The impact of social connectivity on video games

The extreme popularity of social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, has led the developers of video games to want to integrate them into their titles.

The 3.10 version of Sony’s firmware was the first example of this movement in action, allowing PSN users to link with Facebook in order to share details such as purchase information and trophies that have been earned.

This goal of permitting sharing has been maintained and is becoming more obvious in the industry as of late. Especially with the upcoming release of Uncharted 3 with Facebook and YouTube capabilities. Co-president of Naughty Dog, Christophe Balestra, explained that as the game is being played, it is possible to communicate with Facebook friends and to invite them to join a party.

He said that their true purpose for including Facebook was to ensure that the gamer is able to interact with his or her friends on that social network, in the same way that they would interact with friends on PSN. “I don’t think anyone has gone to that level to bring Facebook within the game.”

He believes that Naughty Dog may be setting the standard within the industry, as he claims that they are the first game developers to achieve this, but that competitors will soon want to offer a comparable experience.

Uncharted 3 will also be providing its users with the ability to go further with video editing than was available through the previous version, Uncharted 2. It will enable users to post video clips of up to 90 seconds in length on their Facebook walls, and can include longer videos uploads to their YouTube accounts.