From Uncharted 2 to Twitter and Facebook

It was just over a year ago that Uncharted 2: Among Thieves made news for allowing users to link their PlayStation gameplay with their Twitter account.

The integration lets gamers tell their Twitter followers when they earn PlayStation Network trophies, advance through the story, or are logged into online multiplayer looking for some action.

It's just one example of how the videogame industry has taken hold of social media services such as Twitter and Facebook to both interact with the gaming community more rapidly than ever before and allow gamers to share their passion with others.

In the case of Uncharted 2, developer Naughty Dog took some heat from advance reviews for the volume of auto-posted tweets overwhelming their friends’ feeds, but adjustments brought them to a more reasonable and enjoyable level.

However, this became moot when a November 2009 update to the PS3 firmware allowed gamers to input their Facebook information to their account, allowing for posting to one’s wall when trophies were won from any game, while giving game publishers a default mechanism to allow for notifications of other highlights if they wish.

Xbox 360 does not yet have dedicated achievement-posting functionality, but popular websites like Raptr, Xbox Live Nation, and True Achievements can hook into your Xbox Live account and post to Twitter and/or Facebook.

While the end user has much flexibility in sharing information, game creators and console makers also use social networks to reach out to their customers. And it isn’t always just via a generic, corporate Twitter account or Facebook fan page.

Players of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 have access to the game developer Infinity Ward’s creative strategist Robert Bowling. If something is wrong in online multiplayer, players can fire off a tweet to him between matches. In return, when a bug patch, playlist modification, or game tweak is about to be issued, he can easily spread the word via one short message.

Even consoles as a whole are in on the act, with Xbox Live’s Director of Programming Larry Hryb (known to most by his gamertag, Major Nelson) regularly posting to Twitter. He responds to gamers’ comments and questions, alerts them to recently released offerings, points out limited-time sales, and does Free Code Friday where his followers can win downloadable content.

If you use Xbox Live, it’s worth starting a Twitter account just to follow him, as you really miss out if you don’t.

These examples are just a sampling of how the gaming industry is taking advantage of social networking. As social networking evolves to find new ways to take up our time, you can be sure videogame manufacturers will keep pace by utilizing it to better engage their customers.

It was ten years ago when EA’s Majestic broke the fourth wall by sending its players e-mails, directing them to websites, and having them make phone calls to play the game; how long will it be until a game tweets us direct messages and posts on our walls?

Jeff is currently playing Halo: Reach and Gran Turismo 5; follow him on Twitter at JKLugar.