14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has added Game Center indicators to applications that are compatible with the company’s gaming network, allowing customers to know whether or not the app is supported, on the spot.
Last week, Apple released an update to iTunes 10 (version 10.0.1), introducing the Ping sidebar, and a number of bug fixes.
Although the Game Center indicator is new to iTunes, it’s not new to the iTunes application per se, but rather a new addition to the iTunes App Store interface.
It allows users to determine whether or not a game is compatible with Apple’s Game Center, thus saving folks a lot of research time.
As they access an app on the iTunes App Store, customers need to take a quick look at the upper-right corner of the page to see whether or not the Game Center badge is there (as shown in the above screenshot).
While this is good news for those who like Game Center, it’s also another blow to those who hate it.
Game Center is Apple’s new social network for games, which allows friends to Invite each other to engage in multiplayer games. There are leaderboards to be had, and achievements to be unlocked etc.
Yet numerous iPhone and iPod touch users are reporting that Game Center is completely useless to them.
What’s more is that Apple made such a big fuss about it that the application is a default on iOS 4.1 handsets. Since it’s factory-installed, users don’t have permission to delete it.
While it’s easy enough to move the app’s icon out of sight (e.g.: to a far away page of unused apps on a person’s iPhone / iPod touch), it certainly not very easy to accept that it may be the cause of widely reported battery drain issues.
While this is not confirmed, some believe that Game Center conflicts with some of the regular usage parameters of iPhones and iPod touches. However, a simple software update should fix these presumed issues.