Twitter And Facebook On Xbox Live
In an announcement made at E3 Expo 2009 edition, Microsoft informs that Xbox Live will integrate Twitter and Facebook social networking services starting from this fall. A recent press release from Microsoft revealed the impressive number of Xbox Live active members (over 20 million), which denotes the existence of a highly active community of console games players. As a consequence, the addition of social networking features to console gaming seems to be welcomed.
The Facebook client on Xbox has individual sidescrolling windows, like Xbox Experience graphical user interface. The status updates appear in different windows, not as in case of the web browser based Facebook information stream. Through Facebook Connect, users will be able to upload screenshots to their accounts or play games with Facebook friends.
Xbox will also have a Twitter client. It will show tweets in a list displayed on an animated background, as compared with the Xbox Facebook client.
Marc Whitten , General Manager, Xbox LIVE at Microsoft, explains the advantages determined by the combination between console gaming and social networking: “You can take your entertainment experiences to the largest social network on the planet with Facebook on Xbox LIVE, and even post a snap shot of your favorite gaming moments through Facebook Connect. And with Twitter, you can stay connected and keep your social circle up to date by reading, posting and replying to tweets right on your Xbox 360.”
With the addition of the two popular social networking services, Facebook and Twitter, games developers could have an increased audience for their products, while users will enjoy a complete new gaming experience.
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