PlayStation Home Beta Service Will Become Available to All PS3 Users o Options

[PS3Scene]

PlayStation Home Beta Service Will Become Available to All PS3 Users on December 11 Posted by XanTium | 11-12-2008 0:04 EST

From the press release: [QUOTE] Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) today announced that its highly anticipated PlayStation®Home Beta service for PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3®) will become available for all PS3 users around the world *1 on December 11, 2008. Following the successful completion of the closed beta service, PlayStation Home's open beta service will continue to evolve with new features and functionality. PlayStation Home is a ground-breaking 3D social gaming community available on PS3 that allows users to interact, communicate and share gaming experiences. By leveraging the power of PS3, PlayStation Home delivers overwhelming visual graphics and rich gaming social experiences only possible on the PS3 platform. Within PlayStation Home, users can create and customize their own unique avatars and explore virtual community in real time where they can communicate freely through text or voice chat. PlayStation Home users will not only be able to enjoy variety of entertainment content such as mini-games, videos and special events along with their friends, but will also be able to create their own community by using the "Club*2" feature to create clubs with other PlayStation Home users who share the same interests. PlayStation Home, available as a free download*3 starting December 11, will launch directly from the PlayStation Home icon on the PlayStation®Network column of XMB™ (XrossMediaBar) on PS3. Users will be able to experience basic features and services of PlayStation Home, free of charge*4. PlayStation Home will allow open interaction among users, business partners and SCE, and will evolve with additional features including dedicated game spaces, special events and exclusive themed items, to further enrich the entertainment experience on the PS3 platform. "PlayStation Home is truly a promising network community service on the PlayStation platform, made possible with the powerful combination of PS3's overwhelming computational power and PlayStation Network that covers many countries around the globe," said Kazuo Hirai, President and Group CEO, SCE. "We are committed to providing PS3 users with exciting gaming experiences with PlayStation Home and together with our partners and users, expand the new world of interactive entertainment as we move forward." For users in North America, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) will launch game themed high-definition virtual environments including the Uncharted: Drake's Fortune™ and Far Cry 2 spaces and the soon to be released Warhawk™, Resistance, Guitar Hero® and SOCOM spaces. In these environments, users will discuss specific games, plan strategies and access content and clues that will enhance their gaming experience. Through these virtual environments, publishers will be able to increase and extend consumer interest in their game titles via new mediums of game play. SCEA is partnering with Activision, Disney Eidos, Electronic Arts, Lucas Arts, THQ and UBISOFT, to develop virtual environments among other content for PlayStation Home. "PlayStation Home is a social gaming service unlike anything else on the market and we are excited to be partnering with gaming and non-gaming partners to develop content that connects and entertains today's PS3 users like never before," said Susan Panico, Senior Director of PlayStation Network, SCEA. "PlayStation Home is a tremendous addition to the growing suite of entertainment services available only through PlayStation Network." SCEA is announcing partnerships with some of the world's most respected lifestyle brands during open beta including Lignet Roset, a contemporary furniture designer, and Diesel, an international fashion design company. These partnerships will allow users to purchase customizable furniture for their personal apartments and designer clothes for their avatars, respectively. A variety of studio partners including Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Paramount Pictures will bring the PlayStation® community original intellectual property through dedicated spaces, sponsorship of in-world events, virtual items and exclusive media viewings in the PlayStation Home Theater. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will use PlayStation Home to promote its latest films, offering exclusive video content, interviews and appearances from film talent. Paramount Digital Entertainment will bring to PlayStation Home virtual goods and video content based on its most relevant and popular franchises. As the very first consumer brand space, Red Bull has created the Red Bull Island featuring an airplane racing game modeled after the Red Bull Air Race World Championship. The space is designed to facilitate interaction among the PlayStation community, creating opportunities to interact and take part in various Red Bull events and experiences. Expansion and completion of the island will follow in early 2009. PlayStation Home is exclusive to PS3, free to download and easy to join. It's the ultimate online community - a place to meet friends, play the latest games together, dance to new music, watch videos in a social setting, and host parties in their personal apartments. With more spaces being created and partners like Diesel, Electronic Arts, and Red Bull coming on board, the PlayStation Home experience is just getting started. SCE will vigorously promote the expansion of the world of PS3 by introducing new services that will open up new possibilities and enjoyment in interactive entertainment. [/QUOTE]

[Chancer]

They always stated the public beta would be Xmas time. This is no reaction to anything MS did with the NXE. Home was born long before then. I would rather them wait and have it right. There is more to it than some avatars and the NXE. They are on track with what they said would be happening.
In it's beta form a lot of stuff is not enabled so at present I don't really use it. I can see it being popular though. It is not an attempt to boost sales anywhere. If Sony wish to do that at present they would have drop the price, but thankfully they have not made some knee jerk reaction to MS dropping the 360 price.

This post has been edited by Chancer: Dec 11 2008, 06:05 PM

[Elemino]

It didn't run as smooth for me as some of you are saying. I'm not sure why that is. But it seems to me if Sony was really as serious about Home as they make us believe, they would have more programmers on the job and this wouldn't be a Beta release. Sony must not be doing all too well. They announced yesterday massive layoffs were coming... like many others out there. Although, I can't help but to think Sony's slap 10% more on the sticker price because it has our name on it concept has something to do with it.

And I guess I, like the rest of you, cannot help but to mention the Xbox. I think MS has done a fantastic job of taking what was once considered a hard core piece of gaming equipment, and reinventing it to become something everyone can enjoy at a price that beats both of the other two systems. Everyone copied everyone this time around... so we should get over that argument. MS did something that has never happened in the history of gaming before with the NXE. I'm not sure where this Home experiment will land Sony, or if they even have any real plans for it, but one thing is for sure: People are starting to feel the gaming division is lost and without direction... almost the equivalent to their car audio division.

This post has been edited by Elemino: Dec 12 2008, 04:02 AM

[Chancer]

And I guess I, like the rest of you, cannot help but to mention the Xbox. I think MS has done a fantastic job of taking what was once considered a hard core piece of gaming equipment, and reinventing it to become something everyone can enjoy at a price that beats both of the other two systems.

Shame the reliability doesn't even beat a Morphy Richards Toaster. If you mean they re-invented the equipment due to the NXE, you are surely jesting. Half the 360 guys say they hate it and the avatar stuff is a direct copy from other systems.

MS did something that has never happened in the history of gaming before with the NXE.

Which was???

I'm not sure where this Home experiment will land Sony, or if they even have any real plans for it, but one thing is for sure: People are starting to feel the gaming division is lost and without direction... almost the equivalent to their car audio division.

Would that be the same car Audio division that is OE supplier to Fords now?
Which people feel this? You can't surely be speaking for everyone else.
Home is not an experiment. Sony have laid out press releases on what the plan and progress will be.

All that said none of this stuff really appeals to me at the moment. I can't be arsed on any console making cartoon animated people and all that. All this stuff appeals to kids more.
The play TV and movies and stuff like that appeals more than home.
Oh I got the same apartment as well.

This post has been edited by Chancer: Dec 12 2008, 09:21 PM