So now we can update Facebook and tweet on our Xbox 360s and PS3s. Forgive me if, instead of jumping up and down with glee, I fail to stifle a plaintive moan.
One of the curses of the 21st century is the way in which pretty much every day, a new Next Big Thing emerges, which will inevitably change the world forever. Invariably, each Next Big Thing is web-related, and in recent years, an example of social networking.
I'm afraid I'm suffering from social networking-fatigue now. You're lucky if my Facebook status is updated in any given week. Tumbleweed blows across my MySpace account, even though half of my mates are musicians. After a certain national journalist impersonated me on Twitter, following my repeated rants about how unappealing it is, I was forced to generate an account of my own (@realsteveboxer if you must know - I wanted @therealsteveboxer but it wouldn't let me have a handle that long), so at least I now know that it is even more clunky, unfriendly, dumbed-down and brain-fryingly pointless than I thought.
And now we can waste our lives social networking without getting up from our consoles. Oh joy.
One of the best aspects of videogaming is that it provides a blessed relief from the frenzied navel-gazing and self-obsession of modern life, as personified by Facebook and especially Twitter. What better means of erasing the horror of being force-fed the details of the consistency of every one of Stephen Fry's daily bowel movements, or the latest thing that some vacuous, attention-seeking celebrity just said about some other vacuous, attention-seeking celebrity can there be than, say, decapitating a load of zombies with an electric guitar in Left 4 Dead 2, or exploding half a platoon of US soldiers' heads like watermelons with a sniper-rifle in Modern Warfare 2?
Games offer the best means of escaping the too-much-information fad of social networking so I, for one, won't be letting any social network anywhere near any of my consoles.
This whole rush to put every popular website on our consoles smacks of me-tooism and desperation. Are Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo fearful that we've become so obsessed with social networking that we'll stop playing games? I fail to see what possible benefit there could be to logging into Facebook on my Xbox 360 rather than on my laptop. The whole exercise is fuelled by sheer laziness. Which, frankly, isn't something that the games industry should be facilitating, given that it continues to be blamed for rising levels of obesity.
Conspiracy theorists would argue that Bill Gates wants us to spend every waking moment welded to our Xbox 360s, but that doesn't hold water - he makes much more money selling software to work on our PCs. Facebook for the PS3 is a bit more excusable - Sony would love the PS3 to become a one-stop living-room hub. But that doesn't mean it isn't utterly pointless.
All the other non-gaming services offered by the Xbox 360 and PS3 - the Zune videos, Sky Player, Sony's Video Delivery System and so forth - can at least be justified as they're unashamedly designed to make money, whatever you think of their merits or lack thereof. But that just isn't the case for the social networking integration - there's a sense that it's there simply because it's technically feasible.
If Microsoft or Sony want to make decent money from a download service on their consoles, it's obvious what they should do - start streaming hardcore porn. That would actually fit quite nicely with the 360 and PS3's primary function, as it would offer a form of relief from the frustration of getting stuck, say, on a tricky MW2 level at Veteran difficulty. Which would be utterly appropriate, give that obsessive social networking is pretty much a public form of masturbation.
The above is an opinion piece by freelance journalist, Steve Boxer and does not necessarily reflect the views of CVG. Stay away, legal hounds.
Man, you sound rediculous. I probably wont be using facebook on my xbox, and you couldnt pay me to start using twitter, but nobodys forcing us to. Its optional yknow.
porn on the console - Brilliant !! as long as its one download and not episodic This would be even better on natal - No hands ! .Imagine the lady coming down the stairs "what are you doing love?"
While I don't live my life on facebook like some people, the latest ps3 functionality is good for bragging rights. Letting your mates know which trophy you've just got is fun if you're having a trophy race with them. After all we are all competitive when it comes to beating games and certainly in multiplayer games - stats are always being compared.
I couldn't care less about having Facebook, Twitter or any other Social networking site linked to my console. If I did want to use them I would simply boot up my P.C. I for one will not be downloading the apps on my console, as the man says, the console is a bit of welcome respite from such things!
Antisocial networking? Is there anything more antisocial than sitting at home playing games? If you don't like Facebook and Twitter, don't use it. There's plenty of extras on my Xbox and PS3 that I'd rather not have on there, but I don't whinge that they're there in the first place!
I love this piece. The author totally sums up how I now feel about social networking. Admittedly I was on facebook for a bit. It seemed like everyone was. But got bored of it a long time ago. Although I don't mind Sony and Microsoft trying to increase the functionality of their machines, I do find social networking somewhat pathetic and self obsessed. Follow you on Twitter? Please!
Interesting piece, but really more about the authors personal feelings on social networking, rather than the existence of Facebook and twitter etc on consoles. If you aren't into social networking or, as the author clearly does, have a acute disdain for such pursuits, then clearly their arrival on games consoles won't be met with fanfare!
Personally I have a facebook account which I check once a week maybe. Totally agree with the 'too much information' assertion, I'm firmly of the opinion that if you wouldn't call me up to tell me something, don't force it into my eyeballs as soon as I log on to somewhere... However, it's cool to say hi to people you wouldn't normally see, or hold conversations with group that don't get together often etc. I have a group of avid gamer mates who are spread all over the country for example, and we regularly chat about our hobby over a group messageboard.
As regards the arrival of these services on consoles, isn't it an obvious step for more marketshare? Gamers use it too, but once again it's an attempt at appealing to the casual market... These are applications that people use who aren't neccessarily hardcore gamers. They are however optional extras, and don't have to interfere with anything for those who just want to blow things up.
Glad to see I'm not alone in thinking that 'social networking' is not the least bit social.
Yes, gaming isn't social either, but most people know that and even the author of the article states that it's a release from the trappings of modern life.
Facebook and Twitter are for people that think that their lives are more important than they actually are.
I think the whole social networking thing on consoles is a bit crap really, although when i first checked my facebook on my ps3 i thought it was really cool. Now i think it's really slow and you can't use some of the apps for some reason so i just use the laptop for any sort of facespacetweet related tomfoolery
I never got the point of MySpace. I can make a real website myself, thanks, and I don't need the faux attention of people "friending" me, as if my social circle is somehow to be used to blow my own trumpet. Look at me, I have friends, and we can write meaningsless s**t to eachother, and pretend to be interesting?
Bah. MySpace. Never had an account. Along came Facebook. Same. Never had an account - and now there's no music either, so it's even beyond pointless. Twitter? Yeah, sure, I want to hear the opinions of every last moron on earth. Never had an account.
I utterly don't care. I am, however, frustrated by the laziness of some people. I was at a party the other day, or attended a zombie-walk, or something. Here are my pictures, neatly arranged on Flickr, or on my website, for your convenience. Can I see your shots? Oh. Facebook. Thanks, asshole. So I need to use 20 minutes to submit personal details to some commercial website to watch the pictures from last weekends drinkfest? I think not.
What happened to people?! I could "surrender" and make a FB account, so I could see the friggin' pictures. And have to deal with all sorts of people from my past that - if I wanted to have any contact with them, I would still have in my life. I don't. So I don't want to get dragged into whatever boring sh*t you're doing now. And I CERTAINLY don't want you snooping around in what I'm doing. Some of my colleagues have our boss on FB. He's a nice guy - but I don't need my boss (even though I like him) to develop an opinion on what I do in my spare time.
Why force me to go through the awkward process of telling 50-100 people that I don't really want them as "friends" (or whatever it's called) just because I want to view the pictures you were too effin lazy to upload to somewhere decent?
It's gotten to the point where people look at me like I'm retarded because I'm not on facebook. Now people are getting bored with FB, just like they did with MySpace, and God knows what other crap came before it, and will undoubtedly follow.
Tonight, I'm going bowling with some relatives, and my girlfriend. It's kinda lame, but there's free food. And after that, I'm going to a friends appartment to watch some live NFL games. And have a few snacks. And you know what? I didn't need facebook to do either. I still know people, in the real world, and I talk to them.
Best of all, I don't grow tired of my relationships because I get forcefed 200 updates a week on how their dog is doing, and what music they're listening to. So we actually have something to talk about when we meet.
Now if only I could get my mother to stop calling me every day.
The only way I would use these services would be if I could upload "certain people"'s DPs to shoot at with high caliber weapons. That, my friends, would be fun.
People who use twitter and facebook are mostly under the illusion that other people give a **** what they do with their sad little lives. They don't so get over yourself, you're a nobody and you have nothing of importance to twitter about, or announce on facebook.
You'll be dead soon, for a very long time, so just enjoy life and get away from your computer. Mr nobody.
Er...why don't you guys take a peek at my comment about Lucasfilm on 'New Star Wars reveal' on latest news...see why I am taking on this billion dollar empire...oh, you'll need to log on to my Facebook profile (Jon Ahmad) to see why though....
So Twitter and Facebook eh? Let's omit Twitter for arguments sake (I don't have the energy) and concentrate on Facebook. I think you are missing the point as to why social networking sites such as the aforementioned, are popular Steve. Being a gamer since 1982 (Sinclair Spectrum) days, I too find that Facebook can be a complete and utter waste of time. However, when Mr Zuckerberg invented/created Facebook, I don't think even he realised the potential at the time. Facebook is a business for advertising or promoting products and/or services. I honestly don't think the guys behind it give a s**t about what sandwich filling you or I are deciding on at the nearest Subway or what type of hair dye he/she are using or whatever mundane activities users are interested in. They aren't bothered about the background chatter at all. All they want is for businesses to advertise on Facebook so users can see what they are offering. After all, any sensible business understands the ideology of customer/consumer relationship with their product. If you have a business or an idea, then social networking sites can be useful (I have created The Jellydoodz concept) and have generated over 80 fans so far. Look at MacDonalds for example. They got panned for their unhealthy junk food blah blah targeting young kids etc, but their CEO insisted that if you see a MacDonalds, you have the CHOICE of walking straight past on your merry way. Don't go in if you don't want to. I do understand why certain eyes are rolling back with us gamers when they see Facebook/Twitter on their beloved consoles, and even I grunted...but these companies are all in business and they must keep up with current trends or the 'in thing'. If I was explaining this to a thirteen year old as to why we older gamers get irritated by seeing Facebook/Myspace or whatever on our consoles, they would probably call me a 'retard' or 'gay'...the latest hip words that all youngsters these days think are so 'cool'...(sad) Sigh...Oh I don't know.
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This would be even better on natal - No hands ! 
.Imagine the lady coming down the stairs "what are you doing love?"
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