Facebook Is Bringing Games Like Pac-Man, Space Invaders To Messenger and Your News Feed (techcrunch.com)

Facebook is launching Instant Games, "a new HTML5 cross-platform gaming experience" that is available on Messenger and Facebook News Feed for both mobile and web users. Since they're built on the HTML5 mobile web standard, the games load in seconds and don't need to be downloaded. Instant Games is available in 30 countries and launches with 17 games "from classic developers like Bandai Namco, Konami, and Taito as well as newer studios like Zynga and King," writes Josh Constine via TechCrunch: The biggest draw of Instant Games is how quick you can start playing. You tap the game controller icon in one of your message threads, choose a game from the list, it loads in seconds, you play a short round, and your high score gets automatically posted to the private or group chat thread. You can even share a stylized high score screenshot that you can Doodle on top of like Snapchat to trash talk your opponents. And if you share a game to the News Feed, friends can jump right into the action from Facebook's app or website. For now, the platform is in closed beta, but developers can apply to build Instant Games here.

Comments

Facebook still sucks

[Robert Goatse]

As a medium to old fart, I enjoy Space Invaders and Pac Man. Still won't get me even close to that cesspool known as Facebook. No thanks!

Re:Facebook still sucks

[Megane]

I still don't understand why a "news feed" needs 35-year-old games that we got tired of 30 years ago.

Re:Facebook still sucks

[Anonymous Coward]

I want to say the same as you guys - but - goddamnit, this is going to be popular.

Re:Facebook still sucks

[Ranbot]

It keeps current users engaged and interacting with Facebook-sponsored items; and if they are sticking longer to play a game they might be more likely to click one of Facebook's advertisers. In particular, this is well-aimed at the nostalgia of 30-45 year old demographic which tend to be very heavy consumers. As usual, follow the money and you'll find your answer.

Well, they might TRY

[Anonymous Coward]

But they're blocked at the firewall, and again in the /etc/hosts file.

There's no end to what Facebook can ruin

[JoeyRox]

Next up: wet dreams.

That's not sweetening the deal

[Anonymous Coward]

Now maybe if they had Defender or Donkey Kong....

Downloaded

[Atmchicago]

Yes, they still have to be downloaded. Where else are the data coming from?

Re:Downloaded

[Anonymous Coward]

They mean the whole game doesn't have to download for play to begin.

WTF

[sexconker]

Since they're built on the HTML5 mobile web standard, the games load in seconds and don't need to be downloaded.

Man, I must be out of touch! I didn't realize HTML5 was a "mobile web standard".

I thought it was a version of a marketing^W markup language that is unstable^W agile, poorly^W diversely supported, and terribly^W uniquely implemented.
And you don't even need to DOWNLOAD DATA with HTML5! That puts the WWW in WOWWW!!!

For now, the platform is in closed beta ...

[Anonymous Coward]

... sweet Jesus, keep it there.

What the fuck?

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

"Facebook Is Bringing Games Like Pac-Man, Space Invaders To Messenger and Your News Feed"

Riiiiight, because games like Pac-Man and Space Invaders are "news". That makes so much sense. So. Much. Fucking. Sense.

Re:What the fuck?

[irving47]

They're probably just trying to get people to install messenger in addition to the main app. Why they're separated still puzzles and pisses me off. They just blocked mobile web browser (safari is all i've checked so far) from being able to msg back and forth...

...and don't need to be downloaded

[hackwrench]

Whatever that's supposed to mean.

What's left?

[Voyager529]

Seriously, Facebook Messenger is basically becoming its own all-consuming entity at this point. It does text chat, voice chat, video chat, image exchange (complete with filters, IIRC), payment exchanges, stickers, and now video games. It's either an overly bloated chat client, or a really slimmed down fork of systemd.

I want the light guns and games from Pixels

[Anonymous Coward]

I know it's slightly off topic but like a five year old I'm not going to shut up until someone gives it to me... In Pixels that augmented reality scene in the park when they play Centipede with the light guns would make a great game. I want light guns and AR!

Who cares about this non-story.

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh, BeauHD cares! What a shock. I wonder how long it will take this time to replace the shitty mods with people who don't suck.

Nuke Facebook from the orbit (and Slashdot, too!)

[butzwonker]

Facebook and most other social "media", including Slashdot, are the cancer of society. They destruct social relations, damage their users' brain by reducing the average attention span to 17 seconds and reading comprehension to 0, exploit compulsary habits and psychological deficits, collect data, bombard users with fake news, arbitrary opinions and modern snowball system chain letters, encourage trolling and antisocial behavior, and generally try to capture as many subscriber as possible in a race to the absolute bottom of what mankind has to offer.

Luckily I don't use Facebook but after almost two decades of being Slashdot under various user names, I have come to the conclusion that the majority of the remaining users are stupid, barely educated, unlikeable sociopaths with a complete lack of empathy and no grasp of reality at all. It's a complete waste of time to converse with them, except for the two or three exceptions who haven't realized yet how bad this place has become.

So in a nutshell, nobody cares about Facebook and Slashdot should do humanity a favor and close.

Thank you for your attention, assholes!

Facebook = garbage

[Anonymous Coward]

Get over it.