130°

Why Playstation Home Isn't A Failure

This article explores the reasons why Playstation Home, the online virtual reality service for Playstation 3, is not a failure, despite considered to be well short of the community's expectations.

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gameolosophy.com
DelbertGrady5437d ago

"Many people believe that Playstation Home is a failure, but when you consider the facts, it isn’t a failure, it’s purely our hopes and expectations of it that got a little out of control."

"Complain about Home all you like, but you really have no grounds on which to complain."

So, you're basically saying it's our fault that it's no fun to use?

dollydolman5437d ago

It is fun if you use it properly and what it's actually for, which is socialising with your friends. Wandering around on your own was never going to be fun, but get into a game of pool with a mate and it is pretty good

lh_swe5437d ago (Edited 5437d ago )

If I wanted to stand in line to play pool I'd go to the local pool hall...not that we actually have one here :(

Home is an OK place with some Decent mini games but the tediously long loading times and bothersome que's make it a very annoying place to be. I took a peak inside Home a while a go with some mates but considering our internet was at different speeds it meant we'd always have to wait for the people trailing behind with slow internet connections...even worse when they had to download the space. So even with friends Home is an annoying place to be...in fact I'd choose GTA IV if I want some casual messing around time with mates.

A couple of fixes that would make it nicer;
1. fix the loading times even more (even if that means a downgrade in gfx)
2. Make everything a lot cheaper (I'm sure as s*** not paying $5 for a virtual pub with one or two mini-games in it)
3. Virtual TV's and Stereo's from which you can play music from your HD and be able to show your mates.
4. Interactions between avatars (for example if my mates being a douche I can slap/punch his virtual avatar)
5. A mini Home arcade with many arcade games in one place, with multiplayer and NO QUE'S!
6. A faster moving character because damn they're slow.
7. Trophy rooms; in effect a constantly expanding room (like a corridor) where you trophies are displayed and/or rewards like tokens for trophies (that you can spend on items in Home).

dollydolman5437d ago

Yeah, it could be better, it could be a huge amount better, but it's still a fairly good service for free.

HolyOrangeCows5437d ago (Edited 5437d ago )

Home is a free app that only ps3-haters complain about.

Soda you can never complain about ps3 fanboys being the first to comment in 360 articles.

5437d ago
lh_swe5437d ago

So by that logic I am a PS3-Hater?

Free or not it could be a helluva lot better and well to be technical the fun stuff is really only availible to those who wish to pay an ungodly amount of money for it.

Dee_915437d ago

i just like messing with people lol
i got so many reports

kratos1235437d ago

you never have been on home before have you because that comment of yours really makes it looks like that
you dont have to spend anything in home to get the best games if you where at the home specail events fore gravity crash , or if you even went to visit the soduim one arena you wold know you have to play the games to get more levels or better gear and there are a lot more games like those so please make stop making stupid comments and stop acting like you own a ps3

lh_swe5437d ago

Well...Do you want my PSN account? You could also do a quick scroll through my comment history ;)

What was wrong about my comment? Given I haven't actually tried soduim one arena but I have been to that Carnival place and a couple of special events but as I said I don't frequent Home as I have never found anything to keep me interested for more than 5 minutes in Home.

You comment is quite ironic because I think many people (including commodore64 would consider me to be a PS3 fanboy). I give credit where credit is due and I see none to give in Home...that is my honest opinion (note the word; "opinion")

kratos1235437d ago

then why did you say all that stuff about you need to pay to play all the best games that comment right there doesnt make any sense at all. i thought if you atleast went on home you would know that , the best games are free thats a well known fact.
sorry about my first comment but that was my biggest problem with your comment

lh_swe5437d ago (Edited 5437d ago )

"I'm sure as s*** not paying $5 for a virtual pub with one or two mini-games in it" - The English Pub or whatever it's called is priced around $5 (45kr, the Swedish currency) it only has 1-2 minigames that I know of.

"Free or not it could be a helluva lot better and well to be technical the fun stuff is really only availible to those who wish to pay an ungodly amount of money for it." - Soo much fun stuff is in the stores and all of it costs money (except that 1 out 100 item that is free).

On top of that all those carnival games cost money (10 kr($1)) for 50 coupons or someting (they have a free game every hour or so but the games are not worth waiting for).

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 5437d ago
TEFL0N_D0N_815437d ago

They want to improve the social experience? They should scrap Home and just give f*cking cross chat. Sony, why is that feat so difficult for you? Just give us the damn thing.

MysticStrummer5437d ago

I use Home regularly and would disable Cross Game Voice Chat. They are not going to scrap Home. It makes them too much money. It's not going anywhere, so deal with that fact.

TEFL0N_D0N_815437d ago

Alright, I'll deal with it. I'm being serious. Because you're right. It's not gonna get scrapped (if it wasn't profitable, they wouldn't do it anyways), and it's optional anyways.

crzyjackbauer5437d ago

Its a waste of hard drive space period.

Redempteur5437d ago

i agree your comment was a waste of hard drive space ... poor n4g servers ..

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 5437d ago
Game-ur5437d ago

I just helped my kid brother get started with his PS3, got him Ratchet & Clank, Uncharted, DBZ, Naruto, LBP and Infamous, got him on my friend list, then I see him logged on Home almost all the time.

I asked him about what he does there, apparently met lots of friends in the place, according to him some of them got a PS3 just for Home.

As a gamer I may never understand the joy of Home, and there are people who will never understand the fun of gaming, to each his own.

dollydolman5437d ago

I'll admit I never used to understand the appeal, I was in the beta and just thought 'well this blows.' But now I have some friends on there it changes things. It's a good app if you want to be gaming but not be gaming... if you see what I mean.

nimbus40005437d ago

A lot of people did get a PS3 for home, I did, but then didn't use it for a while. I'm back on it recently and it's pretty not bad.

DORMIN5437d ago

LOL Same thing happened with me, but oddly with my older brother.

It all comes down to entertainment, people have different tastes. Me personally I never got into the Sims, Second Life, or MMOs. But I do enjoy logging into Home every once in a while to see what kind of stuff they are adding, and I have met some cool gamers from Pool, Chess, Bowling, and game launching with SF4.

Newtype5437d ago

majority of people who use Home don't game.

claterz5437d ago

What? Home is the best place to go if you want co op friends or just want to meet people to play a few games online with, I met a lot of uncharted 2 players on HOME and I still play it with them today.

MysticStrummer5437d ago

You are either a liar or very misinformed.

cliffbo5437d ago

i'm with you Game-ur. it's definitely not for everyone, but is certainly seems to interest quite a few people with 12 million users.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 5437d ago
thrust5437d ago Show
DigitalRaptor5437d ago

Home doesn't need defending.

It does its job. It's not quite what Sony set out to do, but it's a good social platform for PS3 users. Millions use it each day. There's lots of good and regular content. Besides the micro-transactions, the content is very cool, unique and customizable.

nimbus40005437d ago

I like Home, games are better but it's something to do if you're bored with gaming, because I get fed up when I'm getting owned on MW2, it helps to calm me down lulz.

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160°

Ex-dev leader Chris Barrett accuses Sony/Bungie of firing him to avoid a $45M payment

Chris Barrett was one of the prominent developers who was fired a few years ago during the Me Too scandals that hit the game industry.

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venturebeat.com
193d ago
gold_drake192d ago

girl, 8 women reported you.

thats how that works. u wrre not "entitled" to anything.

shouldnt have been a creep.

DarXyde192d ago

"While that sounds despicable, Barrett was accused of crossing the line between professional and personal behavior. In the course of its journalistic investigation of the Me Too scandal, Bloomberg interviewed eight people, including multiple women who reported Barrett, as well as other Bungie employees who were either involved in the investigation or spoke to the women involved."

Yeah, sounds like you did it, dawg.

jznrpg192d ago

I’d avoid paying you 45$ mil with all those problems you brought

gold_drake192d ago

thats what i thought too haha

pwnmaster3000192d ago

On who.
8 girls reported him.
He is trying to save by putting blame on something else other then the situation he put himself in

Show all comments (11)
160°

Here's how PlayStation's 30th anniversary London Tube carriage looks

PlayStation is celebrating its upcoming 30th Anniversary by letting you sit on its logo while riding the Victoria Line in London.

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eurogamer.net
209d ago Replies(1)
MaximusPrime_209d ago

Reminds me of Sony's other awesome PS promotion in London, such as OXO tower and London underground roundels. All with shapes replaced with PlayStation's iconic 4 controller shapes.

Awesome promotion, Sony!

207d ago
209d ago Replies(1)
goken209d ago

Awww… i wanna ride that train!

Die hard Xbox fans be like “I’ll catch the next one”

209d ago Replies(1)
208d ago
500°

Kadokawa Confirms Interest From Sony in Official Statement

Kadokawa has confirmed interest from Sony in an official statement, clarifying that nothing has been decided yet.

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animecorner.me
lukasmain215d ago

Lock it down Sony and lets get Bloodborne 2 and Demon's Souls 2 cooking.

215d ago Replies(3)
Miraak82 215d ago (Edited 215d ago )

I'd rather FS work on ER2 or new Ips that they can actually own just incase they ever break away from Sony if this happens, wouldn't want them to become just Sony ponies for their neglected IPs . On the upside of this though I wouldn't mind having an actually Sony 1st party rpg developer which I feel they're lacking . My feeling are mixed on this without even considering the monopoly they would have on the anime/manga side of things

oldenjon214d ago

Seeing as ER is essentially open world dark souls, do we really need ER2 / ds5 so soon?

DarXyde215d ago

Can't they just be contracted by Sony?

Without the acquisition?

goken215d ago

They can be contracted but… it’s like you can call up a girl/guy/others and hook up now and then, then one day you think to yourself “maybe we should go steady” 😛

GamingSinceForever215d ago

You’re focused on a small portion of the deal. Kadokawa is a large media company which is who Sony is after. FromSoftware is only a portion of the deal.

Asterphoenix214d ago

Well the bigger picture is the novel/manga part of the industry of Kadokawa and Sony owning a good portion of the anime companies in the US . Well Sony would contract them again if they could but From Software is too busy doing its own thing.

CrimsonWing69214d ago

Yea ever since Tango Gameworks got dissolved, I’m not exactly gung-ho on acquisitions.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 214d ago
neutralgamer1992214d ago

These things never used to leak. Now so much stuff leaks ahead of time

Lionsguard214d ago

Leak? It has to be public information, they're both public companies.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 214d ago
gold_drake215d ago

currently, the kodakawa enterprise is worth a wooping 4 billion dollars. according to google. might be wrong

215d ago
jznrpg215d ago

If/when Sony acquires Kadokawa I hope it means that anime games can start to be a lot more than they are now. The stories are fleshed out they just need to add quality gameplay/environments. It makes financial sense to me since you have anime fans and gamers who would buy these games if they are high quality.

maniacmayhem215d ago

Is Sony trying to be a monopoly and keep games out of the hands of gamers? Or is this different?

jznrpg215d ago

So MS should only be allowed to acquire publishers and Sony should sit there? This is a consequence of MS’s actions. This is why we didn’t want ABK to go through. It’s too late to complain now

maniacmayhem215d ago

Are we going to accuse Sony of the same actions then?

You really believe if ABK didn't go through Sony wouldn't be interested in this company now?

Bless your tender heart

thesoftware730214d ago

That is besides the point, there is stance you took against this type of acquisition/monopoly type situations.

It's about you word and your stance..with the it's ok posture you are taking now shows you only find outrage when it fits your nonsensical fanboy, console warrior BS lol

Your word and "Stances" means very lit

glennhkboy214d ago

The nature is different. Kadokawa is more renounce for their extensive rights in Japanese literature, films & amine. Gaming is actually their least known business. If Sony can take over Kadokawa, Sony will become a major media player in Japan (currently Sony Japan has only a small footprint in Japanese media outside of gaming & amine).

Drakul214d ago

You can play MS games on your PS or PC. But Sony has monopoly mind set; release Sony games only on PS or very rarely on PC.

Lexreborn2214d ago

Anyone who is trying to make someone look like a hypocrite after THEY set the standard is a turd. If you want to try and make it seem like you convinced people into agreeing with your view. You didn’t, the people that were against it STATED they were against it. Then when we were told shut up doesn’t matter what you think NOW you want us to continue to fight when it goes against YOUR interest someone you don’t like is playing by YOUR rules?

Naw, we good… enjoy the game you playing and don’t get mad when the company/entity you hate does it better.

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215d ago Replies(3)
-Foxtrot215d ago

I thought it was more “you guys allowed MS to buy Zenimax and Activision, two massive publishers so it’s fair game now, why should we be left out”

I hate it but you can’t allow one to do it then make out it’s the end of the world when others do it. It’s shitty but MS opened that avenue so all bets are off now.

maniacmayhem215d ago

So basically it's okay to do it because MS did it, right? I think this is what is known as hypocrisy.

Here's the thing, MS is basically putting all their games on everything and the kitchen sink when you and others claimed they wouldn't.

You actually believe Sony will do the same if they acquire this studio?

You all love to shit on MS when these deals go down but then make up excuses and rights of passage when Sony does it, and this is proof.

goken215d ago

@maniacmayhem

Believe me MS is putting it everywhere not because they want to, but because it doesn’t sell (well) on their own platform (xbox). If they did that, they would lose money, nevermind recuperate their the money they spent buying studios.
Sony on the other hand may or may not have the same problem (probably not).
Hey sony and fans weren’t the ones going “exclusive bad” , they just disagreed MS buying these massive publishers. And since MS did it, let’s just say “to not reciprocate is impolite “

LikAChicken214d ago

@goken @foxtrot

Sooooo...hypocrites...

"hypocrisy is the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's behavior does not conform; pretense."

There's no way you guys believe that Sony wouldn't do this deal before Microsoft bought ActiBlizz. That's not how capitalistic/business industries think.

Vits215d ago (Edited 215d ago )

No, Sony is trying to establish a monopoly on anime streaming, manga, and light novel publication in the Western market while also becoming the largest company in this segment in Japan, replacing Kadokawa in the current triopoly (Kodansha, Hitotsubashi, and Kadokawa).

It’s a completely different ballpark from what Microsoft did. To put it into perspective, even if Microsoft had acquired Zenimax, ABK, EA, Tencent, Take-Two, and Embracer, it still wouldn’t come close to the level of control Sony would achieve in both the Western and Eastern anime/manga markets if they successfully make this purchase.

The closest comparison would be if Disney managed to swallow up both Comcast and Viacom, or if Microsoft had acquired both Sony PlayStation and Nintendo, establishing a monopoly in the console market. That is the level of control we are talking here.

Extermin8or3_214d ago

Except the FTC etc already ruled that anime isn't an industry in its own right. It's a sub genre of a much larger entertainment industry.

Vits214d ago

@Extermin8or3_

Exactly! That’s why this is such a massive problem. The only obstacle between Sony and a full-blown monopoly is how much cash they’re willing to throw around. They’re on track to dominate every anime streaming platform, corner the Western manga market, and seize control of light novel publications. On top of that, they’d cement their place in the tripoly that dictates the flow of source material.

And let’s not pretend Sony’s track record in this “non-industry” inspires confidence. They’ve gutted streaming catalogs, enforced censorship at every turn, and, naturally, hiked up prices for good measure. A monopoly like this is a recipe for disaster even more when a bunch of old-stupid americans don't even get that it is a industry, 3 industries at that.

mkis007215d ago

This is for anime...they have 1 developer people like. Sony for sure has a borderline anime monopoly if this goes through.

VersusDMC215d ago

And the dbz sparking zero developer to be fair.

glennhkboy214d ago

Not exactly.... In terms of Japanese anime, Kadokawa isn't the largest one. Others like Bandi Namco & Sunrise are bigger than Kadokawa. On the other hand, Kadokawa has a very big catalog of Japanese films, like Haven & Earth. Combine this with Sony Film from Hollywood, Sony may have enough films & TV shows (US & Japanese) to start its own steaming service.

Outside_ofthe_Box215d ago

Monopoly, no, as this is nowhere near the size of Bethesda + Activision, but games out of gamers hands, yes. They will mostly likely make their games exclusive when acquired. MS going multiplat ain't out of the kindness of their hearts, but of a necessity from a business perspective.

Also it's not that this is okay because MS did it. This is more of a consequence of allowing MS deal to go through. Should this deal go through? No it shouldn't, but MS literally just bought two publishers. It would be like complaining about Nintendo charging for online when MS and Sony have already been doing it already.

215d ago
CrashMania215d ago (Edited 215d ago )

'Or is this different?'

MS spending a whopping 75 billion to acquire dozens of studios and IPs compared to Sony potentially grabbing a handful for a fraction of that price, I'd say so yeah.

We all know what Phil wanted to do with those IPs, but it turns out spending that much money along with plummeting console sales, stagnant gamepass numbers didn't bode well for making everything in exclusive, so it's going the opposite way almost completely now.

porkChop215d ago

I'm not worried about the gaming side of things. But in terms of anime this isn't good. Sony bought out and merged Crunchyroll and Funimation, and they own a bunch of other anime studios. They already own so much of that industry it doesn't make any sense to allow them to swallow up even more.

mkis007214d ago

With how ms was able to purchase acti and bethesda, there is no prayer for this to be blocked. The precedent has been set. Also incoming Republican govt means even MS may be able to do more.

Extermin8or3_214d ago

Anime isn't considered it's own industry. Regulators already ruled awhile ago now that anime was merely a genre within the wider movie/TV series industry.

porkChop214d ago

@mkis

Even with ABK and Bethesda, MS is still a small fraction of the industry. The game industry is massive, no one is remotely close to having a monopoly. This is different. Sony literally bought both of the largest anime platforms and merged them together, on top of buying a bunch of separate anime studios. They'd have a very clear monopoly if they add Kadokawa on top of that. I'm not sure Kadokawa has any reason to sell, and I don't think it would get blocked if they did buy them out. I just don't think it's good for anime.

SoloZelot90215d ago

I think they're interested in kadokawa and are also interested in continuing the partnership that started with demons souls...that game that brought from software to fame.

anast215d ago

It's different. Hypocrisy is not a sin.

goken214d ago

To be a hypocrite is to give others the impression that we are holier than we actually are. It is the same as being false, or telling a lie. Jesus pronounced a curse on hypocrites seven times in Mt. 23:13-29.

gold_drake214d ago

i think the big difference, imo, is that Activision was just soo massive of a publisher/dev team. they had alot of really good, really big franchises that would have absolutely changed the gaming space if they would have stayed exclusive to MS.

i looked into Kadokawas franchises, and while they have good stuff, its not comparable to actlivision in the slightest.

aquistions only suck if people are being layed off in the masses. and thats what happened with Activision unfortunatly. well see what happens with this one.

Lionsguard214d ago

This is why we the MS acquisitions were frowned upon on the first place because it just starts this tit for tat buying war that benefits no one.

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