Rumor: PS3 Facebook Integration Spotted in the Wild

Whoops, it appears that a few photos of Facebook integration on the Playstation 3 briefly appeared on Sony’s Web site. They are, of course, down now, but as you know nothing can ever really be removed from the Internet. So as you can see, these photos, first provided by a tipster to ScrawlFX, are tiny. You can’t really see what’s going on or how the concept would work, and if it weren’t for that big fat Facebook logo in the top left screenshot, you might not even know that this is Facebook.

I don’t agree with ScrawlFX’s extrapolation that Facebook integration is coming in the next PS3 firmware update. Nothing in these photos suggests that this is anything but a mock-up, but they at least show that someone within Sony is interested. With Microsoft adding Facebook and Twitter support to Xbox Live in the Xbox 360’s next dashboard update, I can see why Sony would want to compete on this front. And with Netflix streaming now available on the PS3, Sony’s taking steps to make its free Playstation Network just as feature-rich as Microsoft’s $50-per-year Xbox Live. Responding to Joystiq, Sony dismissed these Facebook screenshots as “rumors and speculation,” but I don’t think it’s the last we’ll hear of it. [via ScrawlFX]