Home: prepare to be a bit bored

Play was invited to the Home beta, earlier in the summer. After much analysis of the PS3's long-awaited social networking tool, here are their thoughts…

After entering our secret login from Sony, downloading the 200mb file and its 89mb update, Play finally had access to Home on the PS3. The expectations are ridiculously high for this virtual, Second Life-esque social space. Prior to sampling Home, they didn't really know what to expect, despite months of writing news pieces on the service and interpreting Sony's idealistic spiel. What were Play dreaming of? GT5 garages? Trophy cases showcasing Uncharted skills? Whorehouses? If not these things, they were hoping for a fresh, vibrant and innovative way of networking on the PS3; this, though, is not the first opinion that strikes you, upon entering Home.

[DavidMacDougall]

LOL What did you think it was going to be?

You use it when you wana talk to friends or thats what i think it is i dont know what it does

[Ben1054]

they expected trophy cases,
well this is a beta, and weve see trophy cases in home videos, so they should have them in the Open Home later this year
Its A Beta, i tested R2, i didnt get to play the full story mode, but its still going to be in the final game

[VF34EJ25]

"As the service became populated, we saw how it all came together. Home, when brimming with life, excitement and conversation is something that you’ll want to be a part of, and it could genuinely work as a social tool. The PS3 lacks a decent community aspect, and Home, if implemented properly, could very well bring the Network to a higher standard. It could be worth the wait."

Read the article folks.

[Tarasque]

Well, what you did play was pretty much a finished product. There was no missing textures and such. Cause if they left stuff out of the levels that you could play then you would of had a different experience with it....

[Time Lord]

so I cant complain.

[HighDefinition]

Home is GREAT, as it expands it`ll get even better, it doesn`t have much in it right now, but that because it a **BETA**. It`s a things thats made by the community, right now there`s not many people allowed in it. SO.....

[AAACE5]

But the way some fanboys were hyping HOME up, you would have thought it was a game or something. With comments like, "HOME is the greatest experience ever made!", "Xbox live will die when HOME hits!", "HOME will be so much fun!" (yes I have heard people say those phrases). I hope alot of people are pleased with it and go into it knowing what to expect, cause I believe there are some people expecting something like the second coming of christ!

One good thing though... I originally thought HOME was going to be a HDD eater, and feared it would take up 10 Gb's because of all the stuff you could do! It's good that it takes up less space that that though!

[mindedone]

I could fling monkey poo at your and not charge you for it, but I'm sure you would find a way to complain about it. And technically it's not free, I hate how people say it's "free". There's no additional charge beyond the initial fee (i.e., buying a PS3) but one must still buy the PS3. Don't get me wrong, I like Home. But there is no problem being critical of our service providers. It allows for a better experience.

@ACE

HOME IS fun!

[HighDefinition]

People hype XBL like it`s a game.

Ironically, it does cost as much as one.

Home is FREE, like PSN.

FREE GAMES FTW.

[Kratos Spartan]

Home is a free service. That is the most ridiculous spin I have ever seen.

WHO IS THE MASTER!

I AM.

[nieto]

HOME it's a form to interact in a more direct way with other users. instead of just hearing their voices you're going to see their virtual representation in full interactive virtual world. because of that even tough the Mii's and the avatars from MS are essentially the same damn thing as HOME, HOME goes beyond that.

[Xelai]

Home will be what people make out of it, it is a social interacting application, so it main defining feature will be the user.

[Jake1111]

Home is going to be awesome hands down. Think about it. This is definitely the next progression in online gaming.

Being able to attend the E3 in your living room is amazing.

Being able to sit in a uncharted, warhawk, MGS4, SOCOM, LBP, RFOM2, KZ2, cafes and discuss trophies, hidden items, strategies, dlc etc will be amazing.

In summary this idea is the next logical step for consoles.

Jake

[Jake1111]

Wireless?
PS3: Included (free)
360: Sold separately ($99.99)

HD movie player?
PS3: Blu-ray included
360: not included (HD-DVD player sold separately but is now obsolete)

HDMI?
PS3: Standard
360: Was not standard in earliest models (Sony's standard inclusion forced Microsoft's hand on this)

Bluetooth?
PS3: Yes
360: No

Media disc storage?
PS3: BD format (ranges from 25GB to 400GB [in recent tech breakthroughs])
360: DVD-9 format (7.5GB max capacity. Larger games require compression which lowers audio and video quality)

Online?
PS3: Yes (free)
360: Yes ($50 annually)

Hard-drive?
PS3: Included (40/80/160GB models [160GB not released yet]) Non-proprietary HDD setup allows users to upgrade the PS3 due to it being a more open-platform console. A standard notebook 2.5 HDD can be inserted for use allowing HDD capacities up to 250GB and possibly 500GB in the future.

Price comparison: Western Digital Scorpio 250GB HDD = $99.00 (Newegg)

360: Included only Pro and Elite models. Arcade models have no HDD functionality. Due to Microsoft using a proprietary HDD for their 360 consoles the price for a upgraded or new HDD is much higher than the cost for a 2.5 drive for the PS3.

Price Comparison: 360 HDD proprietary HDD 20GB = $96.99 (Newegg)

Reliability?
PS3: Failure rate has been mostly non-existent. Firmware updates have been known to cause issues with BD drives failing. Problems mostly isolated and SCE has issued free-repairs or replacements on occasion when problems arise with firmware updates.

360: RRoD. Disc read errors. Hardware malfunctions due to rushed design and poor circulation within the case. Console has been known to catch fire or melt in certain places at times. Customer outcry against the 360 malfunction problems have forced Microsoft to eat 1.2 billion to establish a permanent 3-yr warranty to all 360 consoles purchased.

[DevastationEve]

Wow, every point you made had nothing to do with online service, let alone Home

what does blu ray have to with home? nothing
what does bluetooth have to do with home? nothing (besides optional accessories)
what does wi-fi have to with home? nothing (besides networking convenience)
what does hdmi have to with home? nothing

Jake, try to stay on topic. Yes, I know it's hard to concentrate in the early stages of infantile development. Tell you what, we'll continue the discussion after you've moved up from elementary school.

Bring some solid comparisons of the services, not the hardware. Home has been in development longer than the New Xbox Experience, so it earns its fair share of credit. But to think that it will be free isn't right. PSN may be free, but Home's avatars (with their costume purchases and whatever else have you) might come at a price. Also PS3 still doesn't come packaged with a headset, or any form of communications device. The Socom bundle might change that, but that's to be seen.

All x360 owners with a Premium bundle get the headset and HDD (either the previous 20GB or the newer 60GB). Arcade owners get a memory unit for game saves, profiles, and themes (you can save anything on it, but these are the most realistic assumptions). Elite owners will get the best experience...until their HDDs run out of space (there's never enough).

[Sony Rep]

"As the service became populated, we saw how it all came together. Home, when brimming with life, excitement and conversation is something that you’ll want to be a part of, and it could genuinely work as a social tool. The PS3 lacks a decent community aspect, and Home, if implemented properly, could very well bring the Network to a higher standard. It could be worth the wait."

But then again, the concept of Home can get a bit bland IF you have no friends.

[butterfinger]

then I would imagine that you aren't playing online that much anyway. If that's the case, why would you even care about Home? Home does look like a great way to be able to meet people on the PSN as well considering all of the open space to walk around and rooms full of people.

[Sony Rep]

...?

[The Lazy One]

The point of home was to make friends on ur PS3?

[chasegamez]

compare to avatars not at all

[AnSteRiX]

people dint believe me!! that homeless is going to be board...

[ad4mb]

Did you just read the title...

[Fishy Fingers]

Of course not, he's far to busy jumping from account to account to find time to actually read what he comments on.

[Bubble Buddy]

What I don't believe is his grammar.

[Fishy Fingers]

For every negative BLOG there is a positive BLOG. You'll be able to try it yourself in a few weeks, cast your own aspersions.

[Megatron08]

a few weeks ? More liek a few months at best you got to remeber Home been a few weeks away for like 3 years now. Home would of been great 10 years ago but voice chat as become standard in online games and with voice chat there is really no need for something like home.

I do wonder what they are using to type with tho

[PureGamer]

Its a social tool thats it. Id rather play games on my games machine.

[GodGinrai]

I know i would rather play an actual video game with my freinds than walk around some virtual doll house showing off trophys.I could understand if something like this was on wii or pc ,but i would rather put my ps3 to better use...you know like resistance 2 /gt maybe some fifa 5 v 5....sounds like more fun than home to me.

[ceedubya9]

Its a nice option for those who care about it. I may tinker with it a bit.

However, when it all comes down to it, and I turn on my PS3, 98% of the time I'm going to be doing so to go straight into Resistance 2, Little Big Planet, and Socom.

[BabyStomper5000]

If your friends are online you'll be able launch games with them straight from home.

[Sir_Ken_Kutaragi]

;)

[Sir_Ken_Kutaragi]

Don't you mean 'xBox 360: prepare to be Totally Bored'???

[Sir_Ken_Kutaragi]

Yeah Sorry!!!;)

I'm off to Play 'WipeOut:HD' now ;-P
+Some 'WarHawk' and some 'MGS4' and then Watch a Blu-ray DVD on my PS3, then look at the News on 'Life with PlayStation' on my PS3, then Play some Music on my PS3, then look at some Photos on my PS3, then Surf the Web on my PS3, then play a PS1 or PS2 game on my PS3, then go into 'HOME'(when i get it)on my PS3...

WOW!!! FUNK! ME! PS3 is BRILLIANT!!! ;-P

[Sony Rep]

I think he means " XBOX 360" prepare to be Insanely bored- bored with avatars, bored with games, and bored with RROD.

[Dark Collosis]

Yeah man that sounds like a blast homie.. Yeah you can show me your virtual pad and maybe we can cook some virtual food and stare at your virtual trophies... Man that sounds like soooo much fun huh? Then you can come over my virtual pad and i can cook some virtual food and we can stare at my virtual trophies.. Maybe we can get some virtual beer too huh huh huh.. Wait a second afk my mom's calling me to take out the trash........

[Sir_Ken_Kutaragi]

...those 3 RED Lights keep them Busy!!! ;-D

[Freezingduck]

It depends on YOU to make it a good experience and get laid or just sit in the corner

It's free; it's not a game; don't review it...like who the heck would review free stuff?

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

Click those heals three times droids and sing "there's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home"

[GiantEnemyLobster]

Lol, you guys must be so bored with playing all your crappy PS3 games that you have to come on the internet to talk to yourselves? LOL. I just got done playing GTA IV with developers on Xbox Live GTA IV weekend, (exclusively on Xbox 360 :)), and am preparing to get ready for the Downloadable content (exlusively for Xbox 360 x2 :)), as well as Avatars and a new dashboard makeover (exlusively on Xbox 360 x3)

Well, thats 3 strikes, you're out Sony!!!

[wetowel]

Although Home will probably be boring. I still see myself using it for socializing with friends and stuff like that.

[Voozi]

Wow it's a beta...of course it doesn't have all the features...also it's not our fault the guy who wrote this was unable to make any friends in Home lol

[Tarasque]

Why do you think friends will make it more fun? I have a quite a few friends in it and it is still boring to me. Just wait you guy's will see!

[Voozi]

I'm in the beta and I'm never bored? Maybe you and your friends are just boring people =]

Plus it's called making NEW friends

Instead of ranting about being bored, why dont you do your job as a beta tester instead, and go report some bugs to Sony and give them your feedback and input on Home so they can get it out faster to these guys who are Homeless

Anyway if you do reply to this, dont expect a reply from me for another 2 hours cause I have to go now

[mindedone]

I've seen you in Home, you're kinda boring.

But then again, you were in sleep mode.

[Voozi]

Yea I agree, AFK people are boring ;D

[Kratos Spartan]

Boring to you, cool for this guy, exciting for the next guy. The world is a big place, kid.

[Tarasque]

Tell me what me and my friends are suppose to do? Cause obviously i am missing alot to home. I have a real life and if i want to stand around and chat i will do it in the real world. Like i said in other posts i am a gamer and if they don't make it more gamer oriented it isn't worth a crap to me. And BTW i have sent my share of feedback trust, they will probably ban me for sending so much feedback. Sent 23 complaints the first day....

[felidae]

lolol. idiots

[Kratos Spartan]

A very well thought, educated post. Congratulations.

[christian hour]

Its called the "open-zone".

I myself won't be using Home. Its a neat idea but it doesn't appeal to me personally. I'll try it out and tinker around it for a bit. But I doubt I'll spend too much time in it... Then again I have been proven wrong before. Bring it Sony :D

[BabyStomper5000]

I like spamburgers.

[joebahrjoebahr]

you need a life dude.

[LiquifiedArt]

I basically agree with him. Without any People in Home its boring. But when you see the community thriving even with a meager 30people it becomes a SOCIAL EVENT!

Home will continue to evolve into a great service for us gamers!

[cam2030]

The More the Merrier, i'm also expecting trophies for my trophy room, better trophies than just numbers

[ROCCOZILLA]

hey,its not a game.cmon guys its a place to chat and set up room for online gaming.also its FREE so whats it matter anyway.H O M E will change the gaming world FORE V E R !!ONLINE MADNESS!!!!

[ape007]

I need to see this myself

[DoctorXpro]

my god you need help

[LiquifiedArt]

"As the service became populated, we saw how it all came together. Home, when brimming with life, excitement and conversation is something that you’ll want to be a part of, and it could genuinely work as a social tool. The PS3 lacks a decent community aspect, and Home, if implemented properly, could very well bring the Network to a higher standard. It could be worth the wait."

I agree with him.

[DFresh]

That's why they call it a beta dumb a**.
Sony is gonna make major fixes before they release the service this Fall or this Winter.

This article fails you can't judge anything by just playing a beta play the demo or the full service and then judge but don't judge a work in progress.

[Bombomb]

with the lack of marketing i wouldn't be surprised.

I guess you can meet your next gf ot bf on there. hold hands on the couch and watch a movie i suppose.

plus besides some of the multimedia stuff home is nothing new, plenty of 3d interactive worlds out there.

[mindedone]

There's no hand holding in Home, but maybe I can report that...

[cherrypie]

Want a pointless 3D Avatar world?

There are *dozens*;

Active Worlds
Club Penguin
Habbo Hotel
World of Kaneva
Meez
Nicktropolis
Project Wonderland
Roma Victor
Second Life
SmallWorlds
There
The Sims Online
Worlds
Yoowalk
Zookazoo
Zwinky

Does anyone actually think that Home will be worth the time it takes to load it? No.

[Groo]

Home is on PS3 and its free... so whats the problem?

[BabyStomper5000]

All those are for PC correct? So they don't bring *console* gamers together correct?

[ernsttco]

As a PS3 owner I feel home is a waste of time and resources. Unfortunately, Sony listened too much to the criticism from the media about their online structure which I personally never had a problem with. All they had to do was continue to improve on the cross media bar and the way users interact with it and that would have been enough. Now they've wasted years and millions on a virtual world for people to run around in. Yes I know that I don't have to use it but that's still my two cents.

[Baka-akaB]

i dunno ... look at the chat system , i find their bare online service to be equal (at least ) to XBL , for speed stability , downloads , however the chat is awful .

Without home we'd be stuck even longer with a email type chat ...
to this day they havent introduce a proper real time chat service , outside of videos .

Now with home , if home>game , game>home transition is smooth , we at least get some advanced messenging services .

i dont like their interface neither , but think MS got it really right with their centralised system and integrated live messenger .
Though i'd rather not have everyone from my msn list bothering me when i'm on console and a very separate messenging prob .

[Wurider]

I feel that Home is going to be overkill. They should have just copied Live. And remember Live is not just online gaming but is a standard for all Xbox 360 games like THX. When you see the live log you know what to expect. I have a 360 and a Ps3 anyone that complains about live being laggy are a bunch of damn liars. WHen all else fails the fanboys throw out the "it should be free" crap. $50.00 dollars a year isn't that bad. MS is in the business to make money and live is a good value. I just want to put my game in, find my friends and play. I can do that real easy with live. I am not knocking Home because I may try it out of curiosity by I think that it is too much. Live is efficient and is becoming streamlines. Just because something is exclusive to Ps3 whether its a game or home doesn't make it the best thing since sliced bread. They need a price cut to get more Ps3's out there. The live community is millions strong and for Home to be successful they got to get more systems out there. I hope to god that they are not banking on LBP to establish Home because if they are they are going to be royally fu&*&cked!!!!! They need to better establish the PS3!!

[ernsttco]

Also, Microsoft is not as far behind in Japan as people would think. If Microsoft gets to a million consoles out there by years end I feel Sony will be in trouble.

[plain rice]

Home is just a 3d interface. What did you guys expect? It's not a game.

BTW I rather have home than boring, nothing to do imitation Mii's.

[N4Flamers]

just a 3d interface like the Mii's?

[Baka-akaB]

The amazing thing is its supposed to be boring on its own...

It's not about being a sony fanboi or not ... but i cringe whevener i see someone complaining about an online game or service being empty in a beta ...
Unless its some massive open beta , or a closed beta huge process that might as well be open then , of course its going to be empty ..

[Jdoki]

I'm intruiged by how developers will integrate their games in to HOME, but overall I'm not particularly excited by this.

It seems obvious to me that it is little more than DLC heaven where Sony can nickel and dime people for stuff like furniture and clothing. Fantastic to those who like this sort of stuff, but it's not for me.

I have trouble viewing this as anything other than a pointless 3D interface - launching games, chatting to friends, playing little pub/arcade style games, watching movies etc etc... All stuff I can do with less effort than loading up HOME and walking around.

I hope I'm wrong and I'm not going to knock something too much when it is provided for free. - I just get the feeling there will be a lot of disappointed PS3 owners who bought in to the hype.

[Baka-akaB]

I dont see how really ...
Pretty everything so far have been said from the beginning ... Sony provides free bare services , but obviously try to incent people to spend their money .

Unless its buggy or got a perfectible interface , most gamers will get what's expected , a 3d chat and game launcher ... with incentive to spend money for the "second life" kind of crowd

[Omega4]

i guess you get what you pay for

[Mr_Luke]

Home is arriving and the attacks start.... all normal then ;)
It could be bad, boring, old, whatever, i don't care at all. I wil download it, try it and if i don't like i won't use it, simply. It's free after all (and i'm SURE it won't be boring at all for my and my friends, so these articles can't change my mind ;P). And someone still thinks that "Home is a game"... sadness.

[BrianC6234]

This idiot doesn't understand what beta means. He should feel fortunate he got to see Home. It's not like it's a $60 game we have to pay for. It's an iterface to getting online. It's a new online lobby. It's a way to meet people. It adds extra features to PS3 games. That's about it.

[juuken]

People accuse me of not reading articles and yet some people haven't even read the article.

If implemented correctly, Home could benefit the PS3 greatly. For some people in the BETA, I've heard some really good things so far.

[Time_Is_On_My_Side]

You shouldn't judge something based on its beta, but complaining is what they want. When I say judge I mean stating what the final product is going to be like. Saying that we're going to be bored from a sliver of what the experience is going to be is kind of far-fetched. People are most likely going to say, "you get what you pay for," but the advertisements in PlayStation Home make it free. Companies are going to pay for advert space thus allowing us to enjoy the free content.

It's about the ambition of the application and not how much content is in the beta. The read wasn't too informative besides the fact only 50 people are in each space at a time before duplication.

[BlackRaven85]

free content? Last I heard, Sony said it was going to charge for the stuff within Home and I hope they make them into bundles, and not overprice, that will become a new issue. The only thing free is the starter pack, playa.

[Time_Is_On_My_Side]

Stuff like cloths or furniture will have prices, but what's the difference between buying a picture / background on XBOX Live to clothes / furniture? XBOX Live as has 2D avatars right now and getting new avatars will cost money while Sony has 3D avatars that actually wear clothes. Sony is a step ahead of the game; with the "New XBOX Experience" I see no point to the avatars.

When I said free I meant that you can use it without a subscription everything else is optional. You don't need furniture to play games or talk to other people. Plus some things will be tied to games as well.

[N4Flamers]

Raven didnt mention xbox live, but I think that you just made his point for him. Home might turn into xbox live with the way that they charge for things like pictures. Im sorry I think home is cool to a certain extent. I mean you have to pay for a lot of dumb things, next thing you know theyre going to charge you rent.

I know you dont see the point of avatars that just proves you havent read up on them, theyre going to be used for a lot of xbox things like the gameshows.I forgive you, I think theyre freaking ugly too, but you can turn them off if you dont like them.

Its kind of a disturbing trend to charge me for clothes that I cant wear in real life, I mean I expect xbox to start doing the same thing with the avatars, thats just all gonna suck.

[Groo]

bashing on a beta.... nice...

[PS3n360]

A good dust up would be sweet

[Morgue]

Real life can be boring so what do you expect when you are trying too imitate it?

[MANCREEP]

Home is going to be a let down. Anyone who has played any kind of Social Networking game, or has been a active "Myspacer" will be left standing still, wondering "How is this any different from what I have already been doing?". If you have been in a f*cking cave for the last 5 years, and know nothing about Second Life, The Sims, ect.----then this will be a blast. But Ali is right, it is free, so there isnt really a reason to complain---that would make you ungrateful. I think people arent complaining about that, i think they are complaining about Sony promising so much from a console, and not much has been delivered. Some BIG promises have been made, and alot of hopes are riding on 09 to be a big(maybe even HUGE) year for Sony.

[Whoa Its Wes]

is just a glorified lobby system..
and I'm not complaining

[random6789012345]

people can b!tch all you want but its free and its better then wii dogs come on lol and even if its not the best you got admit its a step in the right direction in tryin to change online game and interaction and its free so i ain't complaning

[PimplePopperMD]

home is pointless and useless; been saying this since its inception.

life with playstation is also a useless feature

[PSWe60]

of course HOME is a little empty,

YOU'RE IN A BETA S#IT FOR BRAINS!!!

I'm pretty sure that HOME will be a bit more livelier once all 11 million+ registered online users get their hands on HOME.

moron

[KiddyBrownTurd]

Home: overhyped nerd matrix

[Stevo35]

You know, about the downloads for every scene: When I started on the first beta, it was nice, one download and that was it. You moved place to place with a very small wait. Then at some point early on, it started this process of downloading for every scene, it sucks!

The only reason I even used it (Home) at first was because of the previews in the theater. They had previews of games that were not available on PSN and the various theaters had labels that were correct. Now the labels usually say something like Theater 1 and you don't know what it really is. This causes more waiting.

Enough complaining, wait, one more. Home sucks and is stupid if you ask me, but who did???

[Cajun Chicken]

Basically, Play is a useless Playstation magazine. PSM3 is the unofficial Playstation magazine in the UK to get, to be honest and have real trusted reviews.

Play always expect too much and notoriously mark down games for no apparent reason, once they started marking down Naughty Dog's games it was obvious this magazine couldn't tell a good game from their arse to their elbow. They've been like this right from the start even back in the PSone and PS2 eras, I really only used to buy it to get the free cheat books.
They usually blurt out something only to retcon it later and are seriously sarcastic. Terrible, terrible magazine.

So, I'd advise buying PSM3 instead for a real unofficial PS3 magazine with insightful articles, interviews, unbiased reviews, interesting features to read, free gifts and a great content filled DVD.

Saying that, Home is an application, not a game, does anyone find MS Word exciting?
Most importantly its free, so it really doesn't have to be 'EXCEPTIONAL!' at first.

[peedie16]

home really depends on the users if no one uses it then it will be boring

[SplatterU]

Its in closed beta right now, of course the interaction with other people is going to be extremely limited. Home is going to be free to anybody with an internet connection and a ps3, do you really think its not going to be taken advantage of?

[air1]

*** long yawn*** stretches arms, man it's boring.

lmfao

the boring life of a sony fanatic.

[silverchode]

*** long yawn*** stretches arms, man it's boring. thats how i felt after playing the first fable.

[Iceman100]

LOl i was bored years ago when i first saw this.

[Eamon]

I just want to use HOME for Video and Music sharing.
If I can't watch my XviD films on HOME and allow others to watch it online with me then I don't think I'd be using HOME that much.
Not really interested in the socialising aspect.

[ReBurn]

I've always thought that Home would be like Second Life, which loses it's appeal rather quickly. If people are anything like me they only have an hour or two at most to play games each day. I'm not going to spend that time hanging out in a virtual apartment.

Certainly I'll give it a try. But I can't see myself spending a lot of time there.

[likedamaster]

...but I think Home is way too big for a UI (user interface). A 200mb download, plus 89mb update and 30-50mb for every house you walk into? WTF?!! I can fit the whole xbox live UI in a 64mb mem card. Anyway, I just don't think that is practical for a game console user interface. I also think Home is a little too ambitious in what its trying to do with the "network" IMO. Sometimes little is more. Personally, I like the "Home" concept but at the end of the day, all we want to do is chat/text/invite via a quick and responsive interface. Trust me, we want to play games more than we want to go around playing with UI's. It seems Sony is just trying to outdo Microsoft with Home instead of just 'copycatting' and getting the network established before they get on something thats so highly ambitious. Everyone knows Sony has been lagging way behind in this area, why would they want to start so high?!! A big no-no, just ask the pros. Anyway, my 2 cents.

[likedamaster]

"Home is going to be free to anybody with an internet connection and a ps3, do you really think its not going to be taken advantage of?"

Free? Free for now but Sony has lied before...

[CharlesDCI]

I'm not sure if anyone has said this already but don't you think Home would start being fun once it releases? Home is going to be fun once you start interacting with a lot of other PS3 owners instead of the beta testers.

[CaitSith]

IT'S FREE, PEOPLE! WHO CARES IF ITS BORING OR NOT ILL STILL ENJOY DESPITE THE PEOPLE ASSUMING THAT ITS GONNA BE BORING! OMFG NOT LIKE IM GONNA WASTE MY DAMN MONEY ON THIS

[rbrtchng]

His main argument is that Home isn’t that populated? Does he know what a CLOSED BETA is? There isn’t a lot of people because it’s INVITE ONLY YOU MORON. And his second argument: press asking banal questions? WTF kind of complaint is that? He IS press, he's saying that he's asking crappy question to bore himself. What a retarded thing to say.

[peowpeow]

HOME sounds great, it reminds me of something like..Exitreality in HD

[heavyarms]

way better than just plain avatars. I cant wait for this come out. I'm gonna pimp out my room. I just want to show off the trophies and my games.

[darkdoom3000]

If you read the article the person starts to get impressed when other ppl start populating the area.

people instantly think its a negative article and post random crap.

this will also attract X360 fanboys like flies to a torch.

[Neo604]

I get to have my dream mansion with my video and picture in it, go to adult club. You might run into hot babe gamer, take her back to ur mansion and have internet sex with her.

[Neo604]

you get to have my dream mansion with my video and picture in it, go to adult club. You might run into hot babe gamer, take her back to ur mansion and have internet sex with her.

[N4Flamers]

To each his own but that just sounds pathetic to me. Well Im hopping you contract electronic gonorrhea the noisy killer.

Here is the one thing I wish these stupid money grubbing companies would implement. You can have a system of points for playing and getting certain accomplishments in video games.

You say that sony and MS have already done this. Oh my god.
How about having an avatar that you can get different clothes for, or even a room.

Huh wee got that too.

Then why dont we just give people the ability to buy clothes and customize their rooms with the points they get from playing games. It just seems like such simple logic to me, and another reason to play games till they are tapped out.

If anyone wonders you should have one rank your gamerscore and then the same number be used with a decreasing value every time you buy something, but your gamerscore stays the same just to show people your achievements. For PS3 you have trophies they are worth money, trade them in for furniture, but their representation still remain in your trophy room. I just think this beats out having to pay real money for virtual objects.

who wants to f---ing touch me.

[Firstkn1ghT]

Is anybody really surprised? I thought this was a joke from the beginning.

[pornflakes]

Sir KEN: wtf has the 360 to do with this article?

It just say that the 2 years delayed home seems to be bored.

stupid immigrant midget

[GameDev]

a typical 360 bot wearing his racism on his sleeve.

[badkolo]

to jake1111, and yet the ps3 is still in third place, that should tell you alot.

[FURY__UNLEASHED]

I have the HOME beta but I had to sign an agreement not to talk about it except with "close friends and family" so I can't reveal much.

It is DEFINITELY NOT A GAME!

I met about 15 new friends in about 2 hours! I talked with them in the central area and then we went and played bowling, pool and arcade games and then we booted up PURE from inside HOME(you set up a game from within HOME and people join and then it takes you right in). Once we were done we exited back to HOME and played Warhawk.

We used out headsets and keyboards in HOME so we were able to communicate well.

I LOVE HOME for meeting people and that's what SONY intended it for- not to spend an afternoon in roam around for hours.

[marcindpol]

hi guys i am in eu home beta and i have tell you that i think home is gonna be disaster, it so boring, there is nothing funny in it!,
i i wanna to talk to someone i do it in XMB, it is faster and simplier!.

HOME is gonna be most overhyped thing made by SONY.

i am not any more.

regards

[TrooGamer]

Well dont use it then...its bloody optional

Be grateful you can test it out i know alot of PS3 users who would like the chance.

Get a life mate!!!

[NanoGeekTech]

Dropping the disagree hammer at the first few post...HOME seems to have HUGE potential

It can be the next logical progression of online social gaming if implemented well.

HOME the service is FREE but I can see many different ways Sony can eventually make HOME a service where you will have spend money to get the most comperhensive experience out of it..

I like the fact Sony is trying something different in the realm of console Gaming...MS has given credence to avatars....So has Nintendo...why not build an interactive world around that premise...

[Dogswithguns]

It could be boring or it could be awesome. so what?

[Neo604]

pornflakes can go suck Mr. Obama black president d1ck.