Opinion: Plus+ network problems underscore need for Game Center

On a holiday weekend during which pocket gamers in the US and UK were keen to play on their iPhones, iPod touchs, and/or iPads, ngmoco's social gaming network Plus+ was on holiday itself.

Server issues brought down the network, leaving dozens of Plus+-enabled games without the service. ngmoco has since brought the network back online, but this most recent disruption is the latest in a line of troubles that highlight the need for Apple's Game Center.

Recognising the difficulty of maintaining a social gaming network is important, but delivering a consistent, intuitive end-user experience is paramount. The average gamer doesn't want to hear excuses about why a network isn't working - no matter how valid they might be. All they care about is playing their game.

ngmoco's track record hasn't been flawless in the first half of 2010. Persistent online farming game We Rule has been plagued by non-stop server issues since its March debut. Despite an extended beta and a pledge to address the problem shortly after release, the game continues to have issues on a regular basis.

Initially, overload due to popularity was cited as the reason for server problems. Two and a half months later, the problems persist.

Factor in recent technical problems with Plus+ network and it's easy to understand how a gamer can become frustrated.

The company publicly announced a "datacenter upgrade" last night via Twitter, but troubles over the weekend evidently could have a different origin. What caused so many problems prior to 48 hours ago when the datacenter upgrade was started? What continues to affect We Rule? I've asked ngmoco and await comment.

To be completely fair, these issues aren't solely ngmoco's, as other social gaming networks have experienced problems -but none has been as public or perpetual.

It's also a matter of perception. Plus+ increasingly seems unstable. Competing networks OpenFeint and Scoreloop capture attention with news of additional developer support and loads of new games, while Plus+ appears on the defensive with frequent statements apologising for technical issues. Whether that perception is reality is difficult to determine without comment from ngmoco.

While unification under Apple's Game Center won't be a cure-all, it can address many of the issues here. As the platform-holder, Apple can dedicate more resources to ensuring that frequent service interruptions don't occur. Widespread server failure preventing basic log-in would be less likely under Game Center than under current networks.

To be fair, it's an estimation and not a factual statement: Game Center could theoretically exhibit the same instability. That said, I'm confident in Apple's ability to deliver products that fully take into account the end-user experience: in other words, the company understands that gamers just want the thing to work.

Apple's design philosophy revolves around the notion of intuitive interfaces - the simplicity of iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad demonstrates as much.

In fact, Apple is moving forward with Game Center in part because of the inconsistency and fragmentation of services like Plus+. Social gaming networks will continue to play a role, though the unity offered by Game Center will seemingly act as a guarantee against problems like last weekend's Plus+ Network outage.

Gamers should go on holiday, not social gaming networks. The need for a stable, ubiquitous social gaming network is clear. With Apple set to reveal more about Game Center at next week's Worldwide Developers Conference, the timing couldn't be better.