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
DiscoChimp
I already love the fact that my new trophy awards come up in random order sometimes months after getting them….Well done Sony, for making me look all “eclectic”