Today Google launched the beginnings of an API for the company’s Google+ social network.

APIs allow outside developers to connect with and build applications on top of web services like Facebook, Twitter and now Google+. In fact much of the success of Twitter and Facebook is a result of both services’ developer APIs. If Google+ is to have any hope of catching its competitors it needs a strong API.

Unfortunately what Google has unveiled so far isn’t much of an API. The current version of the Google+ API limits developers to read-only access of public posts. If you were hoping to see apps that...

Midori Kaneko, right, enjoys a game of Dance Central 2 for Kinect at the Microsoft booth at Tokyo Game Show on Friday. But she says she won't buy an Xbox.
Photo: Robert Gilhooly/Wired.com

By Chris Kohler and Daniel Feit

TOKYO — Of all the Tokyo Game Show attendees who visited the Kinect booth, one salaryman in a button-down shirt stood out. He jumped into the Dance Central game with gusto, busting out crazy moves in his patent-leather shoes, literally going leaps and bounds beyond what the dance game required.

A small crowd gathered to watch his moves. At one point, he did a handstand in front of...