Home

[Lenny]

Hands up if you've read the rumours that have been circulating the net these past few weeks about a new service from Sony called "Home".

Well... let me summarise:

- Kotaku, an online gaming site, post information pieced together from various interviews, about a virtual world called "Home", that Sony is releasing for the PS3.
- These rumours spread faster than a forest fire, and soon the whole internet is alight.
- Some say that Home is going to be nothing more than a text-based HTML page.
- Others say that Sony are just doing what they always do, and promising something that never happens.
- Wednesday 7th March 2007 rolls around. It gets to 18:30 GMT. Phil Harrison's GDC (Game Developers Conference) keynote is about to begin. There's a demo playing as media people enter the auditorium. It's showing Home.

Two words: VIRTUAL WORLD.

Drool over it:

PlayStation 3 - GDC 07 Home Trailer

I'm watching the Live Updates on 1up as the keynote progresses, so I'll post some more info about Home in a bit.

[Talysia]

Originally Posted by Lenny

Hands up if you've read the rumours that have been circulating the net these past few weeks about a new service from Sony called "Home".

I have, but only by dint of the fact that I've just had somewhat of a preview myself in the Quiet Room. Definitely something to keep my eyes on in the future.

[Lucien21]

Joystiq broke the story last week and got banned by Sony from future interviews etc before they did a U-turn.

I think they were just peeved at the leak before the GDC.

It looks OK. Very "Second Life" without the penis avatars.

Like the idea of having a 3d home and custom avatars, but will probably hate the crappy micropurchase model of paying for new items (Couch = 99p for example). They have already said you would need to purchase a larger house and can add pool table etc.

The trophy room is just achievements under another name

A blend of Wii avatars and 360 achievments pasted into an MMO type interface.

Interesting, but nothing spectacular.

[Aegon the Unworthy]

Anyone feel like explaining why this is fun? I like RPGs, I love RPGs.....so I can play this "Home" and play myself? I dont get it. Im not knocking it, Im just saying I dont get it. Is there something Im missing? Is there some hidden element to this to hook me on?

I just saw the GDC preview on Attack of The Show and I guess it allows easier access to Multiplayer online games. But it seems like an awful big and pretty game lobby.......

Feel free to call me a tool for not grasping the import of this

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Aegon the Unworthy

Feel free to call me a tool for not grasping the import of this

Me too! How does this differ from something like a multiplayer version of The Sims?

The other thing that came to mind was Philip K Dick's 'Days of Perky Pat' stories.

Shouldn't Gaming (like Films, TV and Books) be escapist? 'Kitchen Sink' drama doesn't appeal to me, and neither does this.

Though this Reuters report makes it sound at least like a small step towards the multiverse such as that in Neal Stephenson's 'Snow Crash'. I guess that is the reason for the excitement.

[Aegon the Unworthy]

Ahh, that Rueters article makes it seem like a "one-stop shop" for all your online community needs. I can see some functionality options I may like. Its most definitely not for me, but at least I can see why seem people who socialize on line (not knocking em because that seems to be the way things are heading) would absolutely love this. Of course that blurb at the bottom at being able to pimp out your avatar with logo carrying merchandise for a small fee made me cringe....

So its not really an RPG but an online community platform, Im cool with that.

[Lenny]

First things first, Home is not a game. It's Sony's answer to Xbox Live - ie, an online network. Nor is it just a "game lobby". Yeah, you can jump straight from it to multiplayer games, but that's not it's sole purpose.

Rather than being text based, it's a full virtual world, the idea being that you are a physical presence on the system.

As for having to pay for more items, and bigger houses and what not... how else will it be kept free? Sure, Sony have non-intrusive in-Home advertising, but they need some form of income from it, too. But think about it - Clans will be able to have their own virtual clan house where they can all meet, and all chip in for furniture. Socialising to the extreme.

I haven't the time to go into everything about it, but I will post an in-depth IGN. Please read it, or at least skim through it.

IGN: Home Preview

---

Joystiq broke the story last week and got banned by Sony from future interviews etc before they did a U-turn.

Kotaku. Not Joystiq.

[Aegon the Unworthy]

Unfortunately due to my choice of work venue (thats a good way to say Im in Iraq) I am unable to access gaming sites. Im normally really good at doing my due diligence but in this case I rely on the charity of complete strangers.

Ill see what I can turn up on other sites....

[scalem X]

Now apart from being playstation and being an easy way to invite people to play other online games, what are the advantages to second life?
secondlife

Anyone feel like explaining why this is fun? I like RPGs, I love RPGs.....so I can play this "Home" and play myself? I dont get it. Im not knocking it, Im just saying I dont get it. Is there something Im missing? Is there some hidden element to this to hook me on?

Well obviously the thrill is in the fact that you can also 'not be' yourself. That way you can look cooler (physically that is) and see how far you'd get with your life, given a second chance. To be honest I'm not a fan of the sims so this won't hook me and since I skipped out on playstation after playstation x, I don't really see myself going for the game.
The best playstation games sell how many? A million copies, maybe more. So if it does become a hit, you will get about 12.000 people online each hour. (going higher when east and westcoast time/Europe reach evening)
If it really becomes as big as Sony wants it to be in the trailer, there will be enough time to hop on the train later.

Sorry to mention it, but do you people also like that person's voice in the trailer?

[Green]

I don't see the big deal about this, tbh. It looks very pretty, but doesn't seem to offer anything particularly innovative or exciting.

I wonder how long it will be before 99p for a sofa turns into £5.

[Lucien21]

Just wait until the "Daily Mail" starts screaming that Home is going to corrupt your kids and give pedophiles opportunities.

[Aegon the Unworthy]

Well Im going to bow out of this thread. Its not for me, after perusing several news sources Im just not getting the hype. For the record Second Life never appealed to me because quite frankly my life is exciting enough, so this is just a game lobby with prettier interfaces for me....

But if this is your thing, by all means enjoy it.

[Aes]

Originally Posted by Aegon the Unworthy

Unfortunately due to my choice of work venue (thats a good way to say Im in Iraq) I am unable to access gaming sites.

You should try using a web proxy. You could even try using google to translate the page from english into english. (ha ha) There's a tool designed just for this on G2P Beta: Using Google to locate MP3s. (Despite the name, it has a proxy feature as well)

I should add, that I also have never understood the big appeal behind these silly "life simulation" games. Sure, I could build a name for myself and work hard to be successful as my virtual character or I could do the same as my real life character. Gee, I had better think that one over a bit, huh?

[Lenny]

Can I point out, again, that Home is, and I'll do it in bold, IN NO WAY A GAME, NOR A LIFE SIMULATION GAME, NOR ANY KIND OF SIMULATOR AT ALL.

Home is a service. It's designed to be Sony's online service for the PS3, and possibly the PSP at a later date.

Microsoft has Xbox Live, Sony has Home.

Sorry if I sound like I'm snapping at people, but I just want to make it clear that HOME IS NOT A GAME.

[Dave]

Does it not simulate actually putting on clothes and leaving your bedroom, going down to the shopping Mall, buying the latest game, and speaking to the real people that you meet on the way?

It may not be a game, but anything in which you use and direct an avatar to act on your behalf is a simulation. As I said earlier, once I had read something more about it, it is a small tiny step towards the 'Snow Crash'-like multiverse, an all-encompassing MMOG virtual world. Lots of people who have seen it are comparing it with 'Second Life', not us. As such, the other comments about getting a real-life seem perfectly valid to me.

I also see problems - how can you prevent access to age-restricted games by minors within this world? Lucien21's comment about paedophiles also seems valid to me, unless the whole of Home will be restricted to adult players only. Clearly, that would be an unworkable solution.

I see this as the future of the Internet though, and that is the reason for the excitement around it. Unfortunately, like the rest of the Internet already has, a 'multiverse'-like environment will become a haven for porn and sex services.