So, as you are probably aware, Apple announced many new end user features for the iPhone, iPod and iPad today. One of those features was a little something called Game Center.

Not much is known about the service just yet. What we do know is it will support persistent user profiles, achievements, leaderboards and matchmaking. These features will be available to all developers, and has the potential to usher in a new era of mobile social gaming.

I love my iPhone. I enjoy being able to quickly pop in and out of a game whenever I have a few free moments. But, one thing that has never quite been very enjoyable is the experience of gaming this way online. With the lack of a persistent online presence it can be challenging to find people to play with.

What will this bring? It could include a persistent online profile with a friends list. The friends list might interface with my contacts automatically, so I wouldn't even need to add them to my profile. This would be wonderful.

I know when I see one of my friends has unlocked an achievement, or completed a game that I'm working on, it gives me that extra kick to try to out-do them! Not to mention it will give much more transparency to the kinds of games people are playing, and will help spread the word of what games are worth your investment!

What do you think about Game Center? Good, bad, or too early to tell?

Apple's Game Center certainly is a good thing. OpenFeint, Gameloft and Plus+ have done a pretty good job on similar services, but currently only appeal to the more game-minded iPhone users. Game Center has the potential to bring this kind of service to a very large number of users and as with any social network, you need a critical mass to make it really useful.

The fact that Game Centre will be a part of the official Apple development tools, makes it an easy choice for a developer to make it's game compatible. Games that currently already support OpenFeint or other services will likely get an update for Game Center, as they will probably need to update their code anyway for OS4.