We were all waiting for Sony to drop some sort of word that they had some terrible, half-baked idea on deck for their console, and it looks like that shoe has finally dropped: Sony would very, very much like you to have your real name tied to your PlayStation Network, possibly through Facebook.
And that honestly might be almost as bad as having a console with an always-on Internet requirement.
Here’s the exact quote, according to Kotaku:
“[With the] PlayStation 4 we are transitioning to a friends network based on real world friends. We’ll keep around the alias and icon used in today’s multiplayer matches. These are great to have when anonymity is important. But most of the new social dimension to PS4 will be interacting with friends using real names and profile pictures most likely seeded from your existing social network.”
Kotaku goes on to mention a few other gaming companies that tried this, only to fail miserably, and we won’t rehash those arguments here. The potential for stalking and abuse is obvious, enormous, and profoundly serious. Sony needs to stop and review those potential problems carefully before proceeding with this one.
But setting that aside, who in God’s name wants to sign up for yet another service whose sole purpose is to spam your Wall? Because we all know this would go both ways.
Marketing departments have this bizarre idea about Facebook that it’s a place where you only friend people whose opinions and tastes exactly align with yours, and that nobody minds when you post every single thing you do on it. But the reality is, I think maybe ten percent of the people I know are console gamers, if that. They don’t care how I’m doing in Dead Space 3, and telling them would be pointless.
It’s unlikely Sony will make this obligatory: It’s not like you’ll need a Facebook connection to make multiplayer work. But hopefully Sony realizes that in many networks, anonymity is a good thing.
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Maybe I’m naive but I feel like this could work the way Steam does. Using Facebook to figure out which friends to add as Playstation friends. Spamming your wall still sounds like an obnoxious thing though, but hopefully you can just privacy control those posts to nothing
I’d rather ask friends for usernames, honestly. It gives them the option, because some people just don’t want anybody on their console.
I agree, as long as I can hide what it posts to my wall it may be a good way to find people I don’t mind playing online games with.
Cautiously optimistic.
Dan, I understand, but I’m just saying that Steam has been doing it for years (year? It’s been a while but I don’t know how long) If it’s as unobtusive and inevasive as Valve has it worked out, it shouldn’t be a big deal.
Now if we get “Link with your facebook to unlock an extra mission” bullshit, I will be right there with you.
On the one hand one should never overestimate Sony’s capacity to do incredibly bizarre marketing/social things on their consoles, you need look no further than HOME for the best single example.
On the other I do think part of this is also that Sony is trying to respond to the (mostly correct) perception that the PS3 was far behind the xbox 360 in terms of both marketing to users and enabling them to connect to each other through the console. The Share button, the social integration, and particularly the microphone port on the controller point to them realizing how important being able to directly communicate with your friends across whatever game or app they happen to be using is.
Thats probably just me being optimistic. I’m far more annoyed about the fact that none of my PSN content is going to carry forward from my PS3 than I am about the prospect of having to deal with an influx of people on facebook posting random meaningless things from whatever game they are playing though.
I think if this function is optional it’ll be useful to some people. But honestly, when I game, talking to other people is the furthest thing from my mind. I game to unplug, not to share.
I problem with the PSN content is that the architecture is completely different so they’d be doing a lot of work to make sure every PSN title emulates correctly on the PS4 and “a lot of work” and “free” don’t generally make companies go “Let’s Do It”
This crap happens to me already. I see “this guy got a trophy in some game” on my Facebook wall. Just that is annoying, I can’t imagine how I’d react if it got worse.
Yeah, that could be messy if it doesn’t have an opt-out ability. And working in the advertising/marketing industry, there does seem to be a disconnect amongst some clients as to how to utilize social networking. I’m a gamer and I do have a Facebook account, but I don’t necessarily want the two of them linked with out my explicit say-so. Honestly, who cares. If a good friend of mine is playing a game they really enjoy, they’ll communicate that to me directly ie a human conversation face-to-face word speaking avec mouths. Not via Facebook.
Yeah, Facebook is not a replacement for word-of-mouth. It can help, but it isn’t the be-all end-all.
I think everyone here is forgetting something important. You would have to put your information into the PS4 whilst on the internet. If you don’t want something else spamming your walls and all of your friend’s walls then just don’t log in. C’mon, you guys are better than this. Or if you wanted to get drastic, don’t connect your PS4 to the interwebs. I know it is a revolutionary idea but still.
So “Shovelfacewins” why aren’t you posting under your facebook account then? Riiiiiight … now you get it.
As much as I hate all this social crap, let’s remember Sony is still playing catchup to Microsoft on this. Xbox has had its own facebook button or whatever for some time now.