PS3 Home

[Strawbs]

I did a search and didn't find anything so I thought I would throw this out for discussion. I assume everyone has heard about the upcoming PS3 Home. I read about it and thought it sounds pretty interesting. Any thoughts?

What is Home?

Sony is due to release Home in 2008 (previously due for release in Q1 2008 but it has been delayed indefinitely); it's a virtual world where you can create and customize an avatar and a home for your avatar (ala The Sims). Also, you can access stuff from the Playstation Store in virtual shops, hang out at public spaces with other online PS3 users, and play virtual arcade games. You can text chat using your PS3 remote or keyboard or voice chat using a Bluetooth headset. You can invite your new-made friends back to your private home and share music and videos saved on your PS3, and even invite them to play multiplayer games together.

Here are more Home demonstrations on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCWYG2syuhI&eurl=http://www.nextgenboards.com/vb/playstation-3-general/14883-playstation-general-questions-answers.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8ore7INF4Q&eurl=http://www.nextgenboards.com/vb/playstation-3-general/14883-playstation-general-questions-answers.html

[Ivan Joidherpus]

an ambitious attempt to create a console equivilant of The Sims meets Second Life meets Facebook.

I was really interested in this project, not to 'play' with, but I always saw it as STEP 1 in a truly integrated digital universe. Kind of a glimpse of things to come. Digital Distribution. Easily accesible online friends. Show off 'trophies/achievements' earned in game with avatars (as opposed to (gp)).

The IDEA is cool.

To date, the excecution has been....crap.
see: NO EXECUTION.

get with it Sony. By the time HOME is finished, it'll be the next-gen (again?) :P

[46Matt]

I got a BETA code for this today from Sony. Apparently there's 100k being sent to 'loyal' customers, lol, I'm so loyal with my 4 games for it. Will give it a try later and post initial thoughts on it.

Update:

So I spent a couple of hours on it and am pretty much done with it now.

To start with you have to create your character, there's so much face customisation available that I'm sure you could make almost an exact replica of yourself if you're good at that kind of thing. Not many clothes available, abot 6 tops and 6 trousers and a few pairs of shoes.

It all looks nice and runs smoothly enough, although for every new location you go to you have to download it and then when you change locations they have to be loaded. It also takes a while for everyone elses character to load, at first they are just white sprites running around.

There are 5 locations available, your apartment, home square, bowling alley, home theatre and shopping mall. The apartment just has some sofas and a table in and a balcony overlooking the harbour.

The home square is the central location for the other four areas. It's pretty much covered in adverts for all things playstation and psp using posters and videos on screens on the walls, where the sound plays when you are near to them. You can also play chess in the middle area.

The shopping mall is pointless at present as there are no items available in any shops. I'm guessing these will be filled with items to actually purchase with real money later on.

The home theatre is a cinema with 10 screens, you can go and watch film trailers, I watched the trailer to Pineapple Express.

At the bowling alley you can bowl, play pool and arcade games. I couldn't play bowling as all the lanes were occupied. This seems a bit stupid actually having to wait to play a game, in a game! Its the same for pool and the arcade games but managed to play both of these.

There are quite a few actions you can perform with your character, such as dancing, poses (you can bust out some Hulk Hogan moves!), greetings and happy/unhappy reactions.

You can tell that this is going to be huge though and no doubt people will get way too involved in it, but for now there is no reason to load it again for me.

[Bleach22]

I got the beta too, it's good, but it's still in beta so yeah.
Apparently some furnature and clothes etc. will be available from the store this week :D

[Chris]

It's supposed to be out today. Will it come in an update? A playstation store item download?

Anyone know?

[46Matt]

Think it's just an update as it should just appear on the main menu.

[Chris]

Yeah, it appeared without an update...but you download it when you enter it.

It's pretty boring. I don't get it.

[46Matt]

Yeah I know how you feel. Since the day I downloaded it I have't been back on. Just a virtual world for Sony to advertise.

[kidkit]

Penny Arcade had a Great Write-Up / Rant about it today, Along with a comic.


This is the terrible secret that roils beneath their false universe: it is nothing more than a cumbersome menu, a rampart over which you must hoist yourself to accomplish the most basic tasks.
Link (http://www.penny-arcade.com/2008/12/12/penetrating-look/)


Comic (http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2008/20081212.jpg)

[Strawbs]

Yea... HOME is nothing special. When I'm bored it can be fun to mess around for 10 minutes, but it's not a system seller. I think they should revamp the entire dashboard like MS did for Xbox 360. Something a little more user friendly and interactive.

[Chris]

In home I pretend to be a woman. That's the only fun thing to do there. It's sad really.