I already told you why I didn't have much use for 1337pwn's otherwise impressive Xbox Live application for iPhone: no friend requests.
That's not because 1337pwn doesn't want to include the feature, though. The application's creator, Det Ansinn, told Multiplayer over e-mail that Microsoft won't let them.
As it stands, members of Microsoft's Xbox Live Community Developer Program can pull information from gamertags, but can't access an individual's Windows Live account. No Windows Live access, no way to actually make changes (i.e. add a friend) to an XBL account.
"You would think that Microsoft would be pushing towards more social networking features," said Ansinn, "but they appear to be on a conservative feature track at the moment. I was optimistic when they released the 'friend of a friend' and bio functionality [in the last XBL update]. However, not much has happened since then."
For now, Ansinn and his team of 15 at BrickSimple have to work within Microsoft's boundaries. While limiting, he points out some crucial reasons it may be some time before Microsoft allows third-parties to access Windows Live.
The XBL experience has been largely free of spam and clutter. You can't say the same about most social networking services. Opening up Windows Live to someone other than Microsoft opens to the door to such dangers. "As an XBOX Live user, I'm glad that they give those issues consideration while giving us the ability to provide utilities like the 1337pwn iPhone app," he said.
One of the biggest concerns is protecting a user's account. Many users have credit or debit cards tied to their account to purchase Microsoft Points. Turning your Windows Live information over to a third party could allow someone to use those details maliciously.
That said, Ansinn believes that friend requests and other social features aren't out of reach. "We'd be perfectly happy with a mechanism that doesn't require the Windows Live login," he said. "If Microsoft provided an officially sanctioned mechanism to incorporate the Windows Live login, we could provide that friends functionality along with other security-dependent features."
When -- and if -- such an update arrives is another matter entirely. A year ago, for example, Ansimm could pull very little information from any one gamertag, but that suddenly changed when Microsoft updated the dashboard last fall with additional social networking features. Ansinn has no idea what the next update will bring.
Readers, am I too obsessed with the notion of on-the-go friend requests, or is this a feature you would use, too?
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