- OpenFeint
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OpenFeint 
Initial release February 17, 2009 Stable release 2.7.5 (1.7 Android) / Nov 5, 2010 (Jan 27, 2011 Android) Operating system iOS, Android Type Social networking Website http://www.openfeint.com OpenFeint is a social platform and application for the iOS and recently also available for Android. It was developed by Aurora Feint, a company named after the video game of the same name, by the same developers.[1] It is used by multiple iPhone applications.[2] Similar iPhone social platforms include Plus+, Crystal, Gameloft Live, Scorel∞p, Geocade,[3] and agon•.
Contents
About
OpenFeint is a 'social platform' which allows developers to easily add social networking aspects into their game with minimal additional programming. For example, it lets you add friends, see what your friends are playing, view leaderboards, forums and live chat, and more. It also serves as a platform to advertise other 'OpenFeint enabled' games. For most iPhone games OpenFeint is optional and works as a 'layer' on top of the actual game. OpenFeint enabled games have the option of including a badge on the corner of their game's icon consisting of the OpenFeint logo.
While OpenFeint (the SDK) is the social platform, the company has created separate applications that promote/advertise developers' games.- Game Channel (iOS): Game Channel is an application which gives users access to OpenFeint's Free Game of the Day, Fire Sale, and Gold Game
- Free Game of the Day: Every day a new game is made free for download
- Fire Sale: Premium Games costing more than $2.99 are voted on by the community to have their price reduced
- Gold Game: An area to recognize the most successful games on the OpenFeint platform
- Feint Spotlight (Android): Feint Spotlight is an application which gives users access to OpenFeint's current game selection on the Android platform
History
The first iteration of OpenFeint was launched on February 17, 2009.[1] After the release of OpenFeint 2.0 in June 2009, the platform had more than one million active iPhone users within one month, on July 15, 2009.[4] This version also marked the first time that the platform was free for developers to integrate into their own applications.[4]
Version 2.1 of the OpenFeint iPhone application was released on August 14, 2009. It featured what it called "Social challenges", which allowed users to create tasks for themselves and their friends to attempt within games installed on their iPhone devices. The application notified users when new challenges were available through the iPhone's Push Notification feature. In addition, the update allowed users to add users as their "Friends", and it introduced a new user interface that included customization options and offline support for high scores and achievements. Commenting on the update, Jason and Danielle of Aurora Feint said, "Our mission is simple: we always want to be at the forefront of new capabilities that can benefit our developer and user community. With OpenFeint 2.1 we are proud to lead the way into social challenge based gameplay on the iPhone."[5]
Version 2.4 of the OpenFeint iPhone application was released on January 8, 2010, which revamped the layout for showcasing applications that use the platform.[6] With the advent of OpenFeint 2.4, a standalone OpenFeint app was released.[6] As of January 2010, there are over 900 applications in the App Store that use OpenFeint, and there are over ten million users registered on the network.[7] Since Apple Inc. announced the iPad on January 27, 2010, OpenFeint has been working to migrate its network to the new device.[7] On September 15, 2010, OpenFeint announced that it would be supporting devices with the Android operating system. In March 2011, one of the moderators of OpenFeint launched a PHP website of OpenFeint's forums. This website allows OpenFeint users to see the forums and their profile pages. In April of 2011, Japanese company GREE, Inc. bought OpenFeint for $104 million USD.
Notable applications
The following is a list of some of the many applications that use/are integrated with OpenFeint:
- Word Ball
- Fruit Ninja
- Tiny Wings
- Jetpack Joyride
- The Moron Test
- Robot Unicorn Attack
- Championship Manager series
- TriviaBurst
- Bomberman Touch 2: Volcano Party
- Fieldrunners[6]
- geoDefense
- geoDefense Swarm[6]
- Minigore[6]
- Pocket God[6]
- Turbo Cricket[6]
- Rollercoaster Rush[6]
- BanditNation
- Stick Wars
- The Flying Hamster
References
- ^ a b Sielger, MG (2009-04-17). "Indie iPhone App Developers Rallying Around OpenFeint". TechCrunch. http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/17/indie-iphone-app-developers-rallying-around-openfeint/. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
- ^ "OpenFeint Builds Huge Momentum With Over 200 Active OpenFeint Enabled Games in AppStore Including Top Titles and Featured Games; Over 500 Additional Games in Development". Marketwire. 2009-09-29. http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/OpenFeint-Builds-Huge-Momentum-With-Over-200-Active-OpenFeint-Enabled-Games-AppStore-1052255.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
- ^ Erickson, Tracy (2009-07-28). "Battle of the iPhone XBLA rivals: Open Feint versus Plus+". Pocket Gamer. http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/OpenFeint/feature.asp?c=14627. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ^ a b "OpenFeint Crosses 1M Active iPhone Users Within One Month of Launch of OpenFeint 2.0 Social Discovery". Marketwire. 2009-07-15. http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/OpenFeint-Crosses-1M-Active-iPhone-Users-Within-One-Month-Launch-OpenFeint-20-Social-1017121.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
- ^ "Hit iPhone Games Launch Social Challenges Through Push Notifications in OpenFeint". Marketwire. 2009-08-14. http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Hit-iPhone-Games-Launch-Social-Challenges-Through-Push-Notifications-in-OpenFeint-1030615.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Aurora Feint Introduces OpenFeint 2.4 Bringing Console Style Social Features to 3000 iPhone Game Developers". Marketwire. 2010-01-08. http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Aurora-Feint-Introduces-OpenFeint-24-Bringing-Console-Style-Social-Features-3000-iPhone-1099355.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ^ a b Holt, Chris (2010-01-27). "OpenFeint: iPad is a transformative gaming platform". Macworld. http://www.macworld.com/article/145971/2010/01/openfeint_ipad.html. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
See also
- Social discovery platform
External links
Categories:- IOS software
- 2009 software
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
