show rentals.
iOS 4.1 will be released as a free update next week.
IS it now time to add Apple to your bar at the top , with epic producing something they say comparable to fable , come on . What games should you buy on the ipad , and before people say "the ipads not a gaming machine" i would like to say "button it"
is this real... who came up with this idea, its all good gaming on the iphone but they could atleast hook us up with a game console or gaming pad this is just lame
I downloaded that epic demo last night and it is impressive. The controls are still rubbish, but the engine looks amazing. Mind you, after 10 minutes of wandering around, my iphone 3gs was red hot.
That Project Sword looks amazing! Unreal Engine 3 on iPhone, it looks absolutely... unreal.
There's a tech demo up now, search the App Store for 'Epic Cathedral' and prepare to be amazed. I have never seen graphics anywhere near this quality on iPhone.
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