OpenFeint
 | |
| Initial release | February 17, 2009 |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 2.7.5 (1.7 Android)
/ Nov 5, 2010 (Jan 27, 2011 Android) |
| Operating system | Android, iOS |
| Type | Social networking |
| Website | http://www.gree.net |
OpenFeint was a social platform for mobile games Android and iOS. It was developed by Aurora Feint, a company named after the video game of the same name, by the same developers.[1]
The platform consisted of an SDK for use by games, allowing its various social networking features to be integrated into the game's functionality.
History
The first iteration of OpenFeint was launched on February 17, 2009.[1]
Version 2.0 was released in June 2009, and marked the first time that the platform was free for developers to integrate into their own applications.
Version 2.1 was released on August 14 2009, featuring "Social challenges", which allowed users to create tasks for themselves and their friends to attempt within games and notified users when new challenges were available. It also allowed users to add "Friends" and introduced a new user interface.
Version 2.4 was released on January 8, 2010, with a revamped layout and a standalone OpenFeint app. As of January 2010, there are over 900 applications in the IOS App Store that use OpenFeint, and there are over ten million users registered on the network.[2]
On September 15, 2010, OpenFeint announced that it would be supporting Android.
In 2011, OpenFeint was party to a Class Action suit with allegations including computer fraud, invasion of privacy, breach of contract, bad faith and seven other statutory violations. According to a news report "OpenFeint's business plan included accessing and disclosing personal information without authorization to mobile-device application developers, advertising networks and web-analytic vendors that market mobile applications"[3]. The class action suit was later voluntarily dismissed.[4]
In April 2011, Japanese company GREE, Inc. bought OpenFeint for US$104 million.[citation needed]
On November 16, 2012, GREE announced that it would be discontinuing the service on December 14, 2012, primarily in favor of its own similar platform.[5]
Notable applications
The following is a list of some of the many applications that use/are integrated with OpenFeint:
- Fruit Ninja
- Tiny Wings
- The Moron Test
- Robot Unicorn Attack
- Championship Manager series
- Bomberman Touch 2: Volcano Party
- Fieldrunners
- Galaxy on Fire
- geoDefense
- geoDefense Swarm
- Minigore
- Pocket God
- Rollercoaster Rush
- Jetpack Joyride
- Mega Run
See also
- Social discovery platform
- Similar social platforms include Plus+, Crystal, Gameloft Live, Scorel∞p, Geocade,[6] Scoreoid, agon• and Apple's Game Center.
References
- ^ a b Sielger, MG (2009-04-17). "Indie iPhone App Developers Rallying Around OpenFeint". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2010-01-19. Cite error: The named reference "techcrunch" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Holt, Chris (2010-01-27). "OpenFeint: iPad is a transformative gaming platform". Macworld. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
- ^ Marshall, Chris (2011-06-24). "Gamers Say OpenFeint Sold Them Out". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ "2011 Year-End Update on Class Actions". Gibson Dunn. 2012-01-30. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
- ^ "GREE Pulls the Plug on OpenFeint With Less Than One Month Notice to Developers". Touch Arcade. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
- ^ Erickson, Tracy (2009-07-28). "Battle of the iPhone XBLA rivals: Open Feint versus Plus+". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 2010-01-21.