Home Is Currently Plain But Geared Towards Success

GameXtract writes "If you're one of the lucky 100,000 who have been invited into Home today, then like myself you've had the thrill of first seeing the email, then freaking out that you haven't started download, then surprised to find out that the download is only roughly 30mbs, and then had a thrill to launch Home for the first time. I'm going to stick to the terms of service, and not reveal anything that will spoil your Home experience, but I will share a few small aspects that have been noticeable from the start."

Full article after the jump.

[PimpHandHappy]

2see how long it takes for HOME to be finished or even improved on via firmware. I want to play some chess/pool/bowling/poker and i want to have rankings if i decide i want to kill a week playing chess! Give me that for free and you have a winner! Streaming music/movies would be really cool if they can make it happen....sounds complex

anyway

peace

[thor]

Home has a lot of potential. If they continue to support it and keep adding great features it could become great. Let's hope those features come in thick and fast :)

[pwnsause]

Home will never be finished. Home is an Ongoing service that will transcend beyond the PS3's lifetime into the next generation of consoles. It will keep evolving in order to suit for Everyone's needs. In terms of the core Service (coding, concepts) it will be finished.

[Cenobia]

Chess needs a little work. The chess piece models are kind of hard to differentiate because they are very simplistic. I played yesterday and got totally owned because I kept confusing pieces (also, I suck at chess).

Poker would be awesome. I don't think that's in Home at the moment though. They could make a Home Casino or something.

[whoelse]

Maybe more content when open beta launches.

[Lou-Cipher]

I agree

Streaming movies or music would make it worth it to me.

[Kyur4ThePain]

Where do you want to stream music / movies to?
Imagine the chaos if everyone decided to stream their music at the same time.

The only way it could POSSIBLY work is if you allow only the owner of the apartment to stream. However, you still have the whole issue of copyright problems.

[thor]

Just play it through your microphone and annoy everybody with it :D

[mesh1]

im in the beta and yes its plain and boring .

[chasuk08]

mesh1 you have a history of being an xbox fanboy and you have 1 bubble. Do you honestly think anyone believes a word that comes out your mouth ?

[thereapersson]

Mesh IS a fanboy, and why he was allowed back in the gamer zone is beyond me...

[PimpHandHappy]

to your TV or jukebox in your pad

you only allow the owner of the pad to stream

sounds simple but i hear its a copyright issue

[TheColbertinator]

Sony does already have a music holding,Sony/BMG.They should at least get some of the artists in their label to advertise in HOME.

[Kain81]

1 billion

[InMyOpinion]

Sounds like it's far from done? I thought it was about to be released anytime soon.

[thor]

Jenzo it will never be finished. They will keep adding features as they go - after release. OK so it's a little bare-bones at the moment, and I kind of expected more features at launch, but it will continue to improve and expand over time.

[Cenobia]

They also removed a lot of the stuff for the server load testing. The game rooms, which I thought were one of the coolest features, where removed, and the mall has been emptied out. There are a bunch of other things missing, or that I have yet to find, as well. I remember videos showing the ability to drive RC boats, and those aren't there either.

I think that once launching games from Home is 100% working it will be worth going into Home to find people that want to play. The strategy table in the Warhawk room had me really excited, but I didn't get to see it since they temporarily removed those rooms.

[Kyur4ThePain]

Don't be a dck.
Do you see anyone saying that the 360's menu system is still not done?
I mean, they just redid the whole thing, didn't they? I guess we're still waiting for the actual release.

See, anyone can make a stupid sounding argument.

[LeGenDx]

its amazing. i already met alot of cool people an we played some R2

[thor]

Does R2 work with game launching from Home? That's awesome if true.

[40cal]

And can honestly say that it is already awesome, and you can tell that they have a lot more lined up for the service.

[Gue1]

Home is going to make PSN better?in what way? these are my questions...

[thor]

It won't improve the PSN service in terms of what you can do outside Home. I.e. it will still be missing cross-game voice chat, game invites and such. This is because these features are controlled on a game-by-game basis and aren't standardised through use of APIs (which certainly didn't exist at launch).

What it will do (or at least, is trying to do) is make PSN feel like more of a community; you can actually meet people then launch a game with them. It should feel like you're playing with actual people that you know rather than anonymous people you don't really connect to or communicate with.

[pwnsause]

the Mall is one of the cool things about Home. The Fact that its integrated into the PS store (even though theres nothing to sell there at the moment) shows lots of potential in the future when the mall goes live and starts expanding. think about it:

Imagine not only would you be able to buy virtual Items in the mall, but also PSN games (basically all the stuff that we see from the XMB Playstation Store right now.) Not only that, just imagine buying Blu-Ray Based games and Movies, and of Course PS3/PSP accesories from this virtual Store in the mall at Home (when you buy it from this mall, Sony Ships your stuff to your Real Home.) I see lots of potential.

Heck If Capcom gets their Own Homespace, I can already see a Virtual Capcom Store in their Homespace which is integrated to the PS store as well. (that goes to every other Publisher as well.)
All we Need for Sony to do is to bring in Cross-game Invites, Voice Messaging, and a few other things and the PSN can contend!

[Cenobia]

Seriously? That's all you got? Just posting an empty fanboy comment anywhere you can? Pwnsauce just made a compelling argument about how Home is awesome, and all you can think of is "PSN suxorz?"

Why is PSN a joke? It does what it's supposed to do, and keeps on giving us new stuff. Home is huge, adding new features and an entire new community element to the PSN. Plus, PSN is still free. Keep paying a subscription fee for XBL though. It doesn't matter to me. You're basically paying for nothing. You should be paying for dedicated servers, but that's obviously not where the money's going.

You aren't even a good fanboy. At least try to put some effort into it. Now you just look like an idiot that has no idea what he's talking about (although I doubt that is inaccurate).

[GameDev]

and EASILY clocked like 4 hours right off the bat, Im surprised by the number of women in there.

[Chug]

You mean the number of men posing to be women?

[Neo604]

It's a good place to meet people.

[FantasyStar]

Rock!

[FantasyStar]

Robot!

[FantasyStar]

Casual!

[Figboy]

and overall, i like it.

it DOES have potential for success, and i think those people that love things The Sims, redecorating, creative avatars, etc, will be immediately drawn to Home.

then, i think the social aspects of the service will slowly entice them.

yesterday, i was wandering around with my nephew, who lives in Milwaukee, WI, while i live in Los Angeles, and we were talking to each other via our headsets.

while we can talk to each other at any time on the PSN, it was nice to have a visual representation of him to chat with (although he made his guy taller than me. lol).

it's definitely plain, but it has infinite room for expansion.

remember what the PS3/PSN was like 12 months ago? see how it is now?

i imagine that in 12 months time, Home will have made similar leaps in terms of content and the services it provides, and we'll look back at these "plain days," and laugh, much in the same way we look back at when the PS3 didn't have Trophies, in game XMB access, there was no video store, the PSN games were limited to flOw and Calling All Cars, and the game library consisted of Resistance of Motorstorm as the only worthwhile games to own on the system.

*sigh* so much has changed, and for the better, and it's only going to GET better for the PS3, as more games and services are added to the console.

when Ken Kutaragi commented that the PS3 would be an "evolving/upgradable" ; system, most people thought he meant tech specs, and having to add more RAM, or change video cards or something, like a PC, and i remember reading many a flamebait story lambasting the comments.

NOW, i see what he meant. the hardware is the same, but the software has changed the hardware. it's evolving via firmware updates and new features (like HOME), not new hardware pieces like RAM and video cards.

some people think so much inside of the box, that they take comments at face value too much, and don't pause and consider the bigger picture.

don't get me wrong, I DIDN'T have any idea what Krazy Ken meant either, but i didn't jump to any conclusions either. after the PS2, and the console that it wound up becoming, i was willing to trust ol' Ken to do what he does best, and that's say crazy sh*t, but ultimately deliver a quality gaming console. he's done it three times so far (PS1, PS2, and PSP), and so far, he's done it a fourth with the PS3.

[Xi]

Home is hit and miss. It has the possiblity to be one of the best social playgrounds ever made, but sony has to be careful. They need to keep things fresh and new, otherwise people will end up using it for the first 3/4 weeks get board, then just skip it entirely and play games like normal, maybe check up on it every couple of weeks when something "big" is happening.

I'm excited for it but I'm still causious about how well it will work. The lack of video/audio sharing was sort of a let down, specially since microsoft will have it on the 360 with netflix (or something), and since it's done in second life. It was one of my redeeming features of home. But you never know it may be added eventually (here's to hoping)

[Figboy]

but how is that any different from any other social website?

yes, you have some people who "live" on sites like N4G, Penny Arcade, etc.

but then you also have people that just stop by generally, maybe once or twice a week, to see what's up.

that doesn't make those sites a flop.

Home is free, much like visiting sites like this on the internet, so i think more than the usual number of people that own online-enabled PS3's will probably check it out, due to curiosity.

some of those people will like it.
some of those people will hate it.
some of those people will REALLY like it, and maybe even get addicted to just hanging around and chatting with friends and family and strangers.

Home will appeal to whoever it appeals to, but at least it's free, and isn't a requirement.

personally, i enjoyed my time with it last night, but it is not something i think i'll visit every moment of every day. i can totally see it getting boring if there's no one to talk to.

i think some people (not you, obviously), are confusing Home with a VIDEO GAME. it is NOT.

it is a 3D Chat Room, or Game Lobby. it's typical Sony pomp and flash. they don't just want to have you typing in messages, or doing voice chat over your PS3, they have to be "BIG." they have to be Sony about it, and that means being needlessly extravagant.

do we NEED Home? no. but it's cool anyway. i hung out with my nephew in Home last night (he also got into the beta). he lives in Milwaukee WI, and i live in Los Angeles, CA. it was nice to "see" him, and chat about stuff. i enjoyed it much more than just messaging him or voice chatting with him in the normal sense.

THAT is what Home is. people are viewing it in the context of a video game, and i think that is a part of why some are disappointed (well, that, and some people just don't like it, which is understandable).

Home is most certainly something different in the realms of console gaming, and it's easy enough to use and get used to, but i don't think it's a requirement for people to log onto Home EVERY day in order for it to be a success. some people will treat it like they do their email or myspace, and only check it a few times a week.

[LoVeRSaMa]

Figboy

Nice Post, I can see why you have many bubbles =D

Heres another from me!

[Xi]

Like blogs and such get updates regularly, which is why people always come back to them, Same goes for other only material like webcomics. If someone updates their site once a month, it's not going to get the same traffic as the guy who updates once a week, specially if they have the same content.

I also agree about the few that will love it, they'll spend much of their time there, just like with any mmo experience (SL/WoW/forums/etc).

Also I in no way think that home will flop (nor do I consider it a game as you suggested) unless sony just abandons it. I mean, if N4G stopped posting news, removed the forums, wouldn't you agree that the population here would fall? If the content gets stale or useless the croweds get smaller and the userbase dwindles, as that happens those people who use it as an interactive chatroom will leave because there's not enough people to keep them company.

[Figboy]

i definitely think the updates are important, but much like the PSN was at the beginning, these changes aren't going to spring up overnight.

i think people are ready to write off Home because of what it doesn't have already, when, like most sites, it will conform to the needs of the user.

without user input on what Home should be, it will remain shapeless, like it is now, with vague hints at potential.

once the official Open Beta of Home releases, i'm expecting more and more people to flood in and make their opinions known. these opinions will ultimately begin to define the shape of Home, based off of what WE want from the service.

remember when Home was originally launched, and being pimped like teh answer to Mii's and Second Life, and geared towards the casual gamer? the hardcore gamers spoke up, Sony wised up, and changed tactics, re-evaluating Home and gearing it back towards the gamer demographic.

much like the PSN Store, i imagine that eventually, once Home is released, and more first, second, and third parties hop on board, there will be regular updates and additions to the service. again, like the PSN store, Home is going to be empty at first, then grow with more content.

developers like EA, Activision, and Ubisoft, i believe, are all on board. i'm sure the various movie studios that Sony owns (Tri Star, Columbia, etc), are on board to start making use of the service in some way. in the end, these companies want to make money, so i'm sure there will be plenty of trailers and advertisements, but there could also be fun events and extras, contests, etc to join and be a part of.

we'll just have to wait and see. i haven't spent enough time in home to accurately gauge what i think it needs, but more content is most certainly top of the list. and hopefully at regular intervals (like the PSN's weekly updates).

[Xi]

But that all depends on how open Sony makes the platform for other developers. Remember it's not 3rd party developers who get to update it, it's sony that will, all the 3rd party support can do is provide it's content and whether sony rejects it, or keeps it, is all up to them [sony]. Who knows, sony may decide to limit 3rd party usage to garner support for it's own first party titles, which IMO would be a bad move, but still a possibility.

Either way, until it's released it's an unkown. It has possibility but it will require work on sony's part to maintain a large enough user base to keep people interested.

Personally I think the best feature for it would be some kind of user generated news board. Which often kept updates on events/reviews/news both official from sony and company, to unofficial rumors via population.