Sony's PS3 Home timeline goes from bad to worse

Sony's much-hyped foray into virtual worlds is turning into an embarrassment for the company and the PlayStation 3 platform. When Home was first announced early last year, the potential Second Life competitor was heralded as a "very friendly, enticing platform" that would "finally bring secure 3D virtual communities to the masses."

But it wasn't long before news of delays began to leak out. At last year's Tokyo Game Show, Sony Computer Entertainment President and Group COO Kazuo Hirai confirmed that the project would be held back until spring 2008. Microsoft's Xbox 360 group, which at the time was glowing from the well-received Halo 3 buildup, was quick to pile on.

[aggh im on fire]

Don't mind if they delay home as long as they get the XMB out.

[Feihc Retsam]

When SONY announces a date, we need to think... "Ok, what's the longest we would be able to accept this project being delayed? 30 days? 60 days?"
Whatever acceptable delay you come up with, add about 3 months to that, and that's roughly when it will be released.

Damnit SONY, my anus is starting to hurt.

[sonarus]

I mind the delay...I mind a lot. Sony announced home waaaay too early. They were under a lot of pressure to compete with live but giving us fake release dates suck

[gw4k]

Sony knew Home wasn't going to be ready last year. Sony knew it wasn't going to be ready in the Spring of 2008.

The say this stuff to create hype. They will do anything and say anything to take business away from the 360 and the Wii. It is as simple as that!

If I owned a company as such I would do the same thing.

It sucks for gamers, because we are the ones who are screaming for something good from Sony. We paid a ton of money for a machine that collects dust. Very little in the way of great content. Yes yes, I know, it is coming, everything is coming with the PS3. Nothing is NOW!

Makes me damn mad.

[HowarthsNJ]

Almost anyone with a PS3 is likely to get in on it if they really want to.

You get to satisfy your curiosity and make suggestions on how to improve it. That's much better than getting the final version full of things you aren't happy with.

In any case HOME will evolve even after it's gone gold. So if you don't like it even then, it will improve as time goes by.

[fenderputty]

Games (KZ2 etc.)> Ingame XMB > Home

Home is nice. It's going to be great for the community. I can wait for it though. Just get me the games that I want, bring on the ingame XMB and make sure Home kicks total ass before it's released.

It better kick ass after all this ...

[athlon770]

I'm right there with ya, while HOME would be nice to finally get, I will not get too worked up over it as it is not why I purchased the PS3. People such as gw4k there are blowing this way out of proportion...really, your PS3 is collecting dust because HOME is not out? How about you try a different record there gw4k, that one is scratched all up.

HOME has been re-designed from the ground up multiple times. If it takes another year for us to get our hands on it...well, fine. It is not like we are missing anything other than 'trophies'. But I do not think we should have to do without in-game messenging at this point. That is the one true feature that PSN is missing over XBL. Online gaming is designed to bring friends together and Microsoft has one killer ap to do this with, Sony needs to get off their laurals and allow us to invite and chat with our friends no matter what we are doing!

[niall77]

in game XMB is what i want

Home just seems like a bit of a waste of time..

if I want to buy stuff I use the ps store and not HOME, if I want to talk to someone on my friends list I use the CHAT thingy and not HOME. If I want to get some new info on a game I use the internet NOT HOME

I just dont get the point in it

[beavis4play]

dude, you need to get more info. there are going to be so many options(at least that's what is being said) available in home. check out what insomniac and naughty dog have planned. (for example)

[Brawler]

I want XMB too. I just wish sony would not make fake release dates. and could just say soon like valve which we all know soon means maybe a year to we fix that.

[DiLeCtioN]

sony dont put people's hopes up when you know you arent going to deliver a feature you have been advertising for almost a yr.

If you arent 100% sure i advice you to hold your announcements until its ready.

[Hellsvacancy]

do people think i want 2 walk around a virtual world challenging people 2 play chess or bowling, im not sayin i wont use it because i will im just not in that much of a rush, if u could vicously attack other people or rob sum1s house or even trash the cinema or shops THEN ILL PLAY IT EVERY-DAY HELL Y NOT CALL IT MANHUNT 3 "HOME" LOL

[GiantEnemyCrab]

What you have is a sausage fest gimmick that people will play for a week and then never go back to again.

[Trick Nolte]

I dont see the need to rush it either. I mean as long as they keep hitting us with the Software I'm good. HOME is a perk and its free and because its free Sony could have have pumped it out half baked but its good to know that they are carefully crafting it.

People are bichin and crying over this and for what? maybe they are adding more schit to it than they originally planned and 3rd parties are involved so maybe its a matter of incorporating some of their schit. Either way I respect the fact that they actually givva fukc to continue invest time and money IN A FREE SERVICE.. PEOPO!!!!

[Trick Nolte]

and what we have here above me is 1 sausageless douche who spends most of his time trolling PS3 threads bcuz aint sh!t happening in the land of microshaft. November 2008. The only good month for 360. Guess we're stuck with you til then. MESSAGE

[Snukadaman]

You mean mods are quick to ban someone from the gamer zone for using the word xbot... but this idiot can be on long enough to post 10 comments...this isnt even funny people...this is absolutely a slap in the face to any minority that frequents these pages...whats next..disparaging words towards mexicans...japanese...come on mods do your job.

[ravinshield]

Yes lets WAIT for 2009.the year the ps3 wins.hahahahahahahahahahahahah ahahahahahah.WAIT B3YOND

[BrianC6234]

Right now I think most people would be happy if the current interface was just improved to allow better communication in games. You know, in-game XMB. I want to see Home finally come out but if it never happens I say no big deal. It seems like a big project for nothing really. It's a meeting room. Do we really need such a fancy lobby? I don't know. I don't care that much about online gaming though.

[ATLRoAcH]

...of all the people who are sh!t talking Sony and for what? Making a good decision. I have yet to talk to anyone thats in the beta who thinks its ready to open. They need to make a lot more progress in the closed beta before it opens and expanding the closed beta is a step for sure. Sony are the only ones bringing something like Home to consoles. Its not like someone else is beating them at their own game. They're in the game alone when it comes to Home. Things take time so everyone should just stop giving their hopes up. When Home releases it will have a lot more going for it then it does at its current beta state. We all want Home. We're all waiting. Theres nothing else we can do although most will b!tch non-stop. Maybe there will be a better way to get into the closed beta when they expand. Thats all you can hope for right now. I wouldn't be worried about in-game XMB/in-game messaging. That has nothing to do with Home. I would still expect a summer time frame on that.

[Tony240ZT]

The Sims have been to consoles for quite a while now. To me this looks like the Sims + online..... like Sims 2.
I just want more shooters, driving games, and rpgs

[ATLRoAcH]

...a lot more complex than Sims but I get where you're coming from.

[ChrisGTR1]

i dont understand how its taken them this long to make home. seriously do they have 3 people working on it? youd assume it be done already, along with in game xmb. in my opinion they should completely drop that cr2p tacular africa game and get that team working on firmware upgrades. sorry but africa is gonna be the biggest flop since driver 3.

[ATLRoAcH]

was between Resistance 1 & 2 so its not like they weren't working. Oh, and Home isn't like a game. They're doing a lot of things with it and it has to be able to handle the whole world. I don't blame them for not wanting to release it when no ones happy with it. I guess it needs a lot of work. Its not as easy just to make Home as you think it is. If it is then make it for us Chris, come on. Whats the delay? lol

Afrika could be good. We haven't really seen or heard enough about it to come to a conclusion yet.

(edit) You must have edited your comment because you were saying how it took 2 years between Resistance 1 & 2.

[ElementX]

You can find those on 360 ;)

[Pornlord]

I like the "RPGesque" feel to what home is supposed to offer. Giving us a dynamic, sim like portal to our gaming. Being an RPG fan helps of course. Just the customization and the GUI involved is really making me ancy in the pantsy for home. It'll come out when it's ready. I think the only people that really know about it are tech heads and hardcore gamers. Most of my friends have no idea, so really we are the ones that the delays hurt, and only because of the anticipation... Ignorance is bliss... My friends are living proof :)

[Tony240ZT]

Keep the virtual fireman # on quick dial on your HOME cell (Sony Ericson name brand of course) I may just come and cast a lvl 5 fireball on your appartment. What do you mean RPG'ish. I love RPGs, you're talking about liking the Sims, a simulated living experience where you do things in game that you can and should be doing in real life. RPGs include a fantastic story where you can be a different class of person, in a different world, with powers further reaching the ability to pick out furnature. Do you include myspace/face book as being an RPG too?!
I think because of the lack of RPG releases for the PS3 for a good time you've lost sight on what a RPG is.

[BigKev45]

They should just wait for the PS4 now to come out with Home.

[Salvadore]

As long as it doesn't affect the release of In-game XMB because it would definitely be sad and I'm damn tired of waiting to purchase a PS3 :p

[JBaby343]

Never did. I don't have time for MySpace on PS3. I don't have time for the real myspace. Just keep putting out the games Sony. That's all I want. Seriously. In-game chat/XMB is the only feature I wish they would add but even that I can go without. All my online titles have been a blast so far without it. They can keep home.

[Feihc Retsam]

First off, don't hype something when you have NO IDEA when you will release it...
Also... don't keep holding HOME up there as if it's the holy grail of the PS3 experience... I really don't give a sh*t about home...

I never played with Second Life, and I never played WOW... I dabbled in SIMS about 10 years ago, but as for my console gaming, I just want games.

Fix the godd*mned PSN store, and give developers some incentive to develop more games for the f*cking platform...

And what's up with all of the delayed PSN releases? How come Xbox Live gets the multiplatform marketplace content before the PS3 community...

Shame on you SONY

[Tony240ZT]

Exactly dude, it's funny I was saying the same thing before I saw your post regarding online social networks being the same as HOME. Social networking on a game console can be left to the casual Mii's for all I care.

[heyheyhey]

Sony *view attached image* with Home

i really want Home, but these delays are b3yond annoying- if they cant even get the beta out this year Hirai best get ready to read some death threats

[Cure]

why are people complaining? do you want something half-a$$ed? look at the 360 and see what happens when it gets rushed. ppl need to relax and when its done then ull get it..HOME isnt a game..itll be the best online service.

just relax - enjoy playing warhawk

[cmrbe]

Home will arrive when its ready.

[heyheyhey]

making it better is fine with me....

but come on, the OPEN BETA is coming ONE YEAR after it was originally scheduled to launch

this is too much, Sony dropped the ball on HOME

not the concept, the concept of HOME is very interesting- its just how they're going about the whole thing

[cmrbe]

about Home and they didn't anticipate the problems they facing right now. I am pretty sure Sony never planed to be this late or frustrate their customers.

I believe they should just come clean and give us a realistic time frame for Home release so that people like you don't get their hopes up but just be happy with the knowledge that they are working on it. Remember home is something that hasen't been done before on consoles.

In the end. I for one don't want it to be released until its ready.

[Boink]

is getting their hopes up only to be dissapointed with sony again and again.

If they had just shown it as something they were working on and never set a expected release date, nobody would care, they would just look forward to when it was available.

it's the constant pushing back and pushing back that is making them look like fools.

[muddygamesite]

im very close to selling my ps3. I cant stand anymore of this lazy attitude from sony. I hope microsoft and nintendo teach them a lesson.

[Trick Nolte]

Because if you did you'd be more concerned about playing GTA4, MGS4 and so on. Sure you mite have been kinda ticked but your concern for HOME surely wouldnt have out weighed your interest in the ACTUAL GAMES that are being released, so much so that you are contemplating selling it.

Let me teach you a lesson. Go play the Sims on your PC til you save up enough doe to actually buy yourself a PS3. MESSAGE!

Edit- If Sony were REALLY being lazy... HOME would be out today.

[zapass]

sony taking lessons from m$ and nintardo: a troll's wet dream.
somebody give this dude a ps3 for xmas, he's drooling all over his keyboard.

[BrianC6234]

Hmm, lets see. If it wasn't for Sony all games would be Nintendo kiddy. Is that the lesson you want Sony to learn?

If it wasn't for Sony getting into gaming Microsoft wouldn't be in it. Should Sony learn lessons from Microsoft? Maybe they could learn how to build quality consoles from Microsoft? Hahaha.

Get a life little boy.

[Rich1631]

I find it weird that HOME is delayed a day after the Metal Gear Beta crashed and burned. I think Sony is afraid and is taking the required steps to avoid another server mess like Konami. Or it could just be unready, but I have a feeling the Metal Gear Online disaster had something to do with it. I think they underestimated the demand and hype, so now have to add more servers, slots, better prepare etc. Just a thought.

[pp]

worse .since when was it a good idea to have home it's for sad people to hang around

[eagle21]

Sony has no competiton with HOME. No other company is doing something as ambitious and innovative as HOME for a FREE download.

There are a ton of games to play before and during the HOME launch. Go play whateva' you got in yo' hizhouse and get off this board! :)

[Ali_The_Brit]

pp, i can garuntee if home was for XBL, then all u pathetic xbots would be boasting about it adding to the supposed already awsome xbox live, and no its xbox that has the sad no life gaylo 3 players

[NewScratch]

as i agree that it should come out when its ready. guess its just all the hype since they announced it last year. as above mentioned, its mainly the folks keeping up with the news who even know about it but we're a pretty decent demo to worry about dontcha think?

dunno, ive been wanting an xbox to see what live is all about and to check out bioshock and mass effect. maybe that best buy gta bundle could push me over the edge and losing $5 to my gamestop ps3 preorder wouldnt be half bad. ill still have my ps3 and all that awaits but being teased like this makes me want the 360 benefits all the more.

hell, its not home i want, its the non-stop teasing and push back of everything thats getting me upset i guess.

(end non-sensical circling rant)

[ASSASSYN 36o]

Maybe the presidential candidates can do something about the mounting HOMEless.

[Spike47]

you want them to release HOME so it will be a total failure?

Is HOME now all of a sudden that BAD and embarassing for the "company" just because they make some delays?
I swear N4G needs to stop taking articles as news.

Plus I'm tired myself of fanboys talking bad about the PS3's delays.

If I need to wait more for quality than I will wait.

[Boink]

people just want them to be honest and stop BS'ing us about their expected release dates...

[aiphanes]

If HOME is not ready...then it is not ready. Why release HOME if it is not ready...Just do what sony is doing now...delay it and open up the close beta a bit more...to get more input...they have made great changes to home since it was announced. When home comes out it will be totally awesome for what it was or is now and last year.

Fall 2008 is only 6 months from now...sure it is a year from the original announcement of HOME but come on if it will be badd asssed...then who cares about the delay. We will get in game XMB this summer no matter what...because that is what we really want...and sony knows it. I say take you time and release this bad boy call HOME in the fall. Nobody actually thought it was comming out this spring or summer anyways....and it will come out...

Sony can I be in the closed HOME beta? I was in the warhawk beta and I am in the MGS4 online beta.

Anyways, thank you Sony for the PS3...I have faith in ya!

[Leathersoup]

Removing comment.

[aiphanes]

Have you seen Killzone 2, MGS4, Resistance 2...is the PS3 that hard to program for? Have you seen what Sony has done with the PS3 firmware in the past 15 months? Have you seen the new PSN store?

When Home finally comes out it will be so baddd assed...that it is going blow everything away...because there is going to be nothing like PS HOME. Just think a whole another 1.5 years of devlopment time since the first announcement will and can do wonders. They have been working on HOME for over 3 years already...

[Mikelarry]

do ppl keep saying delaying it will only make it better. no it wont what if they delay it and not improve on it. most of the beta ppl i speak to said they havent implemented some of the basic things that would make using home a better experience. but they had time to implement a "BUBBLE MACHINE". who does that ppl are complaining about how they want a better experience with ingame xmb and talking to your friends while in a game instead you implement a bubble machine.to me home was a good idea but it seems sony is not up to the task on delivering what they thought would revolutionise the way we game. all home is a hype machine sony put out as thier last option when the xbox and wii were crushing them. and now they are in the spot light with everyone waiting for their revolutionary application and what to they do release statement that its been delayed. its enough i say sony forget about home and concentrate on improving the xmb and other basic features that the ps3 is lacking

[aiphanes]

I am a software developer\engineer....when you beta test something...you have to provide valid feedback to the software developers...most of the beta testers in HOME are probably not even giving feedback on improvements to HOME.

We have good people giving awesome ideas on in game XMB, new PSN store design, ect, ect...but do we ever talk about what we want better in home.

I am not trying to hate anybody on here...but maybe the closed beta is too small....maybe they should open it up to at least 20,000 people and ask for proper feedback. Its also been in closed beta for so long people may have lost interest.

Also they have different teams working on in game XMB and the online video\music store...Its all going to come together by end of year or early 2009.

People just need to be realistic...

[Mikelarry]

and i know a lil bit about project management and one of the main issues that can lead to a project failure is not releasing it on time that you specified it makes potential stakeholders and users lose intrest in what your trying to provide. i spoke to 3 different beta testers saying exactly what you said and thier reply was. its not that they arent giving valid feed backs its that thay havent implemented any of the features that really matters in home.

[callahan09]

Why is this news? We had the exact same report from a different source earlier today. This is redundant.

[eagle21]

No one in the whole industry is trying to make something as ambitious as HOME or offer it for a FREE download. This article title acts as if Sony has some sort of competition with HOME. Sorry, no.

This will be worth waiting for. More (multiplayer)content will be avialable by this time anyway. You won't see this service on Wii or 360 so please play whatever you have in yo' house..lol :)

[NewScratch]

they're mad b/c they were told they'd have it almost a year ago. its not the product, its the lie.

[cmrbe]

But the problem was Sony touted the Home so it was in the spotlight for quite a long time.

@newscrartch. Is it not possible that Sony made a mistake with the release date. I really don't remember them stating a actual final release date for Home.

[NewScratch]

hi, the open beta is what i was meaning with getting it.

weren't we supposed to have an open beta of lbp sometime before now as well. i understand it takes time and with the mgo debacle (though that was all konami side) sony should be extra cautious but just dont give us release dates that are unattainable.

[eagle21]

Yes, I want a Beta in the SPRING or maybe even a little somethin' somethin'in the SPRING. Cause SPRING was the word being thrown around..lol

But before I get worked up, I want to enjoy MGS4 without hearing about Bugs in the HOME beta. You know what I mean?

[NewScratch]

lie was a strong word. i think im over it now and can go another few months. better play GTp while i can before the 29th!

[uie4rhig]

copied and pasted from my comment on joystiq:
"proud ps3 owner (only ps3) but i gotta say "FAIL SONY"
one of the bullet points about 'how projects fail' in my college book, it says: 'A project fails when it is not delivered on time'

thats all i gotta say!"

[hunter21]

for me sony shouldnt make date or seasons anoucements if they not really sure if is able to come out on that date indicated, now lot of people got ticked off cause of that, they should just stay silent on that project or any project that theyre doing...then when its ready ...then thats the time to tell it to the public. well whats done is done, all we have to do is to wait, anyways theres a lot of other stuff to play on the ps3 while waiting for home. ;>

[buckethead_X]

I'm either going to get a 360 or PS3 soon, and I thought I was definitely going to get a PS3, but now I'm not sure if I want to support a company that basically lies. Like everyone is saying, it would have been better if they either didn't tell us about Home yet or gave us an actual date.

[Lumbo]

sorry to say, but you are a failure when it comes to posting facts.

The delay is about the BETA TEST, the final release has not been dated so far. How can you lie about a date you NEVER specified to begin with ?

On the other hand making a bash comment and telling people a made up statement regarding what console one considered buying does exactly qualify as a lie ... take your own conclusions out of that, and do us a favor by moving to the open zone.

[titntin]

Though I understand peoples disappointments - I've not see a guaranteed release date from them for Home?

Despite the obvious misunderstanding that I can see in this thread about what Home is, and a serious lack of understanding about how difficult it might be to implement it that arises from poor conceptual understanding, I would have thought any gamer would understand waiting for a product to be ready. We get it all the time, with most of big products we are waiting for:- it seemed to take for ever to get Mario Galaxy, Smash Bros and Mario cart on the WII, and its taken for ever to get Fable 2 (still not here) or Too Human or Banjo3 on the 360, yet these are games and actually a lot easier and smaller in scope than the concept of Home.
Making creative software is not the same as manufacturing a vacuum cleaner - there are often unforseen difficulties that delay its fruition, and a quality company is not afraid to push back release dates until they can release a product that fulfills the brief.

I can only imagine its the very inexperienced gamers who feel like sony is stitching them up. If they wanted to stitch you up they would release a buggy unpolished turd and try and fix it with patches. Instead, they won't release it till it works properly - no point in throwing a teenage tantrum about it....play some games and look forward to when it does arrive.

[cmrbe]

A very inexperience gamer disagreed with you. Great post BTW.

[Lumbo]

Words of wisdom, at last.

Its a shame how people try to make anything into a bashing comment to get their fanboy fix. Home is a service, but its not a dealbreaker as you can use the system without it just fine.

[koston3647]

first i'd like to say im completely on your side................but
i am in the closed beta for home and i have been for an entire year now
and i can vouch for all of the testers that we are in direct contact with the home management team im not sure how to prove im in the beta i guess you could look up my ps forums handle "koston3647"

us beta testers have been more than helpful to the development team in stress testing, bug reporting, and even organizing major events inside the home beta to test it properly. dont put the blame on us! lol