And not in a good way. More of a ‘why would you go and do a thing like that’ way. Watching it made me kind of sad for humanity. Essentially it enables Facebook users to act out their awkward social life in The Sims (you know, what we did before Facebook, anyway). I'm not sure which I'm more upset by: that it actually exists, or that people will probably use it. The Facebook chat exchange of "where can I find a man like that?" responded to with "The Sims Social, girl! And if you can't find him, build him!" is all the more disturbing. Please don't clap, E3 audience! You're only encouraging them!
That’s not all. For those of you who aren’t content with virtual hook-ups, there are plenty of other video game ‘social’ services. With Modern Warfare 3’s “Elite” service being one the more prominent firsts, it seems like social connectivity is the new trend for gaming. EA announced social-based networks for its major sports titles, as well as Battlefield 3’s middle finger to MW3. But the real question is: do gamers really need or even want this?
I’m going to hitch up my old man pant on this one (figuratively. I assure you that my wardrobe is age-appropriate). Why must everything be ‘social’? Sure, I shop at Walmart from time to time, but why would I want to follow them on Twitter? Politicians even use social networking to “connect” with younger voters (with some pretty terrible results).
Dear, video game industry. Just because your customer base has expanded beyond just the ‘youth’ doesn’t mean that they no longer find you relevant. Seriously, you don’t need to jump on the social bandwagon to impress them.
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