Sony announces ‘Home’
Sony today announced their online user community service called Home for the Playstation 3. In this 3D application you’ll be able to create your own avatar and explore a real-time virtual community with other people who have installed as well. Once it becomes available in a few months you can access it directly from the Cross Media Bar.
You have millions of different ways to make your own unique avatar, you can use the facial characteristics editor to recreate your face if you want and then you can dress him up to match your own clothing style. Later on, extra content will become available which will offer different sets of clothes and perhaps more accessories. Over time, Home will grow into a virtual network of public and private places where you can have your own home and invite people over to listen to your music collection, watch your movies, laugh at your pictures or sit on your furniture. It doesn’t stop there, if you feel like playing a game, you can ask anyone to join you in, for example LittleBigPlanet. You can obviously communicate with other people, but since by default the Playstation 3 doesn’t have a headset you can use the onscreen keyboard, a USB keyboard or a special Bluetooth headset to talk to other players.
In the future, Home will be expanded into an enormous network where you’ll be able to go to different places like a cinema, for downloadable movies and so on. Animated 3D trophies can be gathering in your personal Hall of fame, which will probably be very similar to Microsoft’s achievement system seen on the Xbox 360. The video below will give you a very good impression of what Home is going to look like when it’s released, and in the future.
Website Three Speech has a bunch of frequently asked questions answered for us, these answers come directly from an unknown Sony employee
Can you define Home for us?
“Home is a real-time online 3D, networked community available on PS3 and the Network. It allows PS3 users to interact, communicate, join online games, shop, share private content and even build and show off their own personal spaces to others in real time. Home will be available as a free download from the PlayStation Store and will launch directly from the XMB (XrossMediaBar) on PS3.”Why are you creating this service?
“The power of PS3 and the Network afford us the opportunity to create a unique user service that will define the future of community on computer entertainment platforms. We feel it is important to foster not only user-interaction, but increased, ongoing contact between users, first and third party publishers and other partners.”What’s the cost?
“Home is free to download and free to use. The user will be able to purchase items from the Store (Home supports the Playstation wallet) to further customise their Home Space, as well as make purchases from other third party partners.”Is it global?
“Yes, when it launches Home will be a global network service.”And when is it launching?
“We will be executing a closed beta this spring. The official launch date will be later this year.”
What languages will it support?
“It will support multiple languages including Japanese, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Because it is a network service, it is easy to extend the language support in the future after the initial beta trial. In the full service, we will support local languages consistent with the way we localise our game titles.”What’s your ambition with Home?
“The ambition is to create a highly interactive 3D environment that will bring millions of people together from around the globe to share common interests, build friendships and explore the world of SCE PlayStation.”Here’s some key aspects:
HOME Space
- Design and build your own apartment, house or even neighbourhood.
- Purchase new landscapes, apartments and furniture
World
- Purchase new clothing sets, pets and accessories for your character
- Purchase functional items to add value to your private Home experience
- Leave your mark on the world with premium player-created content tools.
Entertainment- Share photos, movies and music from your PS3 HDD with friends in your personal space.
Gaming- Meeting game-specific lobbies to discuss games, get new content or team up for online gameplay
Lobbies- Individual lobbies created by first and third parties allow for consumer interaction, commerce
But isn’t Home a rip-off of Xbox Live?
“Home is a first of its kind 3D community that allows for open interaction between consumers, SCE and third party partners. It is a truly interactive, global community of users. Xbox Live is a static, 2D, text-heavy environment that can’t match the rich community features found in Home. Xbox Live community interaction is much more passive and limited to the members on that friend’s list.”Sounds a bit like Second Life?
“Home is a much more rich, user friendly experience than Second Life, allowing for ease of entry and use, as well as being fully-functional with the technology and capabilities of PS3.”And how are you going to make money from it?
“The business model for Home is based on a combination of ecommerce and advertising revenue, but we will not discuss the exact details of our business model.”
Can third party partners get involved?
“They’ll be able to build their own custom lobbies for their products, where they can present information to users, provide downloadable content and implement various ecommerce models. Advertising options will also be made available through Home, in addition to sponsorship of in-world events and Home real estate.”What is the difference between Home and PS Store?
“Home is a real-time online 3D, networked community available on the Network, while the Store offers free and premium digital goods delivered directly to your PS3.”How big is the Home download?
“The Home download is targeted to be under 500 MBs.”
Pretty bold statements from Sony if they’re saying that Xbox Live is static and Second Life isn’t as rich as Home. We’ll have to wait until fall before we can judge for ourselves. The closed beta will start this Spring, but they’re not saying how you can get in, if possible at all. It’s obviously a great thing that Sony is doing this for free, in contrary to the $60/year costing Xbox Live.
It will be free to download but you’ll have to pay for things like new clothes, apartments, and whatnot - COMPLETE TURN-OFF. I’d pick Xbox Live over this potential rip-off of a service any day.
Like you dont have to pay for the Xbox live service or MS points or to replace the thing when the Ring of fire shows
What I meant is that I PERSONALLY prefer Xbox Live to Home. I can see Sony will be innovating by introducing this new service but won’t they be raising the bar a bit too high? Looks like they want to build a virtual mini-world which gives me the creeps …
lol are you serious goodbuy sony
you guys are nuts….. this sounds like a great idea…… sony is innovating…….. i’m not even a console game owner anymore, but i find this i something much richer and interactive. I’d want to try it out. Just like nintendo, sony is pushing on to new ground. it’s like a 3D myspace or facebook for gamers.
If you’re not a PS3 owner why would you leave a comment saying “I’d pick Xbox Live over this potential rip-off of a service any day.”? It seems like you 360 fanboys never pass up an opportunity to be little haters. I think the idea of a 3D online community is brilliant, actually. You Xbox dorks act like Microsoft is the originator of everything cool…the same Microsoft that stifles the computer industry with its monopoly, the same Microsoft that jumped on the game bandwagon with the original Xbox. I commend Xbox on its whole Live thing; gamer achievments are a good idea, and so is the online community. The same way Microsoft decided to try its hand with the video game industry, why should’t Sony decide to create its own improvement to the online community concept? Why do fanboys (360, PS3, or Wii) feel the ridiculously childish need to sit down and try to rip apart everything an opposing console does? You guys act like you have shares with Microsoft or something. Newsflash: regardless of what console you have, that company sees you as one thing and one thing only- A CONSUMER TO MAKE A PROFIT OFF OF. Stop acting like this whole Xbox/Sony thing is something worth being petty idiots over.
I agree, you have to remember though that alot of the childish remarks come from children. It’s best to ignore them, all these fanboys, of whatever console, seem to forget that all this talk on message boards is for geeks (yes i am one). The vast majority of people buying the consoles will not visit these tiny little web sites full of fanboyism and there little rants will only be heard by fellow geeks.
PS. Before anyone moans i got an Xbox360 and will soon own a PS3. Both will be great.
Im an xbox 360 owner and nothing has made me want a PS3 until i watched that video maybe sony are doing something right for once lets hope they can clear up all the other mistakes they made tho
Same as you, nothing up until now has made me really need one.
This looks good, has potential but it is following Sony’s current marketing campign. Mainly take a couple of things that other people do then say ours is better.
Up until now this style ain’t really been working for them.
So all I would say is (to quote Public Enemy) don’t believe the hype.
I personally will wait to see how this actually pans out before praising Sony, maybe i’m a bit more cynical than most but they have lied enough in the past year or so that I just ain’t willing to give them the benefit of the doubt anymore.
As much as I like the idea of Home, shouldn’t they focus on actually getting some quality unique games out for the system first?
Don’t get me wrong I think it’s an exciting idea and could be great, but at this stage in the PS3’s life, I think they should be focusing on more important things.
A service such as this won’t sell more consoles, it’s an added benefit for already owning one. Personally, I still won’t buy a PS3 until there are killer apps on the system.
A number of people are saying “Shouldn’t they focus on the games first?” Might I point out that the 360 launch was pretty crappy, too. It’s easy to forget since it was over a year ago and there are good games out for it now, but what did 360 have as far as killer games go at launch? Call of Duty is the only thing that jumps to my mind. It took them a while to start cranking out good games…that’s common sense, actually; just about every launch follows that pattern. And lets not forget all the faulty, over-heating 360’s at launch; my friend had that problem and it took him 6 weeks to get it replaced. The PS3 came out in November. It’s barely 4 months later people. Granted, Sony has a lot to make up for…most notably (in my opinion) the unfathomably stupid remarks of Kaz Hirai & Ken Kutaragi…their unique blend of stupidity and arrogance really made me embarrassed to be a Sony supporter for a while there. Hopefully, with Home, Little Big Planet, and the return of vibration to the Playstation controller, things will start to look up for Playstationers again.
Yup I agree the 360 launch wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t too long before we started seeing the potential. By March we had GR:AW. It is now March for the PS3 and there is nothing. R6:V has already been out for ages; there is nothing unique.
That’s what I meant, they need to focus on building their catalogue of games as quick as possible. For now, Home won’t help sales.
I have to say the closer the PS3 is coming, Im struggling to stop myself from pre-ordering it. I really want one now and I said so many shit things about it…the more I see the more I want. You realise that by waiting that bit longer it looks like Sony has taken on board how xboxlive should have been…even the wii has MiiMii land whatever its called…The xbox360 has no meeting place for people other than UNO…quite frankly now, UNO has become quite distasteful. I got a good enough dick of my own - I dont want to see anyone elses.
I’m having the same problem
but the sooner IPTV comes to the 360 the better.
Second that. For now, it’s this fall but nobody knows for sure
OMG!!! first time I saw the HOME video was just now…looks fantastic.
Oh wow didn’t know the Ps3’s flag game was Habbo Hotel, less people on the games more people Camwhoring in the lobbys,
Sony flailed again.
sounds like a great concept, however i can see massive lag issues comming up. we’ll see, gret idea tho
OMG. Socializing with different people, going to movies, having an apartment a decorating it?!!! Sounds a bit like life…
wtf… its a virtual life almost. thats just fucking creepy people. if you want to meet people go talk to friends. consoles are for playing games, not for a “virtual life”. this is just weird, and too far.
Seconded.
I like Xbox Live because I can play with my mates.
Fair enough you chat and get friendly with other people eventually but I still chatted with my mates first.
This is for stalkers lets face it.
Weird and Creepy, online gaming communites have been going on for years or at least from a PC perspective. I am not a big Sony fan but they are only trying to make the gaming community better and I am all for that.
I hear people stating how Sony is trying to steal from the Xbox community, I got news for you, console online gaming has only come into existence within the past roughly 5 or 6 years and I have playing online games on the computer alot longer than that so if anything, consoles borrowed from the computer.
The Xbox live service is good but I still have my issues with it. I still have to sit in a lobby and listen to some young punk cuss me out, tell me how godly he is at this game, and rap like he is eminem thinking that people actually care about his singing.
If Sony wants to borrow what the PC’s and Xbox Live communities have put together then let them as they are only trying to get it right and make things better. If it works as good as the concept sounds then I guarantee Xbox will borrow some of thier ideas and incorporate them into there service in the future.
If it is Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft or some other new company comes along, who cares if they borrow each of their ideas because competition is what makes things better. If anything, we as gamers are the only ones who will benefit and I dont think there is anthing wrong with that.
Well you would think but I don’t think we really benefit that much with the PS3 in Europe being that we are paying for the losses made in other areas by paying more for a lesser version of their grill.
That is probably one of the most innovative things ive seen come from sony in a long time. I am quite glad they are trying new things and not just the old bland stuff