The PS3 has had rudimentary Facebook integration for a while but the recent 3.50 update has significantly improved the interaction between the PlayStation 3 and the world’s biggest social network.
“We’ve pretty much opened up the entire Facebook API to our game developers,” said Eric Lempel, Sony Computer Entertainment’s vice president of network operations. “They’re able to pull any piece of information from Facebook, as well as push information out to Facebook.”
An example given is that when playing a racing game you could see a picture of your Facebook buddies on a billboard or a music game could tailor a play list based on your music ‘likes’ on the network. If you allow a game to access your Facebook profile then developers will be able to access your photos, friends list and other information.
Of course there is also the possibility that rather than a picture Grandma appearing on a billboard a game could trawl your favourite movies and display details of similar blockbuster. It will be interesting to see if developers use the new tools to enhance games or as a back door for targeted advertising.
Lempel has said that the ‘biggest developers’ are interested in the new Facebook integration and we should see titles utilising it by the end of the year.
Source: Forbes
Danza Di Fuoco E Ghiaccio
I hate facebook (its something I’m proud of)
moshi
Can I add you as a friend then !
Spotter5
So I can be driving along and see a picture of this girl I really *like*?
yeah, because that won’t be distracting/depressing..
3shirts
That says more about you
Bilbo_bobbins
interesting, but to be honest, for me, I don’t want games accessing my facebook information. For me, thats private and I don’t currently use the facebook intergration.
3shirts
No one is forcing you :)
Bodachi
If its private why put it on the internet?
Bilbo_bobbins
i know no one is forcing me, I just don’t see the real main point other than advertising in the long run. Plus yes its private, on the internet, meaning, you can stop people other than friends looking at your facebook? This is normal.
JesseDeya
Don’t you play your PS3 at home? If it merely displays your private information to you in a game how can that concern you?
I agree that if it starts recording or storing that information in a database somewhere (particularly without tell you), that would be concerning. Otherwise it’s just a fancy variation on looking at your own facebook information with a browser.
ii3illy
Favorite?! The horror! Change your spell check location Tuff!
solidsteven
Tuff make a mistake we all going *incites a riot* lol
Tuffcub
In my defense I’ve just crun the TSA spellchecker on it and it didn’t show up as an error. It seems to be set to American. I haz changed.
seedaripper1973
NOOOooo NOT American! they’ve bastardised the language enough…change it sharpish, or i wont be reading anymore of your articles :P
Amphlett
Next we’ll be seeing the word ‘bested’ appear on the site…
3shirts
Or addicting *shudders*
solidsteven
or pwned and saz
3shirts
I like this idea. While I don’t want to force updates down my friends’ throats, seeing my content in game would be pretty funky.
I also have no problem with targeted advertising. Ads on billboards etc just adds to realism and I’d rather see ads for things I might be interested in than random guff
cc_star
Well targeted advertising would actually be far more useful than their game ‘enhancing’ suggestions not that it matters to me, because on a list of top things to avoid Facebook is right up there above dog shit
3shirts
I don’t get all the Facebook hate. It’s just a tool that some people get massive benefits from using. If you don’t want to, that’s cool but a lot of people who don’t like it seem to have to tell everyone every time it’s mentioned.
cc_star
I’m not telling anyone what they should do with it, but where else are people going to talk about it other than in an article about it?
If 500m people want to turn a blind eye to what Facebook is really about and instead believe its a social tool then that’s their problem, but I’d appreciate the huge data mining operation & the thought police not encroaching on things I use… which is almost unavoidable, and will get even more so, and that why a dislike of a service and choosing not to use it, turns into hate.
If people really want a tool for the ‘benefits’ you’re eluding too then they should get on Diaspora
Bilbo_bobbins
agreed, this is a place to discuss, and I agree with you to a point. I use facebook to see photos of my friends etc, nothing much more than that.
bunimomike
Same here. I use Facebook to stalk people but it’s not for everyone.
3shirts
Haha, that isn’t what I meant by benefits!
I know they hold personal info about me but it’s like a Clubcard; They get something from me and I get something from them. Personally I find it incredibly handy for keeping in touch with people I don’t see very often (friends overseas or far away in this country) and arranging events. We also use it to organise a Badminton club I help run.
grimm
I agree with cc here. I have a facebook account but I have pretty much no information/pictures on it. I much prefer speaking to people on the phone anyway or just giving them a quick ring to arrange to meet up. Facebook just represents an extra thing to maintain and put info onto for me which is a chore.
3shirts
Yeah but I’m not gonna phone all my friends to tell them I got a new car or job. I’d mention it when I see them but I am not gonna see people who live 200 miles away very often. I have a good mate who is working in the US and seeing little updates about him going for a bike ride over Golden Gate bridge etc help me keep up to date and feel less disconnected. He’s not gonna ring me up or even email me about that.
Also, the news feed is there for people to take or leave. I posted a status about my fish, and while lots of my friends have no interest, it turns out a couple of them are into fish keeping too and we had a little chat on there about it. I would not have brought it up any other time.
jayjay119
I cant wait to be playing a fighting game and putting out the info that I kicked all my friends asses, It’ll be a real pleaseure to punch theme in the facebook.
Ok I know it was a cheap shot, but it was there, I had to do it, and seriously this makes no difference to me, Im not likely to use it if the truth be told. Classicly. There is cross game chat for social interaction when playing online.. oh wait…
jayjay119
Ok half of my sentence went awry there, it was meant to say ‘classicly, there are better social mediums for games’
TSBonyman
A few of my close friends kept asking me to go on facebook so eventually i relented – and put my dog on.
Spam and abuse on PSN is irksome enough without giving those oiks access to more personal info about you or your friends.
bunimomike
If the next Call of Duty could map my Facebook friends’ faces onto the enemy I will definitely buy the game.
Tuffcub
*everyones suddenly ‘friends’ Bob Kotick*
bigdon23
i think if you pay full price for a game it shouldnt have advertisments unless they make money so the devs can release free dlc. i also its not right for firstplay to have ads since u have to pay for it imo
Tuffcub
But you pay to watch a movie littered with product placements? Magazies have ads, OPSM has lots of ads yet costs a fiver.
teflon
But you buy a magazine or newspaper and that has adverts.
You have a subscription to Sky or Virgin, and the TV shows there have adverts.
You pay for Xbox Live Gold, and you have adverts.
You pay to get into [sporting event] and there’s adverts and sponsors.
You go and watch a film in the Cinema, and there’s tons of adverts before the film. Heck, often there’s even adverts /in/ the film. Think the fly by in Blade Runner, or Minority Report (and plenty others besides)
You travel by bus, and it’s adorned with adverts.
Just because you’ve paid for something, doesn’t mean you won’t see advertising.
But yes, I don’t want to see obtrusive or poorly integrated adverts in my games. They should be handled tastefully and blended into the surroundings so that they make sense within the world the game is set in.
Bladesteel
But if there are ads, and especially if it uses the internet connection to fetch new ones, it should be marked clearly on the box.
And under no circumstance should it be added in a later patch (looking at you wipeout)
bigdon23
I see yor point the thing that gets me about firstplay mostly is that they are forced upon people as in you cant watch the review/preview until you have watched the ads, whuch is why i dont buy it (well until more free minis appear)
I do think there is a place for ads in games i.e i think burnout got it spot on, i would have maybe liked to see real ads on *some* of gta IVs billboards
colossalblue
If FirstPlay didn’t have ads it would have to cost more though, like print magazines and newspapers.
So with ads for 99p (is it still 99p?) or without ads for £3.99.
djhsecondnature
Yeah it’s 99p a week or £8.99 for 13.