PS3 "Home" rumoured

By Robert Purchese Published 2 March, 2007

Harrison's GDC surprise guessed?

Sony has refused to comment this morning on speculation that Phil Harrison will unveil PS3 "Home" in his GDC keynote speech.

The service is rumoured to let you create a Mii-like avatar that collects achievements from games in the form of items to populate a "Home". It's also apparently going to be a requirement for every PS3 game.

It's a convincing guess, as Sony has talked about social features and networks in the past, mentioning the "Home" button on the SIXAXIS controller and even talking about avatars, but it's nothing more than speculation at this point.

The rumour was sparked by comments from Sony, who told Eurogamer it has a big announcement planned for next week's Game Developer Conference in San Francisco, and Harrison's keynote speech would form the basis of it.

Of course, the simplest way to find out what Sony's got planned is to wait until 18:30, next Wednesday, when we'll be bringing you live text updates from San Francisco as big Phil takes to the stage to deilver his keynote address.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (113) Latest comment 5 years ago

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  • Xerx3s #1 5 years ago

    kotaku. ¬_¬

  • mkreku #2 5 years ago

    I actually enjoyed the first Killzone on the PS2. It had a gritty semi-realistic style that I liked. Was a bit too difficult though.. Never finished it.

  • repairmanjack #3 5 years ago

    Not going to be that their new ground-breaking technology allows for rumble and motion in the same pad then?

    Because a couple of months ago that was impossible...

  • Killerbee #4 5 years ago

    The service is rumoured to let you create a Mii-like avatar that collects achievements from games in the form of items to populate a "Home".

    Nice idea, but it sounds more Nintendo than Sony. Animal Crossing-esque even. I suppose unlockables like game soundtrack mp3s, wallpaper, ringtones and that (the sort of stuff Nintendo demands 50-100 stars for) might be welcomed, but beyond that it sounds like a bit of a gimmick.

    That's not to say it won't be popular though...

  • MaskedDave #5 5 years ago

    Odd... I'm sure I've heard about this somewhere else...

    but nah, can't be, if that much fuss had actually occurred I'm sure Eurogamer would actually, y'know, *report* it.

  • chupachups #6 5 years ago

    It is definitely a nice idea, and I think if Nintendo or Microsoft had announced this people would be generally happy.

    The problem is that it isn't anything like big enough news to get people's attention over the talk about the PS3's price, backwards compatibility and poor sales in the US and Japan.

    Sony really need to be announcing something much bigger, for example European price cuts would be extremely welcome and make business sense as the pre-orders clearly aren't selling out.

  • Garulon #7 5 years ago

    "Refused to comment" = "Threw a big childish snit at Kotaku and tried to blackmail them into supressing the story"?

    Threespeech must pay pretty well eh, Eurogamer? Better or worse than throwing that Sensible Soccer review?

  • Hunam #8 5 years ago

    Lol, stoled.

  • crouchy #9 5 years ago

    It is definitely a nice idea, and I think if Nintendo or Microsoft had announced this people would be generally happy.
    -----
    This is just a tiny part of home.

    about the PS3's price,
    -----
    THE PS3 is well worth the price. It will be demonstrated over the next few months.


    backwards compatibility
    ------
    BC is fine over a 1000 PS2 games work at launch.


    and poor sales in the US and Japan.
    ------
    The sales are actually imprssive in the US all things considered. They havent even started yet. You'l see.

    Sony really need to be announcing something much bigger, for example European price cuts would be extremely welcome and make business sense as the pre-orders clearly aren't selling out.
    -------
    Erm no.

  • jonnyquest #10 5 years ago

    ^^ Spot the Sony fanboy

  • crouchy #11 5 years ago

    ^^ Spot the Sony fanboy
    ------
    These are facts. No amount of fud will change that. People are gonna get the shock of there lives over the next few months. Sony launched very early just to stifle xbox but there vision is now slowly coming together.

  • Razzajazz #12 5 years ago

    I have found it a bit strange how there's been VERY little mention across the internet (from what I've seen, admittedly) regarding the whole Kotaku malarky. It's almost as if other game sites don't want to find themselves in the same position....

  • thedaveeyres #13 5 years ago

    Too little too late as far as I'm concerned. I don't give a toss about some wanky functionality that they've cobbled together. Cut the price, give us a fully specced console, otherwise I'll stick with my PS2.

  • brooza #14 5 years ago

    It was mentioned on Gizmodo, and I'm sure Kotaku said it was picked up by a load of other sites too

  • alpha-0ne #15 5 years ago

    "The rumour was sparked by comments from Sony, who told Eurogamer it has a big announcement planned for next week's Game Developer Conference in San Francisco"

    Rubbish eurogamer kotaku released this info yesterday and got banned from attending any more sony events, after much uproar from the blog community they backed down and put them back on the list, all detailed here http://kotaku.com/gaming/sony/sony-and-k...
    Edited by alpha-0ne at 02/03/07 @ 13:07

  • Stormflood #16 5 years ago

    A week ago I was considering my PS3 purchase to be an expensive risk. Sure, it's still expensive, but I no longer consider it a risk. Not at all.

  • kangarootoo #17 5 years ago

    @alpha-0ne

    Typo check, for christ's sake! What is wrong with your fingers?

  • alpha-0ne #18 5 years ago

    "@alpha-0ne

    Typo check, for christ's sake! What is wrong with your fingers?
    "

    Use refresh i edited at 13:07 you posted at 13:09

  • Les #19 5 years ago

    Please, no stupid achievements. People that like achievements are people that I don't like.

  • sanctusmortis #20 5 years ago

    Sony launched very early just to stifle xbox but there vision is now slowly coming together.

    It's official - Sony has cataracts!

    Sorry, but to me nothing's coming together. All I'm seeing is an attempt to out-MS MS, and steal all the good Nintendo ideas in the bargain. A good company leads and innovates, not follows and duplicates. So far it's an over-expensive, issue-riddled non-console console.

    And crouchy, you sound very much like you either know more than you're letting on, or just trolling. They can't justify the price without something exemplary (blu-ray does not cut it), there aren't >1000 BC games (they said around, which means it'll likely be less), and preorders haven't sold out by far. The entirity of Newcastle high street, heck even the METROCENTRE (Europe's biggest shopping centre, fact fans) are still advertising. How many Wii's were at the UK launch? And how fast did they sell out? Compare that to the 220k PS3s the UK has, and the preorders that have been going 2 weeks now...

  • silver-jon #21 5 years ago

    And this is important, why ?

    Right. So let me clarify this - I get a little virtual person populating a virtual home with stuff awarded to me for doing specific things in games. Like Xbox Live's achievements but with cuter presentation. It;s hardly a "Big announcement".
    Populating my real home with stuff, on the other hand. Then I'd feel like the PS3 was value for money. :-)

  • Les #22 5 years ago

    "A good company leads and innovates, not follows and duplicates."

    Seems to be quite a successful strategy for MS.

  • alpha-0ne #23 5 years ago

    sanctusmortis , i still cant get a wii in the uk nowhere has them, i have imported a ps3 so no worries there

  • Stormflood #24 5 years ago

    Please, no stupid achievements. People that like achievements are people that I don't like.

    I do like achievements. That little bleep when you get one unexpectedly is nice. It's the gamerscore I find utterly pointless, and nothing more than dick waving.

  • barnard666 #25 5 years ago

    I know what does the wii do? ooh and the xbox has achievements lets bring them both together and crush everyone...

    So do I cancel my PS3 pre-order...the fact that I can save £130 and have one in a few days if I import is bringing me to a point where I am questioning if I want one at all.
    I preordered in june 2006! paid £20 deposit....oh and the included controller is going to be redundant because I now need to upgrade it to a rumble one.

    it's rubbish...but then one of my 360's does have 3 red lights of doom...and my wii has a layer of dust begining to collect on it...the ps3 wouldnt look nice if it got dusty.

  • tonynibbles #26 5 years ago

    An inside source close to Sony made a post on the IGN boards a few weeks ago talking about a new feature that Sony would be implementing. At the moment the feature is dubbed “Home”, and Sony has even secured a patent and logo for the name. The poster commented that this new Home feature would create a virtual home located in a virtual town, populated by the people on your buddy list. Your buddies can go inside your house when your PS3 is online, and you can go inside their house.

    Your home will act as a storage of trophies, achievements, and other rewards that can be viewed by anyone on your buddy list. But, the most crucial aspect to the asset is that it’ll let people listen to audio on your HDD and watch videos from your HDD (you make the audio/video public or private). You’ll be able to play a host of mini-games like cards with your friends, and also have the virtual TV in your home display a video in your PS3. Lastly, the poster suggests that you can walk outside of your house and visit the Virtual Theater (you’ll get movie clips/videos here) and visit the Virtual Arcade.


    Browsing friends Media? Brilliant. Like iTunes shared libraries only a gazillion times better.
    Edited by tonynibbles at 02/03/07 @ 13:21

  • Stormflood #27 5 years ago

    http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/resources...

  • OnlyMe #28 5 years ago

    Dickweaving for people with very small dicks, that is.

  • lambtron #29 5 years ago

    "Sony launched very early just to stifle xbox but there vision is now slowly coming together."

    Hmm you have a very strange definiton of launching early...

  • barnard666 #30 5 years ago

    sharing audio and video from your console? sounds legally suspect...and I certainly dont have the bandwidth...but it could actually be a good feature....bit-torrent built on to a console...maybe they'll make it so you can share psp games and stuff...yeah that would be sooo kewl...

  • trevd72 #31 5 years ago

    @alpha-0ne i spotted it on digg yesterday so for eurogamer to claim its all theirs is a but worrying in the light of the other pieces of debatable journalism going on. One site commenting on this, congratulated kotaku for taking a stand in the face of journalism that only allows for regurgitating press releases without comment or fact finding. If the hat fits then wear it.

    i miss not having achievements on wii games by the way. i think it comes from having special stickers at school.

  • CrumpledPaper #32 5 years ago

    The avatar/achievements aspect is only part of this, although I guess people have to draw analogies. If what's rumoured is true, it'll be a much bigger combination of things. Sharing media and content through your 'home' for example - so people visiting can listen to the music on your PS3 hard disk or watch movies with you. There's rumours that there'll be simple games you can play together there, and perhaps more than that with virtual arcades you can visit with your avatar, or virtual movie theaters were you can (perhaps pay for) and download videos. There'll also apparently be a big user-created-content aspect to it, probably expressed through the decoration and make up of your avatar and home (think of the sims).

    I think the Mii analogies might be weaker than, say, a Sims analogy, crossed with MySpace. The Mii concept would look rather primitive in comparison if all the rumoured stuff is true. But I suppose we'll have to wait and see if that's the case, but even if not initially, the potential for extending this concept in those directions in the future is HUGE.
    Edited by CrumpledPaper at 02/03/07 @ 13:30

  • Garulon #33 5 years ago

    "Browsing friends Media? Brilliant. Like iTunes shared libraries only a gazillion times better. "

    It sounds like some really, _really_ lame Habbo Hotel rip off. And there's already a place where you can browse friend's media. It's called the Internet. Heard of Flickr or Youtube?

  • penhalion #34 5 years ago

    @tonynibbles

    And completely illegal. Not sure what sony are upto but, the record comapnies and movie companies are not going to like this one bit (if it's even true)

  • OhWiseOne #35 5 years ago

    Who is 'crouchy'?

    Obviously deserves a boot in the face like his real life counterpart.

    SCEE plant, who needs grammar lessons...

  • jonsaan #36 5 years ago

    "It is definitely a nice idea, and I think if Nintendo or Microsoft had announced this people would be generally happy."

    erm, they don't need to, they already have it. Sony are just copying as usual.

  • chupachups #37 5 years ago

    "chupachups: Heh, so increasing the inherent value of the Playstation 3 product is not good enough?"

    It's good, it's nice, but it's not good ENOUGH.

    And this isn't something that just Europeans get, the US and Japan get it too so we're still left with the problem of Euro PS3s being worse and more expensive and delayed. Sony's doing absolutely nothing to make up for that, we get no apologies or compensation whatsoever, just more smarmy marketing talk from SCEE.

    Increasing the value of the product is a great thing to so, but you can't claim that absolutely any upgrade is good enough to make up for the problems.

    If Sony bundled a blu-ray copy of the complete series of Danger Mouse with every PS3, that would also be a very nice and fun thing to do, I for one would appreciate it greatly, but that wouldn't be enough to make up for how they've behaved.



    "I say it is exactly what they should be doing and worry about a price reduction when they can afford it."

    If Sony can't afford a price cut, why do the US and Japanese PS3s cost much less than ours, even after allowing for taxes? Why does the Japanese PS3 20GB cost just £250 RRP, or even cheaper in some stores?

    Again, it's all down to the way Sony lavish the US and Japan while screwing Europe, and screwing us worse than Nintendo or Microsoft do.


    "These are facts. No amount of fud will change that. People are gonna get the shock of there lives over the next few months. Sony launched very early just to stifle xbox but there vision is now slowly coming together."

    Crouchy, if you're not a plant from Sony, do you promise to come back here in three months time and admit you're wrong if the PS3 continues to be outsold by the Wii?
    Edited by chupachups at 02/03/07 @ 13:38

  • Eighthours #38 5 years ago

    The rumour was sparked by comments from Sony, who told Eurogamer it has a big announcement planned for next week's Game Developer Conference in San Francisco, and Harrison's keynote speech would form the basis of it.

    Come on EG. This is all about Kotaku's story and the subsequent row with Sony, and you damn well know it. Don't insult our intelligence please, you're better than this.

  • teabagger #39 5 years ago

    @penhalion

    Given that Sony also includes both film and music divisions I deeply suspect this has been considered already.

  • SBfistfun #40 5 years ago

    Homo more like

  • Geowolf #41 5 years ago

    Sorry, but in neglecting to point to the Kotakuy debacle in support of journalistic integrity Eurogamer has obviously shown their colours in this matter. The other thread forced them to make some article with reference to the event but they've hung back from reporting the disgraceful behaviour of Sony.

    Well, for responsible unbiased journalism I can always go to Kotaku.

  • mankell #42 5 years ago

    I think this is a great idea. It may not be Sony's idea but I'm glad there including it in the PS3. Wouldn't life be odd if once a good idea was used once it became redundant.

  • kangarootoo #43 5 years ago

    @alpha-0ne

    gaaahhh

    ;)

  • kangarootoo #44 5 years ago

    @Stormflood

    Seconded.

    I love achievements, but I don't personally give a rats ass about the gamerscore. Each to their own though.

  • Gurgeh #45 5 years ago

    "I have found it a bit strange how there's been VERY little mention across the internet (from what I've seen, admittedly) regarding the whole Kotaku malarky. It's almost as if other game sites don't want to find themselves in the same position.... "

    Oddly enough I read an editorial on it this morning and was going to link it, but when I revisited the site in question it had been taken down. Then again some other websites didn't mention it at all, but no surprises there.

  • crazyhorse174 #46 5 years ago

    Err...what good is streaming media from a buddie over the Net, if they turn their machine off halfway through?

  • JediMasterMalik #47 5 years ago

    I think it's a good idea if implemented well. Serioously, alot of you are shitting on this because you hate Sony, not because it's a bad idea. And in no way do MS or Ninty have it. This seems to be combining and improving both of the ideas, which I am all for.

  • Xerx3s #48 5 years ago

    but there vision is now slowly coming together.

    which is what? What is their vision exactly? Unified friendslists? motion control? Online gaming? crossgame/platform communication? online marketplace? media functionality? reward systems? video/tv service?

    The only thing that I can think of that they vision with on the ps3 is the possibility to install a os on the HDD and even that is basically pointless for gaming until they unlock the entire machine. I must be missing something here, care to point me out?

  • septimus #49 5 years ago

    Wow Sony you are so creative, how did you come up with that idea???

    Definately buying one of the 1000's of unpre-ordered units (to become unsold units by April) now.

    /No I'm not.

    PS. Sony allowing sharing of content... HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA. That goes for any movie/music company.
    Edited by septimus at 02/03/07 @ 14:02

  • Garulon #50 5 years ago

    "I think it's a good idea if implemented well. Serioously, alot of you are shitting on this because you hate Sony, not because it's a bad idea."

    It's a fucking _dismal_ idea, stinking of VRML. I wanna check achievements on the 360, I hit the guide button. I wanna see my friends I hit the guide button. I do _not_ want to bobble around a room dressed as a spack looking at trophys on the wall. I _own_ animal crossing, thanks. And as for movies, yeah I can see that happening:

    Wife/GF: Let's watch a new movie on your Playstation Thingy

    Me: Hang on, let me load up my Mii and walk over to the movie theatre down the road at about the same speed it would take us to physically walk over to BlockBuster

    Wife/GF: You're an idiot, and so's Phil Harrison

    As to a shared site on the web showing your achievements etc. Yeah, that's a great idea:

    http://live.xbox.com/en-GB/profile/profi...

  • CrumpledPaper #51 5 years ago

    >> Err...what good is streaming media from a buddie over the Net, if they turn their machine off halfway through?

    The polite thing to do would be to ask your guests to leave before turning off your machine ;)

  • JediMasterMalik #52 5 years ago

    You know Garulon, my last sentence was aimed precisely at you.

    You don't even know in what way it's going to be implemented, so STFU until the actual announcement, then decide whether it's shit or not. Although you've already decided so.. er.. continue...

  • Garulon #53 5 years ago

    "You don't even know in what way it's going to be implemented, so STFU until the actual announcement, then decide whether it's shit or not. Although you've already decided"

    But so have you, unless "This seems to be combining and improving both of the ideas, which I am all for." is supposed to be some ambiguous statement. I think you're suffering from Battered Fanboi Syndrome: "Maybe this time they'll really come through for me!"

  • JediMasterMalik #54 5 years ago

    Oh, OK then, let's just leave it then. Sony, Garulon doesn't want you to try anything at all, just stick to what you're doing now, he won't be happy either way, just doin't try make anything better. We can't have that at all.

  • dadrester #55 5 years ago

    me... i think it's a fucking ace idea. as far as copyright issues go, does anyone have itunes and share tunes over their works network? i suspect this will be all linked into the psp too with some sort of "go home" option so you'll be able to look at any of your media etc via the psp... i doublt it would replace the XMB so you'll still be able to just access your media normally, but i like the idea of a virtual space to hang out, that's not a game. let's hope if the rumours are true, sony don't fuck it up in their implementation.

  • Garulon #56 5 years ago

    "Oh, OK then, let's just leave it then. Sony, Garulon doesn't want you to try anything at all"

    That's a politician's paradox, isn't it? We need to do something that'll differentiate our brand, this is something, therefore we must do it? Look, I'd _love_ it if Sony beefed up PSN with Achievements and a GamerScore and everything; but VR interfaces demo well and control badly - it's why Nintendo had Mii creation but didn't have the Mii (for example) sitting in front of a "virtual" TV changing channels - they left that up to you.

    The whole game industry should try more new things - but seriously, brace yourself for a disappointment. If it's announced at all next week.

  • Guff-Pipe #57 5 years ago

    Its seems to me as far as most people on here are concerned sony are screwed if they do or if they dont. if they "dont" then they are behind and becoming stale. If they "do" then they are copying or trying to catch up. Get a grip people. This is pure cocksuckery.

  • SeesThroughAll #58 5 years ago

    i suspect this will be all linked into the psp too with some sort of "go home" option so you'll be able to look at any of your media etc via the psp...

    After 3.11, the PSP flash has about 200Kb of space left (optimistic estimate). I doubt Sony are planning on adding many new features to the PSP at this point, this one included.

  • kangarootoo #59 5 years ago

    @crazyhorse174

    "Err...what good is streaming media from a buddie over the Net, if they turn their machine off halfway through?"

    Thats kind of like saying "what good is a co-op game if your buddy switches off their console halfway through" (its not EXACTLY the same, its a metaphor).

    Anything that involves two members of the public cooperating in some way is always going to have a rather obvious achilles heel. Doesn't mean it isn't a good idea.

  • kangarootoo #60 5 years ago

    @ManicMinerUK

    "Well that's a bit of a shit for all those developers halfway through a game who have to crowbar in all this new functionality, isn't it? "

    Extra support and features get patched into place on 360 titles all the time. Don't see why this would differ.

  • Garulon #61 5 years ago

    "Its seems to me as far as most people on here are concerned sony are screwed if they do or if they dont"

    I flat-out disbelieve being able to share music/video on your box and allow friends to access it. I'm just flat out saying this now. There's a whole bunch of technical reasons why not (like what happens if you want to play Motorstorm) plus I'd love to see someone run this past Sony Music or Sony Pictures.

  • Guff-Pipe #62 5 years ago

    I wasnt refering to the features themselves, besides its all pure speculation at the moment, but I was commenting on the general view. Surley the addition of new (imporved)? features etc as all brands compete is a good thing for the consumer, why are most people on here so misrable and negative. Pure noncery!!! : )
    P.S.
    if anyone commentson my spelling and grammer they can cok off. Ive been to the pub on lunch break!

  • dadrester #63 5 years ago

    After 3.11, the PSP flash has about 200Kb of space left (optimistic estimate). I doubt Sony are planning on adding many new features to the PSP at this point, this one included.

    hmm... are you sure it's that little? i don't think that 3.11 takes up 31mb. anyway the interface would be running on the host machine not the psp, so it's entirely plausible. after all the psp already has the ability to stream media from the ps3 on a home network, so why not over the internet, besides the firmware can just be rewritten and optimised if space is even an issue. it's not like the nand chip is some sort of once only writeable media.

  • Steroyd #64 5 years ago

    Well people are happy with the Xbox 360's achievements so i don't know how people could bitch about this.

    Hope this isn't the "BIG" announcement I'm not exactly a fan of achievements it's not going to make me play the games i buy any different... at all.

  • Penguinzoot #65 5 years ago

    So why did they include the EE in the first place? Doesn't seem like it was very well thought out.

    Because software emulation wasn't ready?

  • SeesThroughAll #66 5 years ago

    besides the firmware can just be rewritten and optimised if space is even an issue. it's not like the nand chip is some sort of once only writeable media.

    Space already is a issue. As of 3.00, Sony changed the FS of the nand chip. The problem consists of adding new features, while keeping the existing ones in new firmwares. Location Free does take a hell of a lot of space, no wonder Dark_AleX took it out for his OE ULTRA ILLEGAL firmwares.

  • dadrester #67 5 years ago

    there's a way of getting it back in to the 3.11 OE B by the way, so you no longer need to run devhook if you want to use it while running OE

  • SeesThroughAll #68 5 years ago

    there's a way of getting it back in to the 3.11 OE B by the way, so you no longer need to run devhook if you want to use it while running OE

    Sure it will work like that, by running a decrypted firmware (>2.5) from the memory stick. Someone could also convert Sony's LF prx files and allow them to be executed from a plugin, again, making the app available from the memory stick. The problem with the plugin approach, however, is that people may not distribute decrypted official firmware files.

  • Garulon #69 5 years ago

    "Kangarootoo - those features aren't requirements though, they are optional.

    I'm not sure there's been anything as far-reaching or as fundamental as this demanded of Xbox 360 developers yet. "

    achievements are mandatory for XBox 360 titles. I imagine for developers they'll just abstract out the achievments and draw the bitmaps / models accordingly. I'm still _extremely_ sceptical this will be anything more than a gimmick over the top of a flatter weblike system like the 360 though.

  • Garulon #70 5 years ago

    @rdexter
    "That's your good right. But what's that giving you other than high blood pressure?"

    A good laugh? Sony are like Spinal Tap the video game company! I scan blogs EVERY DAY to find out what crazy high-jinks they're up to! Today I read Kotoku and said to myself "heh. Sony actively blackmailing media into surpressing a story they don't like? Tsk, those muddy funsters!" And giggled a bit.

    I wonder what krazy schemes they have planned for Monday? Maybe pretending there's a stock shortage in the US and Japan again!

  • Hendo #71 5 years ago

    Haha!
    Well done Eurogamer, nice to see intelligent journalism come through.
    How long before you update the article and write it properly this time?

  • Peew971 #72 5 years ago

    The media idea is fine but did they have to add achievements? Enough of the copying already! Now I'll just assume if MS or Nint announce a great feature next week, Sony will announce the same feature at E3. It's boring! Choice is about products that offer different features!

  • knocker #73 5 years ago

    "The rumour was sparked by comments from Sony, who told Eurogamer .... "

    Really ? Really really ?

  • LeD #74 5 years ago

    What's the matter with this now? It's a nice idea, basically a graphic representation of what MS has done with their Achievements, which was a nice feature to start with. It's not that big a deal, but it certainly a nice thing to have something to show for your gaming efforts, as most 360 owners will tell you.

  • Les #75 5 years ago

    "And this isn't something that just Europeans get, the US and Japan get it too so we're still left with the problem of Euro PS3s being worse and more expensive and delayed."

    Please stop whining about PS3 being delayed. There's nothing worth playing on it currently, so you're not missing much.

    Less BC support is terrible, have to agree with you on that. As with regards to price, let's just say this is not only up to Sony but also because of VAT, less efficient logistics, multiple languages, etc. As Europe isn't really united, I applaud companies to price their stuff higher within this territory. It's probably the only way to surpass stupid nationalism and get Europe to really form a single market and preferably select a single 2nd language.

  • in5ane #76 5 years ago

    Thanks for reading kids! Todays article was brought to you by the letters 'P', 'S', the number '3' and the website 'Kotaku' :)

  • Hughes. #77 5 years ago

    From what I read the avatars are the opposite of Mii-like, except for the fact that they are avatars. I suppose Nintendo invented avatars now, I love revisionist console history.

    However, as the news was supposed to be very exciting to PS3 owners, whilst I'm not going to be one of those for the forseeable future, I can't imagine the prospect of having a virtual bedroom with achievements on the wall is spectacularly exciting to anyone, so if that's supposed to be the extent of this rumour, pinch of salt taken.

    Now an achievements binder would be a whole different ball-game!

  • old_skool #78 5 years ago

    Maybe the big announcement is the inclusion of rumble ? Sony and Immersion are buddies now...

  • busboy33 #79 5 years ago

    "but VR interfaces demo well and control badly"

    True. The concept may be pretty cool and fun, but this can't be the primary control system for PS3-Interweb-GamerIdentity. Hell, I get pissed at how long it takes to access messages and friendslists on XBL (seconds).

    p.s. Shame on EG for willful blindness to the Kotaku story. Not even a mention in passing? Not newsworthy? Sony Snaps Stuffing Straight Shooters? Guess we know who's the bitch in the EG/SCEE relationship.
    Edited by busboy33 at 02/03/07 @ 17:16

  • Machetazo #80 5 years ago

    Sanctusmortis wrote: They can't justify the price without something exemplary (blu-ray does not cut it)

    If blu-ray were a knife, TO GAMES FANS it wouldn't even be any good for slicing through butter. That's how much that particular innovation cuts, today.

    The rumoured "Playstation Home", just taken as a suggested concept, is just BAD. Firstly because it just sounds irreparably goofy, and like Sony's trying to bite back into cultural popularity again. It's forced. There's a mandatory avatar which you've designed which you send through your games to hunt out furniture, which you'll have revealed by playing these titles, to then stick said furniture into the home, that the virtual you will inhabit for how long? My response regarding this concept is that Animal Crossing springs immmediately to mind, just from hearsay, and that contrary to the previous poster, I LIKE achievements, because when I play, my progress is recorded, and if I decide to try something daft, or "unexpected" just to see what happens, that may be recognised and remembered...Or my character might just go splat! BUT crucially differently to this, the process is simple, unobtrusive and automatic. A small notification with chime appears, and whether I intended it or not, there's one in the bank towards the thousand total.

    Microsoft pioneered this whole concept and thankfully unlike this comparable theatrical act, chose an integrated method which only requires players to enjoy the games they want to play and take as little or as much notice as they wish of the achievements and associated points, since it goes on in the background.

    My opinion on whether Kotaku should have revealed the rumoured functionality, having been made aware of the consequences if they did, is this...Why in hell did they send the article to sony, if they're a GAMER's BLOG? Why did feel they needed SCEA's approval to run the story? They were without doubt playing with fire, at that point, Dave Karraker then warned them of such, and they got burned. Sony earned itself more bad PR, sure, for riling the enthusiast press, and I VERY MUCH appreciate the efforts of ALL gaming media outlets and blogs to shed some light on and present the latest announcements and opinion regarding the hobby and its numerous characters and going on, but they stepped over the line...To what gain? What did Kotaku think they'd achieve for such a move?
    They couldn't reveal their source (so they, for all intent and purpose had no verifiable one) It was, to their best belief going to be revealed to all that would watch and/or listen next week by Sony, at which point Kotaku could talk about it as much as they wanted...Maybe the exclusive really was worth that much to them (kotaku?) /is non-plussed...

  • OfficialBlue #81 5 years ago

    This is really cool!!

  • Ihya #82 5 years ago

    Reference your sources Eurogamer, shame on you. -1 Karma EG +1 Kotaku

  • Carrybagma #83 5 years ago

    @JediMM: Of course people are going to shit on this! Sony denigrates both the Wii and the 360, yet then pilfer every idea they can off them. So, now we have avatars, which are so much 'better' than '2D cartoons' or whatever he called Miis. Is it any wonder that forums are full of foaming fanboys when company executives behave no better?

  • ronuds #84 5 years ago

    How come Sony markets the ps3 to older gamers then treats us all like 5 year olds? A little house with furniture that my little virtual man walks around - and I can visit other people's virtual house to view their virtual trophies?

    Why don't I throw a pink ribbon in my hair and rename myself Shantel?

  • msamik #85 5 years ago

    funny how I can log in to most such sites (like this one) but there doesnt seem to be any such option on Kotaku, you have to be "invited" and are kicked out if you are critical of them, thats :freedom of expression"
    Sounds exciting, but lets see. Though all these comments about "copying" is rich. Bet most of us are using MS OS, which has doen nothing but copying ideas. And Nintendo, well the controller is new, but where is the innovation in games, ALL games are "new" versions of old franchises like Zelda, Mario, Metroid Prime.

  • Mr_Brown #86 5 years ago

    That sounds like a good idea. It would be great to have a custom made home, where you could win little items from games along with achievement points and decorate your home with them and show them off to your mates online. Sounds like a great idea, never thought of something like that (not sure if thats what they mean though!)

  • penhalion #87 5 years ago

    The reality is that this will look good but, is totally impractical. You have to log on to the playstation network in web mode to use it. Your achievements are hard to identify unless the other person knows what each piece of decoration comes from. In short it's only good on paper.

    All of these things mean nothing however, until the price drop later this year.

  • Freek #88 5 years ago

    I'm going to love hearing them spin it as though they are the sole people who thought of this totally original unique idea that nobody else on the market comes close to offering.

  • Beano #89 5 years ago

    "How come Sony markets the ps3 to older gamers then treats us all like 5 year olds? A little house with furniture that my little virtual man walks around - and I can visit other people's virtual house to view their virtual trophies?"

    Well, Shantel... many adults actually like the Mii concept ;)

  • Kami #90 5 years ago

    The problem you missed though Msamik is that Kotaku ran this yesterday, and was mentioned numerous times previously on this site before this article.

    As for the comments, I think the blog is part of a much greater blogging network, therefore I suspect it uses a universal sign in. You know, just guessing here...

  • smelly #91 5 years ago

    "Of course, the simplest way to find out what Sony's got planned is to wait until 18:30, next Wednesday,"


    EDIT:

    "Of course, the simplest way to find out what Sony's got planned is to wait to see what microsoft and nintendo do first for them to copy"

  • AOFanboi #92 5 years ago

    <em>Whine, whine, Sony are copying others</em>

    Okay are people totally unaware of the "second mover advantage"? Why did Word win over Worperfect? Or Wordperfect win over WordStar? Because they copied what their predecessors did right, and added something of their own.

    Of COURSE they copy. That's what the industry DOES. "Oh, but Microsoft's achievements are innovative" - no, they are not, they are just the last iteration of completion percentages or even Infocom's adventure game scoring system. We're talking 1980s here lads. The same goes for every other feature you might think of. It's all a variant of some older concept. But why is that bad? Well, it's not.

  • smelly #93 5 years ago

    Its okay to copy.. if you innovate yourself.. otherwise all yer doing is constantly playing catch up

  • Kami #94 5 years ago

    Smelly 100% bang on the money.

    Sure, it's great to improve on already great ideas and make them your own. But not just blatantly copying and hoping to cobble together something impressive from ideas that already existed.

    Nintendo DS. Nothing fancy about that, we've had touch screens for ages in the palms of our hands, and mics in our phones. All put together with some gaming tech though, and whaddya know, it's a rather nice piece of kit. The Wii - nothing hugely innovative about the Wiimote concept itself (We've had remote devices for years and tilt/motion sensing as well), but it's the design and how it gets used that works its charms and makes it seem very innovative. Microsoft, it's a pretty little PC with an online gaming service which is nothing new, except it's found its home on a console network and found its feet there.

    None of the aforementioned are doing brand new ideas. But it's how they've done them. It's the design, the build, the execution.

    I'm willing to give the idea of Sony 'Home' the benefit of the doubt for now. Who knows, it might actually be well designed and well executed (though if you can read that last bit without chuckling slightly, well, you're dead on the inside!). Then, it could end up a mish-mash of already done ideas that say Sony are really reaching for bandwagons to leap onto in order to give the PS3 something, ANYTHING, to get a small push in sales (Which was the argument against the Wii I believe, so should teach us to not judge so indiscriminately!).

    I think what I do find amusing in an odd sort of way is that Sony dismissed what their competition was doing over the past year/18 months... now they've seen it and seen it working, they must be wanting some of that lovely hot juicy pie. Will they get their slice, or fall flat in their desperation to get some, well. Next week should be interesting...

  • hotblack #95 5 years ago

    Shame there's absolutely no attribution or mention of the threats and subsequent step-down by Sony. Come on eurogamer you're not really that scared of damaging your relationship with Sony that you'd neglect common journalistic courtesy and ignore Kotaku's existence are you?

  • Kami #96 5 years ago

    Like the Tilt feature in their controller Disc? Seriously, you're right it probably started off differently but I'd not be surprised that major changes have been made in recent months. Or, as I said, it could be shiny and good. I don't know. Though you jumping to defend against a post that wasn't intended to knock Sony really is telling of some people these days who would seemingly jump in front of a lorry for Sony if they had to...

    The "Home" concept to me isn't at all new either... FFXI Online used to give all its players a home they could use for recieving mail, decorating, managing storage etc. The idea isn't at all new in my mind, so it will be interesting to see exactly how it all slides together. It could be great, it could be shit. But the ideas in Home, as they stand, are nothing exactly 'new', so it will be down to the execution and style. If that isn't there, Sony could be in a whole heap of problems...
    Edited by Kami at 03/03/07 @ 10:59

  • ForbiddenForest #97 5 years ago

    This is nothing new. Every time i've finished a game - and this goes back to dracula's castle on the ZX80 (yes the one in which Dracula was a pair of quotation marks and you were represented by the letter X) - i've walked into the local sports shop and bought myself a trophy to place on my real mantelpiece at home...

    ...Like cock I have. What an absolute waste of my cocking time this story is

  • Walshicus #98 5 years ago

    So, why no mention of the Kotaku element to this story, Eurogamer?

  • JediMasterMalik #99 5 years ago

    Would you guys shut up about Kotaku, they were NOT the only ones who reported this rumour you know?

  • SeesThroughAll #100 5 years ago

    So, why no mention of the Kotaku element to this story, Eurogamer?

    What story? That a Sony spokesperson got pissed at them, they used the exchange email to promote themselves, and that now everything is OK with Sony again? It's a no-story.

    If what you really want is gratuitous slagging of Sony, I'm sure someone will post an editorial about "Why we shouldn't care about the PS3" around launch time.

  • Virvel #101 5 years ago

    Nice. Sony is now well underway to dominate the console market, like they have done for over 10 years. All Sony has to do now is compete against the PS2.

    It is lame of all you xbox whiners to even mention that Sony copies what Microsoft have 'invented' with their Live system. MS never invented shit. Online-gaming, communities, downloadable content, 'socialised gaming' is nothing new. Its been around for decades.

  • busboy33 #102 5 years ago

    the attacks on "xbox fanboys" for "decrying copying" miss the friggin point entirely. The issue is not whether or not Sony copied/updated/designed Playstation Home -- the question is why the hell have they been slagging their competitors for what they clearly believe is a good idea. Miis are stoopid, we'd never stoop to that -- look! we've thought of the idea of avatars. Avatars; now THAT's cool. Achievements are gimmiks, MS is desprately trying to entice you to care about them. Sony is all about the game experience, not this faux-social bragging crap -- Look! We just thought up (or have been working on for years) a public recognition system for games! Rumble is so last-gen. You are an idiot if you want it. The lawsuit is over? Damn! Rumble is the next frontier (again)! 360 doesn't have perfect BC? MS must hate its consumers -- we'd never do that to our loyal fanbase. Suprise!! you don't really give a damn about your old games, do you? We sure dont (now).
    Their communication style suggests that they either (a) change their mind about every two months or (b) have been lying to us, the consumers, from the start. Come to think of it, havent they been? Still havent played those awsome Killzone2 and Motorstorm games they showed me two years ago, although my trip to the 4th Dimension has been entertaining. PS3s selling like hotcakes everywhere, excluding anywhere you look.
    The Kotaku angle is important for the same reason -- no because of whether or not its illegal, but because of what the actions of Sony detail about their situation. Rumors get published on blogs constantly (MGS4 going multiplatform, for example). To react in this over-the-top manner suggests a company that is VERY panicked. Whether or not they should be is another question -- the fact is, their behavior shows a "we're on the edge" mentality, and when the boys inside start flipping out, we should know about it. If Peter Moore went on a profanity-laced tirade against a reporter, that would be news, if for no other reason than to wonder what the hell is wrong with him.
    As a 360 partisan, I think PS Home is a neat idea -- wouldn't suprise me if some homebrewer made a similar program with XNA. No one is giggling because Sony is trying to develop their network. We're giggling because they've been mocking exactly what they are now doing, and appear to be hoping that if they just bluff they won't get called on it.

  • DrunKao #103 5 years ago

    busboy33, I agree with you wholeheartedly.

  • SeesThroughAll #104 5 years ago

    As a 360 partisan, I think PS Home is a neat idea -- wouldn't suprise me if some homebrewer made a similar program with XNA.

    It would surprise me though.
    Edited by SeesThroughAll at 04/03/07 @ 00:42

  • msamik #105 5 years ago

    Wow, Sony is copying. RIght. As most of us are using an MS browser that has done NOTHING but copy Mac for the last 10-15 years.

    "Rumors get published on blogs constantly (MGS4 going multiplatform, for example). To react in this over-the-top manner suggests a company that is VERY panicked."
    The reason why Sony were against this is very clear if you look at kotaku's site. Its full of extremely biased xbots, who descended upon the article and did their best to give a negative spin to things.

    And again, as as I said, if someone else wants to post a counterview on kotaku, well all the best because you CANT just login, you have to be "invited" and they kick you off if you are critical. Imagine, thats "freedom of expression".

    Read the site, Sony didnt threaten K, they just withdrew their privileges. And then K whined and bitched publicly and milked it for all its worth.

  • Xerx3s #106 5 years ago

    Lol @ the likes of virvel. The sad people that walk this earth...

  • busboy33 #107 5 years ago

    @msamik:
    "The reason why Sony were against this is very clear if you look at kotaku's site. Its full of extremely biased xbots, who descended upon the article and did their best to give a negative spin to things. "

    Wel, lets see. . .
    first, the threat was given BEFORE the article was published, so Sony reacting to negative comments by xbots is just silly, unless of course it was a pre-emptive reaction.
    Second, if Kotaku is "full of extremely biased xbots," why the hell did Sony give them the debug kit and press info all this time? Sony didn't mind a "biased" site posting bad news about their product, but when a "biased" site says something good about them they have to lash out to stop criticism of something good by the "biased" blog's posters? Interesting approach.
    Third, Kotaku has the same fanboy nimrods (in all three camps) as all other sites do. Yes, there are some nutjobs who will trash Sony even if they cured AIDS, and there are those that would defend Sony commiting Genocide ("cuts down on ozone emissions!!";). Are you implying that Kotaku's readers (many of whom are on this site as well) are SO biased that Sony simply couldn't tolerate it anymore, but love the flaming across the rest of the internet?
    I do agree that the reason they did this is pretty clear -- they finally had some (honest) good news, and thought they were going to make some media waves. A stoopid employee blabbed (in fairness to the soon-to-be-fired soul, I'd also like to note that this rumor has been around for months, on several sites, so its not as if its a sudden leak in the dyke of information). Sony has (IMHO) cowed the other news outlets into keeping mum (as evidenced by the lack of mention most everywhere else), and were pissed Kotaku didn't give them what they want. Frustration turned to anger (as it usually does), and Sony PR overracted. This seems a more likely scenario that your proposal -- they couldn't stand the thought of consumers saying something negative about them, so they cut access to keep their feelings from getting hurt.

  • SeesThroughAll #108 5 years ago

    Sony has (IMHO) cowed the other news outlets into keeping mum (as evidenced by the lack of mention most everywhere else), and were pissed Kotaku didn't give them what they want. Frustration turned to anger (as it usually does), and Sony PR overracted. This seems a more likely scenario that your proposal -- they couldn't stand the thought of consumers saying something negative about them, so they cut access to keep their feelings from getting hurt.

    Keeping secrecy about upcoming press releases is a normal thing, commonly done in any industry. There are non-disclosure agreements collaborating sites (such as Kotaku) have to sign, and while most outlets respected this agreement, Kotaku apparently did not, at least according to this guy who maintained contact with them. Sony PR did not panic, they simply interpreted Kotaku comments on rumors (which probably have a fair amount of truth in them) as a non-disclosure agreement violation. That's why they intended to cut Kotaku's priviledges. No need to try to turn a misunderstanding - which has now been solved, by the way - into anything more.

    Desperation? That's just ridiculous. Wishful thinking on the part of people who want Sony to "lose" and MS to "win", I would say.

  • busboy33 #109 5 years ago

    SeesThruAll-

    "Keeping secrecy about upcoming press releases is a normal thing, commonly done in any industry. There are non-disclosure agreements collaborating sites (such as Kotaku) have to sign, and while most outlets respected this agreement, Kotaku apparently did not, at least according to this guy who maintained contact with them."

    Yes, secrecy about upcoming press events and corporate information is very real, and a good thing. Yes, NDAs are used to lock that information down. However, I think you misunderstand how NDAs work.

    If I run a company, and you want info from me, I can either (a) tell you to piss off, or (b) give you the information. If THE COMPANY gives you the information, they may have you sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement, saying in effect "the company has told us a secret on the condition we not reveal it until X occurs." Happens all the time in this industry -- sneak peeks at games, upcoming/potential features, etc. Hell, happens in all other reporting as well -- U.S. Vice President's recent press trip to Afganistan, where he agreed to be quoted only if the reporters referred to him as "A Senior Administration Official" is a modified version of this sort of agreement.

    Different scenario. I run a company. You dig thru my trash and find corporate secrets. You're sitting in a bar and one of my empoyees drunkenly discusses my company's secrets. You find publicly filed information about my secrets on the Internet. The company DID NOT give you the secret. There is no NDA, since you didn't get anything from them -- you're reporting.

    Lets put it in terms of MS. If I, as a reporter, get access to MS Labs, and I see the mythical Zepher Xbox360.2 based on my agreement not to tell what I see, its my ass if I squeal. If I troll the Internet, and find pictures, speculation, and past comments that lead to the belief that the Zephyr is real, and I summarize these findings under the heading of "here's a rumor I've been looking into," then I owe MS nothing, and they are stuck with my reporting.

    If Kotaku got the info from Sony, then violated a NDA, Sony would have done more than blackball Kotaku -- they would have sued them for violating a written, signed contract (and they would have won). As the Kotaku article makes clear, they DID NOT get the info officially from Sony. Sure the info came from somebody at Sony talking when/where they should not have been, but that's not from Sony itself. The fact that Sony and Kotaku may have had NDAs for other info in the past is not a blanket veto on any and all information dealing with the company. NDAs say, in effect "dont talk about X until Y occurs, and in exchange you'll get bunus info/access" not "you must clear all information about our company with us forever, otherwise we'll never talk to you again."

    If there was an NDA, why the petty threats? Why not "Sorry you feel this way Kotaku, but you signed a contract and we'll shut you down if you violate it." Read Sony's letter to Kotaku -- nothing about violating a CURRENT NDA, just that Sony wishes Kotaku would do them a favor and not report it:

    "I am very disappointed that after trying to work with you as closely as possible and provide you and your team with access and information, you chose to report on this rumor.... I can't defend outlets that can't work cooperatively with us."
    Dave Karraker
    Sr. Director, Corporate Communications
    Sony Computer Entertainment America

    Is your position that Sony would not have mentioned something like "I refer you now to the NDA you signed and just violated"? As the comments on Kotaku reflect, all Sony had to do was offer more info WITH AN NDA and most likely everybody would be cool. Why wouldn't Sony do that? My guess is they already have such and exclusive NDA with another outlet, and you can't have two exclusives.

    I understand that Sony would want to control the timing of the information -- nothing wrong with that. I understand why Kotaku would want to report it -- nothing wrong with that either. Sony appears to have been just mad that it was leaking out despite their best efforts.

    I respectfully disagree with you interpretation of the facts. The reaction by Sony was silly and over-the-top. They got scooped, and in RETALIATION tried to punish Kotaku for not doing what they wanted. I personally think thats a weak business decision, and does not betray the calm levelheadedness you see. Thats why I started the paragrapgh you quoted with "In my opinion". Your response in "nope." Thats fine -- I can disagree with people and the world keeps turning. The Sony action is not desperate? Fine. Pick another word. Extreme? Out of character? Bizzare? If you posit that this silliness was normal, calm, and simply "the way things get done," I ask you why just this outburst? Blogs have been posting rumors and speculation about all 3 consoles -- why calmly make threats now?

    "Desperation? That's just ridiculous."

    I called it desperate because it doesn't seem to make sense however you slice it. Sony will allow bad rumors, but not good ones? Sony had a legal recourse (with their mythical NDA), but chose to retaliate rather than let the lawyers deal with it? It may not be desperate -- it may be a well palnned business stragety. I don't know -- I'm not on Sony's board. But it LOOKS like a blowup. I'll stand by my opinion until I see something (like the non-existent NDA) that adds to the facts.

  • SeesThroughAll #110 5 years ago

    I can understand your stance on this, and yes, of course my assumption of an NDA is speculative.

    Having read your reply, I agree with you on the fact that Sony had no actual legal stand to forbid Kotaku from reporting the rumors, which is basically why the whole situation was eventually reversed, and why Kotaku ended up having as many priviledges as they did before.

    It's very likely there have been NDAs between Sony and Kotaku in the past. It can be, we'll never know anyway. Hence my confusion between an informal agreement - as in, "hush, don't tell anybody about it" - to keep some information as a secret and a contracted one.

    EG once posted a story about rumors of a God of War 2 being under development, and this did not stay up for as long as a day. Chances are, Sony probably contacted EG to pull it out, because this information was not to be released to the public yet. This is the sort of thing that probably happened with Kotaku as well.

    Someone at Sony PR doing a bad job? It's the most likely. Does this reflect the company as a whole? If this kind of thing (threats) was happening all the time, I wouldn't hesitate in thinking so, but as it stands, I don't really think so.
    Edited by SeesThroughAll at 04/03/07 @ 20:07

  • busboy33 #111 5 years ago

    absolutely . . .and thats where I presumed "desperate" (poor choice of words).
    This isn't like Sony -- like them or not, they are a major company, and certainly not stupid. Was it a 1 time Tourettes episode form their PR guy (Karraker), or was this course of action signed off on by somebody else (somebodies?) that just was not paying attention?

    I do honestly hope its a 1 time brain fart. Setting the PS3 aside (good or bad) the Sony PR machine has been less than spectacular in recent months.

  • Darren #112 5 years ago

    While the Home thing certainly sounds kind of cool from the point of view of you visiting someone else's virtual house when *you* want to, I'd imagine it would be annoying if you were playing a game and someone else was trying to stream music or video off your hard drive and thus affecting the performance of the game. And if it doesn't work like that, say if the feature is disabled when someone is playing a game or watching a movie (obviously it won't work at all if the PS3 is off) then it isn't going to be much use either because 99% of the time the PS3 is going to be used for playing games or watching movies because it's not a whole lot useful for anything else.

    When I get my PS3, hopefully later on this month, media sharing is most certainly going to be set to private... I don't want anyone affecting my gaming experience let alone sampling my collection of rare Kylie Minogue 12" mixes and remixes!!! ;)

  • Geowolf #113 5 years ago

    [link url=http://www.simplygames.com/info/14747/Playstation-3-Console-PS3--SOLUS-CONSOLE--Pre-order-NOW-PS3
    ]http://www.simplygames.com/info/14747/Pl...[/link]

    Shops have begun discounting the PS3 already!