It's unlikely any of Apple's top brass would ever admit it, but Andrew John Smith – MD of Spilt Milk Studios – believes there's only one inspiration behind the latest upgrades to Game Center: Xbox Live.

Apple, however, isn't simply copying its great rival in Smith's view, but rather taking the model Microsoft put into action on both Xbox and Xbox 360 and pushing it further on mobile.

But while iOS 5 will be a more pleasant experience for the user as a result, life isn't quite so sweet for developers.

We caught up with Smith to ask why he thinks Apple's latest firmware still doesn't meet all the requirements of the smaller studios operating on the App Store.

Pocket Gamer: The update to Game Center looks set to import more Xbox Live-style features. How do you think this will increase user engagement?

Andrew Smith: Well if you ask me when I'm drunk what the most ingenious game innovation of the last 10 years is, I’d answer Xbox Live. More specifically, achievement points.

What the update seems to do is offer us more ways for users to boast, share and taunt each other with their accomplishments, and this can only help grow the whole idea beyond where Microsoft has taken it.

They're making a lot of small but very smart changes – adding a photo to your profile, overall gamer score, finding similarly-skilled opponents - that just reinforce people’s devotion to competing with and against each other.

How do you think its game recommendations will change the promotional opportunities open to you?

I think it will help any game that is of a genuinely high quality spread to more people more easily. It allows personal recommendations an unobstructed way to affect sales and promotion.

The one big problem with the App Store as it stands is people can still buy their app into the top forty, so anything like this that amplifies the fan-base’s voice is a great thing for developers who just want to make good games.

It'll enhance any efforts we make, and will likely even drive a few sales even when developers don’t already have a large community focus.

That said, it’s still only the 'core gamers' on iOS who care, so finding ways to break out in the mainstream and more casual audience is key.

Given AirPlay Mirroring requires Apple TV to function, do you see it playing a major role in releases on iOS 5, or is it a first step towards acclimatising iOS users to TV-based play?

It's going to have more relevance as we see more of Apple’s grand plan come into focus.

Obviously it's a cool feature, and adding cool features not only lets Apple know you really want them to succeed as platform holders, but also it snares in the really game and tech-obsessed segment of the audience.

Do you plan to work support for iCloud into past releases, and more generally, how do you think it will impact games?

It really depends on the game, but the philosophy I'd like to stick to is to support all useful functions of a platform for all products – and to never leave a game behind, so to speak.

iCloud is handy for universal apps in particular, and all Spilt Milk Studios games will be universal from the get go, and I'm sure we’ll try to come up with neat and interesting uses of the tech too.

Most games will likely just use the cloud saves, but some newer ones will likely innovate a little bit more than that.

iCloud is going to be pretty central to the whole iOS experience so, unlike AirPlay needing Apple TV hardware, most users will be familiar with it and comfortable using it in any games that support it.

Is there anything missing from iOS 5 from a game development perspective?

I'd really love to see Apple put focus on opening up their marketplace to the smaller games a little more.

It's a shame that known IPs and publisher-backed games still have an advantage on their platform and they've no doubt got the technical know-how to try out some stuff that would allow - games in particular - to stand out a bit more based on user feedback rather than sales.

Who knows though, sales might just be the best metric for Joe Public, and the fight might be wasted!

Thanks to Andrew for his time.

You can find out more about Spilt Milk Studios on the developer's website.