AT&T Getting Social with Android Via Gaming Network Developed by OpenFeint

As AT&T has now lost its iPhone exclusivity and must share the iconic Apple smartphone with rival carrier Verizon Wireless, AT&T will cozy up more with Android. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the carrier will create a social gaming network with partner OpenFeint, who has thus far created a similar cross-platform network for its own games on Android and iOS. The social gaming network would rival Microsoft’s Xbox Live, which is employed on Windows Phone 7, and Apple’s Game Center.

The social gaming network created by OpenFeint already has 65 million registered users and 4,500 titles for both iOS and Android with over 15,000 developers creating new games.

Gaming will be an area of growth for the Android platform. While Android has a considerable number of app titles on its Android Market app store, the platform so far hasn’t seen the breadth of games with the quality and detail that’s been widely available on Apple’s iPhone and iOS platform. Handset-makers, and now carriers like AT&T, will be trying to augment their stake in Android by creating gaming ecosystems on top of the platform, including Sony Ericsson with its XPERIA Play PlayStation Phone, which is based on Android 2.3 Gingerbread.