PS Home gets game launching today

By Oli Welsh Published 1 October, 2009

US launch of version 1.3 confirmed.

PlayStation Home is updated to version 1.3 today, with the headline change being the addition of universal game launching to the PS3's virtual social space.

That's according to the US PlayStation blog. As yet there has been no similar announcement from Sony regarding Europe, but at time of writing, European Home servers are down for an extended maintenance, so we remain hopeful that the update is being applied here too.

Universal game launching means you can jump straight to the start menu of any PS3 game without logging out of Home, simply by slipping the disc in. Titles that already fully support game launching with additional multiplayer functionality - such as Street Fighter IV or Resistance 2 - are identified by icons over avatars' heads.

Other new features of version 1.3 include in-store item previews, new emotes, new item types, and various interface improvements and bug fixes. American Home users also get an updated central plaza and some other new content, although this is less likely to apply to Europe too.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (35) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • DaftVice #1 2 years ago

    I like watching Home expand. It'll be interesting to see where it is a year or two from now. I look forward to this update.

  • Golgo #2 2 years ago

    Should be fully functional come 2020?

  • RedPanda #3 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • Dizzy #4 2 years ago

    Welcome to 1995.

  • M_of_the_sys #5 2 years ago

    Cue hundreds of people claiming this has broken their PS3.

    Also cue getting lost in a sea of "Home is SH!T" and "sonylol" posts.
    Edited by 2 at 01/10/09 @ 11:05

  • Skurmedel #6 2 years ago

    I'd rather see them working on the PSN Store frankly.

  • wizlon #7 2 years ago

    I don't get it. I haven't used Home yet, is it really worth it? From what I hear it's a load of idiots dancing, if I wanted that I would just go to Flares on a Friday night.

  • Goodfella #8 2 years ago

    @ M_of_the_sys

    Hehe.

  • spookyzombie #9 2 years ago

    Is anyone actually still bothered about Home?

  • mcmonkeyplc #10 2 years ago

    I still dont understand the point of Home.

  • Goodfella #11 2 years ago

    There's no place like Home.

  • YobRenoops #12 2 years ago

    EG report on US Home shock horror! Next we'll get PS1 Classics on US PSN and where in the Big Apple to go to get a good bagel.

    Stick to the stuff thats relevant for the EU!

  • BritishBlue1 #13 2 years ago

    As if Home didn't suck enough, the european Home sucks even worse. I really struggle to see where they're going with this.

  • BritishBlue1 #14 2 years ago

    "i wish sony would call it a day with home, as the time and money would be better spent getting psn up to xboxlive standard etc.."

    As much as I think you're a moron, I have to agree.

  • Arwin #15 2 years ago

    Nice, these are features I've been looking forward to a lot. However, I haven't heard yet about starting games and demoes on the HDD ... Not supported yet? Or is that in the menu?

  • Jay-ITFC #16 2 years ago

    I log in to home probably once every 4-5 months. After half an hour of updates I play checkers for 3 minutes. I then realise it's still a load of sh*t and sign out.

  • Toothball #17 2 years ago

    Europe?

  • ps3owner #18 2 years ago

    We'd all be fucked without the US... look at them... they can launch games out of HOME... man... last time I looked out my window at home I saw some drunk polish blokes... hang on....

  • Vanmunt #19 2 years ago

    Home is ok, I don't think it is really for misserable old people... social stuff like this is for the 'youf'.

  • Arwin #20 2 years ago

    By the way, I assume updates to Home will be mostly worldwide since you can still visit each other cross region in clubhouses and apartments. I use that for voice chat and such (voice chat is still active there) and for game launching as well (have four games that support it propertly now, so we're slowly starting to get somewhere with that ;) ) and universal game launching makes hanging out in an apartment with friends even more useful.
    Edited by 1 at 01/10/09 @ 11:57

  • stepneg #21 2 years ago

    I don't think they could actually do anything to Home that would make me feel like downloading and installing it again, why not add cross game party chat and proper game invites to PSN instead?

  • crazyhorse174 #22 2 years ago

    But cant you just launch your games from the main PS3 menu? Why would I want to wait 5 minutes for home to start, then however long it takes to update, to launch a game!?!

    Or am I missing the point?!

  • Skurmedel #23 2 years ago

    How is 21 miserable and old?

  • ps3owner #24 2 years ago

    hey comrade, have you tried the pub yet?! last time I checked that place still showed footi + served beer on top of that... even with real ppl and all. I even heard it's supposed to be fun?!

  • mkreku #25 2 years ago

    I don't get the hate towards Home. I think it's an interesting experience and it's not like Sony is forcing you to use it. In fact, everytime I go to my cousin, I log in to Home just to annoy him. Because every time there's this 20 minute upgrade waiting to happen since he never logs in himself :p

  • stepneg #26 2 years ago

    'In fact, everytime I go to my cousin, I log in to Home just to annoy him. Because every time there's this 20 minute upgrade waiting to happen since he never logs in himself'

    More fun than Home itself by the sounds of it, if I was him I would just delete it like everyone else.

  • Skurmedel #27 2 years ago

    mkreku, it would be fine and dandy if there weren't other things on the machine that needs the attention more... still if people use it, no problem for me, we all like different things. I just wonder where Sony's priorities are.

  • Arwin #28 2 years ago

    Yes horse, you're missing the point. If you're in Home, and you go say into someone's appartment or clubhouse, you have proximity based voice chat for up to 64 people in the clubhouse or apartment. If you launch a game from there to say do some multiplayer online or just to play a level, then when you quit out of the game you'll return to that apartment or clubhouse in Home and have your friends to chat with again. If you'd use your XMB for launching a game while in Home, then when you quit you'd return to the XMB instead of Home.

    Additionally, for games that natively support game launching like Resi 5, SF4, Resistance 2, Warhawk, MotorStorm 2, and Far Cry 2 (I think that's most of them atm), you can then launch into a multiplayer game from Home directly while doing the setup and inviting people and friends etc still in Home, reserving friend spots, choose co-op play options or launch into a party in the actual game directly.

  • Vanmunt #29 2 years ago

    @ skerm

    21... well past it.

  • ElNino9 #30 2 years ago

    This is LoLing.

  • stepneg #31 2 years ago

    "I love the Home hate from people who never use it and, in most cases, don't even own the console that uses it."

    "It's optional, get over it."

    I don't think that's the point, they are wasting development resources on something the majority of people find utterly pointless and don't use rather than adding the extra functionality to the XMB which I'm sure most people would prefer.

  • Vanmunt #32 2 years ago

    @ bozzy

    freedom of speech ends on this site with anything positive about the ps3.. especially Home.

  • Vanmunt #33 2 years ago

    oh, and up the Latics.

  • Machiavellian #34 2 years ago

    I believe the real problem with home is not Home but instead Sony commitment to extend home but not the XMB. I believe a good majority of people on the PS3 will not use Home but instead we all use the XMB and having features like cross game chat, launching games Party mode like the 360 have are excellent value added features that everyone would probably use. I know I do not want to load up a front end go into another front end to meet my buddies and then start to do things I want.

  • Pedrolot #35 2 years ago

    Well somethings happened on the Euro Home.

    V1.30 is out..