14 DAY TRIAL // Nintendo is announcing that all users of its DSi handheld can now enhance their social experience with the console by connecting directly to Facebook and posting photos taken with the cameras of the device.
The Facebook Connect feature is being offered via a free system update that the gadget is set to download via the Wi Fi Connection. After taking a photo and looking at it in the Nintendo DSi Camera album, users need to only touch the Facebook button to instantly upload the image. The Wi Fi must be active and the user needs to be logged into their profile.
Cammie Dunaway, who is the executive vice president of Sales & Marketing for Nintendo of America, stated that “Facebook and Nintendo DSi build on the trend of personalization that is so important to consumers. We're giving people the tools to express themselves in creative new ways and show off the results to their friends and family on Facebook.”
It makes sense for Nintendo to aim for integration with as many social networks as possible and Facebook, with its huge number of users growing by the day, is a prime target. The two cameras of the DSi, which have been heavily emphasized by the Japanese company as important features, have not been put to good use until now by videogames. Expect to see a lot of Facebook photos coming from the handheld detailing both a situation and the reaction of the user at the same time, using the two cameras.
It seems that Facebook Connect can be turned off entirely by parents who are worried about their kids offering too much information via Facebook photos using the control feature that the DSi has had since launch. It will be interesting to see if Nintendo also aims to bring other social network services, like MySpace or LinkedIn, to its gadget.