Apple pushed out an update to its Game Center achievement tracking and global ranking application for iOS devices on Tuesday, including a new requirement that users reveal their full name when making and accepting friend requests. Apple changed the Game Center terms and conditions to reflect the new policy.
So far, friend requests and acceptances are the only place your real name will appear when dealing with Game Center. In all other locations (leader boards, friends list, etc.) a user’s display name is still the only identifier being used. The reason behind putting real names next to your username in friend alerts might be related to preventing spammers or other undesirables from abusing the system.
It may seem like a small thing, but in the past, gamers haven’t taken lightly to having their online anonymity toyed with. Remember when Blizzard tried to implement Real ID on its forums, which would essentially mean members had to share their real names? It didn’t go so well, and Blizzard reversed its decision only days later, keeping Real ID but making it an option instead of a requirement for participation.
Gamers playing on iOS devices aren’t the same crowd as those spending 40+ hours a week in Blizzard’s World of Warcraft MMO, and with Apple’s Game Center, there’s far less of a community aspect for users to be concerned about (no forums or message boards). But whether or not that means they’ll take Apple’s new identification requirements in stride remains to be seen.
I accepted the new terms without trepidation, since Game Center for me is more useful as a personal stat tracker than for its social features anyway. Anyone else have different feelings about the new change?
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