Gaming With Friends Will Be Easier in iOS 16 and macOS Ventura With Game Center SharePlay Integration

[MacRumors]

With iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura, it is going to be much easier to play iOS and Mac games with friends thanks to a new SharePlay integration feature that is coming to Game Center.

Introduced with iOS 15 and macOS Monterey, SharePlay is designed to let you make FaceTime calls with friends while doing other activities such as watching TV and using apps. With Game Center integration, all games that use Game Center's multiplayer support feature will automatically work with FaceTime.

iOS and Mac users will be able to play multiplayer Game Center-compatible games while on a FaceTime call for a more interactive gaming experience. Unfortunately, the SharePlay Game Center feature is not going to be available right when the new software updates launch, and it is set to come in iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura updates later this year.

Apple is also adding Contacts integration to Game Center, allowing the Contacts app to show Game Center profiles for keeping a closer eye on what your friends are playing, but this too is coming at a later date.

To go along with the SharePlay and Contacts updates for Game Center, Apple has overhauled the design of the Game Center dashboard, which is accessible through the App Store. The revamped dashboard aggregates achievements and play activity to allow for a simplified interface.

Article Link: Gaming With Friends Will Be Easier in iOS 16 and macOS Ventura With Game Center SharePlay Integration

 

[nvmls]

Everyone: Embrace AAA games studios Apple

Apple: "You'll now be able to play minesweeper with friends"

 

[The_Gream]

Apple: "Although we've got no decent games, you'll be able to play with friends, only god knows what"

He knows there are games on Steam. Most are not AAA and any triple AAAs will be poorly optimized and overly bloated.

 

[erikkfi]

When are they going to make it so I can hear game sounds without having my ringer switch on?

 

[Le0M]

Have no clue why Apple keep pushing with this silly game center.
Unless they really step up the game, it won't be engaging enough.

 

[dumastudetto]

Have no clue why Apple keep pushing with this silly game center.
Unless they really step up the game, it won't be engaging enough.

Apple is in the experiences business.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Game Center is the very first thing I always turn off

No clue why they think we all want it by default

 

[Naraxus]

Rofl. Gaming with friends. That's rich. Nobody who's even remotely serious about gaming uses anything from Apple

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

A few things Apple should do/should have done: Make Game Center Android API so devs can make gaming cross-platform easier within Apple's Game Center. Make iMessage and FaceTime cross platform: actual Android and Windows apps.

 

[ackmondual]

Even when I was in the thick of iOS gaming, I kept forgetting that Game Center existed. When I did pay attention to it, I was wondering if people actually sent challenges to each other. I only have a few GC friends b/c other fellow iOS users I know in person requested it, but beyond that, I don't think even they use this feature

Also ironic how OpenFeint got replaced with this, but GC doesn't seem to be doing much (although it's nice that GC doesn't force a green leaf icon in one of the corners of the app's icon)

 

[jav6454]

Game Center has kind of been hidden for a while, I actually thought it was removed. Somehow it still survives.

 

[4jasontv]

When are they going to make it so I can hear game sounds without having my ringer switch on?

Is this an issue? I have no problem hearing game music, but my phone is always on vibrate.

 

[4jasontv]

Rofl. Gaming with friends. That's rich. Nobody who's even remotely serious about gaming uses anything from Apple

lol. You need to rephrase that statement to make it true.

 

[balconycollapse]

GameCenter might be more compelling once coupled with AR/VR gaming. AR/VR games could be a lot more social. Especially if they are pushing Memoji avatars.

 

[Naraxus]

lol. You need to rephrase that statement to make it true.

I don't have to. Apple (with it's piss-poor thermals, underclocking and non-upgradeable desktops & laptops) does all the work for me or haven't you been paying any attention to the gaming industry for the last 35 years?

And please spare the nonsense I have a feeling you'll spew about Apple Silicon. That's not going to do a damn thing.

 

[4jasontv]

I don't have to. Apple (with it's piss-poor thermals, underclocking and non-upgradeable desktops & laptops) does all the work for me or haven't you been paying any attention to the gaming industry for the last 35 years?

And please spare the nonsense I have a feeling you'll spew about Apple Silicon. That's not going to do a damn thing.

According to you if you have an iPhone, iPad, or Mac you can’t also have an Xbox, PS, Nintendo, or PC.

Also according to you only some games can be taken serious. Some people take FarmVille, candy crush, and amoung us seriously. I guess, to you, they aren’t gaming.

 

[Shirasaki]

Where is the game to enjoy this new “feature”? Can I play halo natively on Mac? Can I play age of empires II natively on Mac? Can I play dirt rally natively on Mac? They keep expanding those features that no one use.
GC for me is only used to create in-game account, which some games are moving away from.

 

[Naraxus]

According to you if you have an iPhone, iPad, or Mac you can’t also have an Xbox, PS, Nintendo, or PC.

Also according to you only some games can be taken serious. Some people take FarmVille, candy crush, and amoung us seriously. I guess, to you, they aren’t gaming.

Where the hell did I EVER say anything about an xbox or any of the other red herrings you mentioned?

Candy Crush and that other crap is not gaming. Please try again

 

[4jasontv]

Where the hell did I EVER say anything about an xbox or any of the other red herrings you mentioned?

Candy Crush and that other crap is not gaming. Please try again

Reread what you said. You said if you have an apple product you can’t game. You never said game on an iPhone.

And you are not the AVGN, you don’t get to define what gaming is.

 

[Naraxus]

Reread what you said. You said if you have an apple product you can’t game. You never said game on an iPhone.

And you are not the AVGN, you don’t get to define what gaming is.

So why the hell did you try to derail the topic at hand with irrelevent console gaming?

Nice try but that mobile ******** is not gaming no matter how much you wish it was

 

[Funny Apple Man]

Wow thanks Apple, can't wait to test this out when playing my favorite off-brand Fortnite clone with my friends.

 

[4jasontv]

So why the hell did you try to derail the topic at hand with irrelevent console gaming?

Nice try but that mobile ******** is not gaming no matter how much you wish it was

I didn't derail anything. You said:

Rofl. Gaming with friends. That's rich. Nobody who's even remotely serious about gaming uses anything from Apple

You didn't say game on Apple products. You said if they are serious about gaming they don't use anything from apple. That means if you game on Xbox you don't have an iPhone. Words matter. Be specific.

Also, why on Earth would mobile games not count as gaming? If I play God of War on my iPad, is that not gaming? If I play Jetpack Joyride on my 5950X with 128 GB ram and an RTX 3080, does it become gaming? If I play Overwatch but don't open loot boxes am I not taking the game seriously or am I the only one taking it seriously?

Have you ever seen people playing Pokemon Go? They seem to take it seriously.

You might as well be saying Young Adult novels aren't reading.

For crying out loud, the circle that encompasses gaming is much bigger than you. So I will say again:

lol. You need to rephrase your statement to make it true.

 

[Naraxus]

I didn't derail anything. You said:

You didn't say game on Apple products. You said if they are serious about gaming they don't use anything from apple. That means if you game on Xbox you don't have an iPhone. Words matter. Be specific.

Ffs. You knew precisely what I meant and tried to derail the conversation with irrelevancy.

Adios

 

[4jasontv]

Ffs. You knew precisely what I meant and tried to derail the conversation with irrelevancy.

Adios

No. You made a statement that was incorrect. I simply listed some of the ways you are wrong.

I am not going to imagine you said something that is true or figure out a way to agree with you.

 

[sudo-sandwich]

Everyone: Embrace AAA games studios Apple

Apple: "You'll now be able to play minesweeper with friends"

I'm not gonna criticize Apple's broad strategy on iPhone gaming. They've created the largest gaming market and continue to dominate it. That doesn't mean I want to play games on an iPhone, but clearly a huge number of people do.