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
djdustb
I like the ideas behind this and the uses it could have, however I would never use Facebook to publish anything about my gaming, hell I never give status updates either, so that is one use I could do without, secondly, I feel a bit funny about my account being accessed and posted on my screen. I think given the option these features remain off for me.
Charmed_Fanatic
I think this is a cool idea, cant wait to see what they can do with it
Kitch
Blur has Facebook integration. Not sure what it does though. I’ve linked my account.
ghost5
I do use and like facebook but i am getting more worried about the amount of info they are collecting about me. I was reading last night about how the iPhone app can now pull all of your contacts from your phone and store them
JesseDeya
I’m pretty sure it doesn’t. There is an option to allow the app to read your contacts, which it then compares against your FB friend list. If there is a match, it will add a link to their FB page in the contact details. You can also opt to have it use their FB profile pic as the contact pic on your phone.
Basically, it adds functionality (which is pretty cool, I like it), tells you it is going to access your contacts before proceeding and most importantly it is OFF by default.
I don’t see the problem with it.
ghost5
The extra functions are good but I could that with my HTC HD2 last year and I didn’t have to send any info to facebook.
The main problem imo is that your friend may agree to this and then without you knowing your phone numbers and email addresses are stored on facebooks servers.
This may be harmless by itself but I am very careful as to who has my mobile number. Now a company can easily put 2 + 2 together (without my permission), have all my phone numbers, all my email addresses even my address. Add that to the schools I attended my hobbies & interests, places of work and anything else on facebook (which is viewable by friends only) and that is a hell of a lot of info for a company to have on me.
In the wrong hands this could ruin me and take many years to sort out. On the other hand this info is worth a lot of money to facebook for advertising.
I am still using facebook but it is making me more wary of it.
JesseDeya
I follow your logic, but I think you aren’t taking enough responsibility for your own convictions.
If you’re concerned with who has your mobile number, don’t put it on facebook. Likewise your hobbies and interests etc, your friends can get that information some otherway.
If you put something online, you have to accept there is a chance it might not be secure. Even if you don’t, there is a good chance it’s online somehow anway. As an example, I use google contacts to sync because it’s brilliant and doesn’t tie me into one program or operating system to sync my contacts. Having said that, all the contact information of all my friends and colleagues is now on the internet (albeit secured on googles servers) and there is nothing they can do about it.
This is the world we live in, no point wearing tin foil hats anymore – bluetooth works right through them ;).
PoorPaddy89
Just live in a nice, naive little world like me, where conspiracy theorists are lonely wankers and the government tells the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It’s so much less of a hassle.
Matty
Not a chance of getting in the top 3 in the group I’m in but it’s about having fun. :)
Matty
Wrong article O_o what an idiot lol.. If fb take my likes it’ll get confused I infused to like every thing
gazzagb
I haven’t used the facebook integration purely because I don’t want Sony accessing my FB profile. They could find out so much about me, and I prefer to have a certain amount of anonymity on PSN.
DJ-Katy
Christ I better leave all those lesbian groups I’m in or playing Wipeout HD is gonna be like a porn show.
bunimomike
and your Facebook ID is?
Raider197
Well that’s all well and good but Facebook itself still freezes the PS3 like liquid nitrogen.
AG2297
Definitely a Tuffcub tagline :P
KetchupBBQ
That music idea is terrible. I’d have to go and like every band I like if I want it to appear or it will just the couple I saw and clicked. Actually the whole thing is a terrible idea. The only good thing I can think of is games that let you upload screenshots to Facebook and even those should or do just let you have the file, not force them onto a social networking site.