Game Center Gets Social With iOS 5 Update

Apple’s Game Center will be receiving several enhancements when iOS 5 is released later this fall. A cumulative point system will be added to current achievements, ala Xbox Live’s Gamerscores, and the service will create a more “socialized” experience for users by allowing them to see who their friends are following or receive game recommendations.

Apple’s senior vice president of iOS Software, Scott Forstall was quick to note that Game Center has far surpassed Microsoft’s Xbox Live service’s customer base. “In just nine months we have 50 million Game Center users,” he said during the event. “To put that into perspective Xbox Live has been around for about eight years and they have around 30 million users.”

Similar to Xbox Live on Windows Phones, the Game Center app will act as a marketplace in itself, allowing users to purchase Game Center enabled games directly from the app.