Facebook means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. To some, it’s a pure social network. To others it’s a multimedia sharing space, while others see it as a “quick-play” casual gaming platform. And up until now, social/casual games were/are all the rage on Facebook. Well all of that is about to change; at least from one angle.

Announced yesterday, Blizzard Entertainment revealed a bit more of their strategy surrounding the revival of Battle.net, and perhaps why they’ve forced all users of Blizzard products to be registered here. Beginning with the (projected) July 27th launch date of the long awaited StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, players will have a Facebook opt-in option. What this means is that players on Blizzard products (e.g. WoW, StarCraft, Diablo) will have the option of connecting to their friends who also have Battle.net accounts.

“Step one in our relationship is to have this Friends Importation,” says Battle.net project director Greg Canessa. “Really what you are going to do once you buy StarCraft II and you take it home and install it and log onto Battle.net for the first time, you’ll be able to essentially hit a button and bring all your Facebook friends that are also on Battle.net into Battle.net and create (Real ID) relationships.”

As with all forms of progress, there are obvious up and down sides to this move. On the up side, I’m quite certain there’s bound to be the “Oh no way, you play WoW too?”, as I discovered a few summers’ back when chatting with an old college buddy (on Facebook chat, none the less). On the other side of the coin, this move essentially eliminates gaming anonymity. Certainly, one of the draws, especially of MMORPG’s and RTS’s on the scale that Blizzard is creating IS that fantasy of being something pixilated that you are not in real life. For example, yes Humans (Alliance) are the most populated of all World of Warcraft races, but if players wanted to be something they already are, then why the other racial options? Why the Horde for that matter?

Either way you look at it, this is a huge nod from one of the largest and most influential gaming companies in the world towards to convergence of social networking and social gaming.

“We’re pleased to be working with Facebook to integrate their platform with Battle.net to enhance the social-entertainment experience for our players,” said Paul Sams, chief operating officer of Blizzard Entertainment. “This new functionality will make it easier than ever to connect with friends on Battle.net and play StarCraft II and future Blizzard Entertainment games together.”

Looking down the road, let’s just put it out there right now: Blizzard may just have found a way to appease the “hardcore” gaming fans who will never lay down a cent for a microtransaction, and are very happy with their monthly subscription, while at the same time, opening up a number of inroads to those that enjoy the social gaming/microtransaction model. Remember, Blizzard’s mystical pony raked in a boatload of cash, clearly indicating that players are willing to fork over even more than their monthly subscription fee. My prediction is that Blizz will launch the service, build it up, and then begin releasing social ‘missions’ based on current titles. A WoW fishing championship for example, or a StarCraft Assault on XYZ…share with your friends, etc…