Sony outlines Home changes Related content
PlayStation Home game info
Advertisement
Sony outlines Home changes News
PlayStation 3 News by Games Industry.biz
Sony's forthcoming PlayStation Home platform has undergone key changes in the last few months as a result of feedback from users currently engaged in its beta test, GamesIndustry.biz reports. [Isn't that how betas are supposed to work? - Ed]
The virtual world environment, first shown to the public in 2006, has had significant changes made to Home Square and the entrance points to other areas, as well as other places such as the Theatre.
New screens of a recent build of Home, shown to the audience by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's John Venables and Ron Festejo in a session at Imagina 08, demonstrated the new look of what will be every user's first view of the world.
What had been an enclosed room with a large window showing a lush view has now been transformed into a serene outside space, with plenty of room for people to interact, and tables with fully functional chess and draughts games included.
Additionally the entrance points to key content areas - the Theatre and the Bowling Alley - have been redesigned so that they're much more recognisable.
The Theatre itself, while retaining the same functionality, has had all of the screening areas moved down to the ground floor, after feedback from users that the 12-second walk to go upstairs took too long.
Venables and Festejo also revealed that it was now possible to take your avatar out onto a balcony from your own apartment, and that there would be "around eight or nine" different apartments available at launch, although no new details on potential pricing options for the premium apartments were available.
One of the premium rooms displayed was called Norwegian Lodge, a large wood cabin, much bigger than the basic apartment, and while all of the existing apartment designs were based on real-world locations, Festejo commented that he could see more fantastic options, such as a room in the clouds, becoming available should there be user demand for it.
PlayStation Home is currently on track for a Spring 2008 launch, and will be free to download for all PlayStation 3 users.
The Imagina 08 conference is taking place in the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, until 1st February.
GamesIndustry.biz has undergone some key changes in the last few months as a result of locking itself out.
Advertisement
Are you excited about PlayStation Home on PlayStation 3?
View Eurogamer readers most anticipated games
Thanks!
Related Games
PlayStation Home
Latest Features
Latest Videos
MotorStorm's Sphere [1] 13 August, 2009
PlayStation Home - Resistance zone [2] 21 May, 2009
Latest News
-
PS Home announces 10 million users [79]
-
PS Home erecting Santa's Grotto [42]
-
PS Home gets Red Bull Flugtag [24]
-
PS Home gets game launching today [42]
-
Sony reveals PS Home for PSP [25]
Latest Screenshots
23 January, 2009 [1]
Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!
Poster
|
GamesProgrammer
31/01/08 @ 09:27
0
90% of those changes have been in for months, altho there is still no access to differnt apartment layouts. Which should be cool.
|
|
cornishflipper
31/01/08 @ 09:48
0
I think i've missed the whole idea with this home? The delays cant be good for introducing it.
|
|
farticusmaximus
31/01/08 @ 09:52
0
Just exactly what pupose does Home serve? It's exactly the sort of thing that Sony is doing wrong with the PS3. Home will be downloaded, tried once or twice, receive a couple of ooh's and aaah's then be ignored for the rest of well, forever.
If Sony actually made games rather than spend fortunes on tech demos or useless virtual codpieces or whatever the fuck Home is, then perhaps they wouldnt be ridiculed so much... I miss the Sony that made the PS2. What is this bloated vacuous imposter in it's place? |
|
farticusmaximus
31/01/08 @ 10:03
0
"Home is basically Soony elaborate answer to Xbox Live, I thought it was obvious."
No, it's not. Xbox live is an infrastructure and networking API, Home is a virtual 'something'. What that 'something' is seems a bit vague. "If you want to be stuck in the past then keep playing your PS2." No thanks, I went next-gen with the 360 and have been loving playing games. |
|
DonnieDarko333
31/01/08 @ 10:04
0
Last i heard was, it's set for a June release. I was hoping for March, considering it's been delayed a couple of times already.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 31/01/08 @ 10:05
|
|
0
Personally I've always looked at Home and thought "whats the point??"
Not PS bashing or anything but sitting in your house in front of your console walking around and decorating your virtual house, going to meet other virtual people and all going to the virtual cinema to eat virtual popcorn seem REALLY pointless to me. What's wrong with just a message or private chat if you want to talk to your friends, it works for 360! At least they are trying new things I suppose, but like farticusmaximus, to me it does show me that Sony seem to spend more time on non game related things for their consoles. Skype for PSP, Home for PS3, did you forget how the Playstation brand got to be number one in the market Sony? Games. |
|
ligurmatic
31/01/08 @ 10:12
0
My first thought about this was "oh yeah, Home, I'd forgotten about that".
I'm mildly interested for its freeness, but not as bothered as I was six months ago. |
|
farticusmaximus
31/01/08 @ 10:22
0
I dont want to get into the whole fanboy debate, but surely things such as Home, which is by the looks of things taking a considerable amount of effort to develop, test, market and deploy, are sapping resources which could be developing quality games and, heavens forbid, actually raising the gaming profile of the supposedly gaming console.
I'm not living in the past by praising Sony's PS2-era strategies. They were a gaming company back then and they were hugely sucessful, with pretty much universal acclaim. They arent now, and it reflects in gamers attitudes to them. |
|
0
@ farticusmaximus
Agreed no fanboys wars! But your right PS2 was such a HUGE success because of the games not its virtual knitting circle, or it's DVD player. I have to say miiiguel is right, Sony are trying to do everything which is hurting what the Playstation brand is famous for, great games. I say the same thing with MS now they are going down the download route with movies and shows. Concentrate on the games people! Now I'm off to feed my virtual cat......... |
|
dirigiblebill
31/01/08 @ 10:35
0
@ farticus
It's all down to preference, though, isn't it? I quite like the look of Home (at least in theory) for those embedded minigames: the possibilities are sky-high if Sony throws the thing open to third party development. Imagine strolling down a boulevard, popping into a cafe and sitting down at a window table to a fully-fledged game of World of Goo with a buddy in New Zealand? Or going bowling in between games of Warhawk? Whether it cuts the mustard with you or no there's no denying that this is (as others have pointed out) a potentially super-lucrative project, given the success of Second Life, Club Penguin etc. As regards Sony 'no longer being a gaming company', that's hyberbole and I think you know it :) |
|
0
Home isn't something for the hardcore gamer though. Its a casual thing and will appeal to the Sims/Nintendogs generation. Part of the "Game 2.0" strategy. Could actually do really well for them but you really are not the target audience here Farticus. There are a lot of people out there - if this is done right - who are though.
|
|
dirigiblebill
31/01/08 @ 10:41
0
@ DrDamn
Apparently it's 'Game 3.0' nowadays. Get with the times, loser ;) |
|
0
"Home is basically Sony's elaborate answer to Xbox Live, I thought it was obvious."
No not really... PSN is "Sony's Live" just not as feature packed or well integrated as Live on 360. Home is something new to consoles and not aimed at hardcore gamers - Sony are clearly trying to attract casual gamers and non-gamer consumers with Home - will be interesting to follow :) |
|
0
Home could be really something quite special, we'll just have to wait and see. Yes, it sucks that it's launching over a year after the PS3 was released but Xbox LIVE launched a year after the original Xbox and we all know that the PS3 is Sony's really first "proper" attempt at a console with full online integration. At least they're attempting something different from Microsoft; Home could be the very thing to attract casual gamers to the PS3, something I doubt Xbox LIVE is doing.
|
|
0
Underlying Home is a software SDK that provides all sorts of networking features similar to how Live works and which should be available in PSN to some extent as well as in games. Home is a graphical layer over these core features and expands it with virtual world community features like sharing picture and movie content, virtual avatars, trophy rooms and so on. But the core, registering achievements and storing them somewhere on the HDD or in your online profile, chatting, friends list access, that kind of thing needs to be in the SDK for game developers to use, and is on a lower level from Home.
I would expect Sony to pretty much require of themselves to have Home up and running and integrated into MGS, but we'll see. |
|
dirigiblebill
31/01/08 @ 11:18
0
Now, now, headbog, let's not start another Xbot/Sonylol encounter. Plenty of those in the sales figures threads.
Rise above it!
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 31/01/08 @ 11:18
|
|
QPRHOOPS81
31/01/08 @ 11:24
0
Girls will love it. Just look at the sims. Its a great way of (like Nintendo with there easy to pick up games) increasing your userbase. It will bring alot of people to PS3 that wouldnt usually have bothered.
|
|
farticusmaximus
31/01/08 @ 11:37
0
"But then you'll NEVER see any merit to anything Sony does as you are an unashamed XBOT. "
Fuck off headbog, just fuck off. You bring NOTHING to this forum. |
|
dirigiblebill
31/01/08 @ 11:45
0
You're no fountain of wisdom at times yourself, farticus. Everybody chill!!
|
|
farticusmaximus
31/01/08 @ 12:24
0
"Angry are we?"
Angry at your constant innane comments clogging up the forum, yes. I dont tolerate stupidity and you are as stupid as they come. |
|
0
I'm quite fascinated by this. As a potential soon-to-be-owner of a PS3 (yay! The full set) I wonder just what it will bring to the party. If it's a MySpace/FaceBook-meets-Second Life, then I think it could become really popular among the text set. (Personally, I think I'll be on it for about 20 minutes, try some hats, get lost and then never come back... but we'll have to see how it evolves.)
Could it be extended into a larger Animal Crossing I wonder? |
|
designerheadache
31/01/08 @ 13:19
0
Sony is successful, and has been in the past with PS1 and PS2 by investing in the casual gamer as well as the hardcore.
Home is simply another tool in their arsenal. You can take it or leave it and you don't have to use it to get all the other upcoming features such as XMB in game access that will be added in the future. Appealing to the largest audience is just good business sense. You can't argue with the success of MySpace, Facebook, Second Life etc. and all the benefits they can bring to the people who want to use them. The same can be said to Home. Pushing the industry in different directions is a good thing, expanding the appeal of online gaming to anyone who has been un-interested or scared to play before may find this more enticing and get involved. Nintendo seem to have got this idea with the Wii and DS being so successful and Sony is attempting to try something different to reach out too. From what i have seen on forums, newsgroups and press, the majority of people who think this is a bad idea are the hardcore gamers from the xbox community, which frankly this isn't aimed at, so don't let it bother you ;-) |
|
ParanoidZombie
31/01/08 @ 13:39
0
Ok, guys, so let's imagine for a second that I'm a "casual gamer", whatever that means.
Ok, so i already have a DS and animal crossing + brain training my IQ stuff (I'm gonna throw up), a Wii + cocking mama, wii fit and Wii sports, and I like to play second life on my PC (I'm gonna kill myself). Ahem, then why would i want Home? i mean, I'm already super-busy with all that stuff and all the other stuff I do all day, cos you know I'm a fitter, happier casual-gamer and i don't really have time to play games lol. So sorry guys, but no Home for me, i already have one lol! Don't be so grumpy, let's go shopping, that will cheer you up lol! |
|
TheVoiceOfRaisins
31/01/08 @ 13:44
0
My first post - enough of the lurking already......
Back on topic, Home actually looks like a smart move from Sony - this is exactly the kind of hook that will catch casual gamers, and make the PS3 a more attractive proposition from front-rooms everywhere. They just need to get something out there after whetting appetites for too long My take on the PS3 system (yes I have one) is an entertainment hub, that just also happens to be an excellent games machine. Inclusion of a "Home" interface can only serve to reinforce that, and while it may not appeal to me directly (don't know until I try it) I'm sure it will be more than popular. I don't get facebook, myspace, or any of that other guff out there, but that doesn't stop these media being immensely popular........ Lest we forget that Sony are an entertainment company (hardware, software, media, etc.) - Playstation is just one element of their overall business. If they want to integrate entertainment more, I will certainly not stand in the way. IN MY OPINION this development is not at the expense of games, etc. - I want an entertainment system as much as a games machine. So BRING IT ON.... My brain has spoken. |
|
dirigiblebill
31/01/08 @ 13:52
0
Ahem, then why would i want Home? i mean, I'm already super-busy with all that stuff and all the other stuff I do all day, cos you know I'm a fitter, happier casual-gamer and i don't really have time to play games lol.
It isn't quite as cut and dried as that. As with any demographical definition, 'casual gamer' is a convenient but crude way of lumping together a number of broadly similar consumers: it's not like you'd have to be up to date with all the latest facebook-style apps and Animal-Crossing-ish games to qualify for the title. There's probably a large body of loyal Playstationites out there who have yet to sample the forbidden fruits of 'community' gaming, and I'd imagine these are the consumers Sony has in its sights for Home. |
|
ParanoidZombie
31/01/08 @ 14:09
0
@dirigiblebill: indeed, but it kinda looks like a half-baked attempt, like when sony revealed the SIXAXIS in order to counter the Wii, or like when microsoft released viva pinata. The casual gamer market is already close to saturation, and Nintendo has pretty much sealed the deal with the ds/wii combo. I mean, look at the sales figures, the flood of TV ads and stuff. Plus since most hardcore gamers don't seem interested in Home, this thing will have a hard time generating some momentum.
|
Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!
