Phil Harrison's GDC keynote - Home, LittleBigPlanet & more

I am really stupefied by HOME. And what we have seen is just a scratch, just the begining.

I can imagine virtual shops, in the future, employing real people to magange the stores as avatars (that would be a job that you can do from your couch, with your PS3)

I can imagine the Ford or GM or Toyota shops where you could race the latest cars.

I can imagine taking part at huge live concerts, or visiting the virtual Louvre...

Fact is - I knew this kind of thing was going to happen sometime in the future - but I was expecting it about 5-10 years from now, maybe with PS4/xboxnext.
 
I agree that its being blown way out of proportion.

I like that it was announced following the Game 3.0 presentation yet there was no real description of what the content creation tools would allow you to do. All that they mentioned was fairly static content, with the exception of streaming video and music on virtual home entertainment devices, which seems very gimmicky. The rest of the features are very standard fare for the mmo scene. And on top of that, they limited the options for customizing your home and character, and have upgrades available to purchase on their online store. I see Home mostly as an alternative revenue channel for Sony, without a lot of really interesting content, or unique abilities.

I am really stupefied by HOME. And what we have seen is just a scratch, just the begining.
I can imagine virtual shops, in the future, employing real people to magange the stores as avatars (that would be a job that you can do from your couch, with your PS3)
I can imagine the Ford or GM or Toyota shops where you could race the latest cars.
I can imagine taking part at huge live concerts, or visiting the virtual Louvre...
Fact is - I knew this kind of thing was going to happen sometime in the future - but I was expecting it about 5-10 years from now, maybe with PS4/xboxnext.

2 posts on the same subject, which one has the half empty glass?

I seriously hope that Sony takes this Home concept all the way..
 
Yeah, they probably provide some really boring content, that way they will make a lot of money. :rolleyes:

It really costs them nothing to provide new customizations for your character or virtual home, so they'll sell it at a price where they can make a huge profit if only a tiny portion of the Home community pays for it. It's like the prices on popcorn at the movie theatre - it's pure profit.

I don't think the idea of Home is a bad. I just don't see anything interesting in the execution. There's a lot of talk of what it might be in the future, but I think some of the claims are a little grandiose.
 
This thread makes me wish i could dish out negative rep :LOL:

Is it too hard to give praise where it is due? Like it or not, Sony have just "brought it" to the online arena. You may not like it, but you cannot knock the fact it's a considerable step above and beyond every other on-line service to date.... and it's free.

I guess certain people just want to bash Sony for the sake of bashing them.
 
This thread makes me wish i could dish out negative rep :LOL:

Is it too hard to give praise where it is due? Like it or not, Sony have just "brought it" to the online arena. You may not like it, but you cannot knock the fact it's a considerable step above and beyond every other on-line service to date.... and it's free.

I guess certain people just want to bash Sony for the sake of bashing them.

Honestly, I don't understand what makes this a considerable step above and byeond every other online service to date? Is it because it's 3D? I just don't see it. They took the gaming lounge and combined it with the social aspect of an mmo. It's neat, but I think the result that was shown is not quite as spectacular as people are making it out to be.
 
You must be kidding! Who actually wants to make money? I thought these companies do these things out of the kindness of their hearts :!:

You missed my point, he was saying Sony will not provide interesting content.
Well, if they don't, people will not use it and Sony will not make money, it's as simple as that.
 
You missed my point, he was saying Sony will not provide interesting content.
Well, if they don't, people will not use it and Sony will not make money, it's as simple as that.

My point was that he had trouble with the fact that it would be another revenue stream. A company want to make money shouldn't be seen as something bad, especially not when providing a concept this good.
 
Honestly, I don't understand what makes this a considerable step above and byeond every other online service to date? Is it because it's 3D? I just don't see it. They took the gaming lounge and combined it with the social aspect of an mmo. It's neat, but I think the result that was shown is not quite as spectacular as people are making it out to be.
No it's not just because it's 3D, although that is a benefit of it in my opinion purely in terms of the usage I will get from it.

I try to think of an online service, and I cannot think of anything else I'd want to be in home. Personal space, sharing of files, matchmaking, playing with friends. Downloadable content (films, demos etc.etc) again all for free (although I'm sure there will be premium content that will require purchasing).

I could understand you not liking the interface, but to say the services of Home aren't that impressive I cannot really. It does all Live can do and more, and Live was the best online service anyone could've imagined a couple of days ago.
 
My point was that he had trouble with the fact that it would be another revenue stream. A company want to make money shouldn't be seen as something bad, especially not when providing a concept this good.

I don't have any trouble with the fact that it would be another revenue stream. That's business. I just don't think it brings nearly as much to the table as people are letting on. There are many other places to get the same experience. I do find it funny that they followed it after the Game 3.0 presentation, but to have full customization you're going to have to pay for it. That's fine, but it's not quite the altruistic open platform they made it appear to be.
 
My point was that he had trouble with the fact that it would be another revenue stream. A company want to make money shouldn't be seen as something bad, especially not when providing a concept this good.
OK I agree, your quote just missled me to believe your post was aimed at me.
 
Honestly, I don't understand what makes this a considerable step above and byeond every other online service to date? Is it because it's 3D? I just don't see it. They took the gaming lounge and combined it with the social aspect of an mmo. It's neat, but I think the result that was shown is not quite as spectacular as people are making it out to be.

Thats because in your mind your probably comparing it to a game when in fact it isn't..

If you consider what the alternative is (1 dimensional menu driven chat, msging and community services a la XBL..) then you'll probably understand a little more what all the fuss is about..

And I can see why people are getting excited.. The potential for it is huge and by Sony getting the infrastructure and groundwork out the way early by implementing only the base functionality announced (which even in itself is pretty comprehensive..) they leave room for considerable development it building on the system in so many different ways than we can even think of now..

By the time any of the competition catch up to Sony on implementing their own Home-like space (if they ever do..) Sony, could potentially be so far ahead with Home that the platform really stands out as a new medium for social entertainment and community..

I'm very impressed by what Sony are doing with this.. Their plans challenge not only the competition's efforts but even challenge the community and social networking platforms of the internet (web-based forums, chat rooms, myspace like sites etc...) and provide a new avenue for e-commerce, e-entertainment and e-communication..

A bold and clever move I think they deserve to get rewarded for..

PS: It's a shame Sony didn't put this together alot earlier.. If this Game 3.0 initiative was launched back at E3 2005 as their initial plans for the PS3's networking services, imagine where console sales, hype and the company profile would be now..:oops:
 
No it's not just because it's 3D, although that is a benefit of it in my opinion purely in terms of the usage I will get from it.

I try to think of an online service, and I cannot think of anything else I'd want to be in home. Personal space, sharing of files, matchmaking, playing with friends. Downloadable content (films, demos etc.etc) again all for free (although I'm sure there will be premium content that will require purchasing).

I could understand you not liking the interface, but to say the services of Home aren't that impressive I cannot really. It does all Live can do and more, and Live was the best online service anyone could've imagined a couple of days ago.

All of the services you listed are great. Live started it and Sony is rightly following suit. Those features will most likely exist independently of Home, or at least they should. The rest of Home is not really remarkable to me. I don't think it's bad, I just don't think it's quite as revolutionary or ground-breaking as it's being made out. I guess it's the interface that I find unremarkable, as you put it.
 
Before I was wondering why Sony acquired www.grouper.com. Now I know they bought it to provide video streaming for the Home. Its very deep thought. Kudos to you Sony.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
People have to remember , not long ago there were doubts that Sony could achieve anything near XBLive and it would take several years to have something compareable.
 
What i liked the most, was the option that you'll have to go the Sega Home, or to the EA home, and try there some minigames, see some HD trailers of new games, and that kind of stuff, it sounds really exciting.
 
All of the services you listed are great. Live started it and Sony is rightly following suit. Those features will most likely exist independently of Home, or at least they should. The rest of Home is not really remarkable to me. I don't think it's bad, I just don't think it's quite as revolutionary or ground-breaking as it's being made out. I guess it's the interface that I find unremarkable, as you put it.

The Live features are a given and have been since the first multiplayer games hit the internet. The rest that you don´t find remarkable has endless potential, and from the looks of a product that is 6 months away from release, Sony is working hard to fullfill the potential. They are giving all their users (is it still players?) the potential to own a virtual home in their Playstation Network. "Hey you should drop by and see the new pics of the kid", "Checkout the new CD i bought", "Wonna Cyber?". Would be 3 examples of non gaming stuff i could see going on in your own apartment. World Premier on Sony picture trailers? Sony music online shop? Nah.. it´s a place you go to in Home, You can see the music video, sample the tracks and checkout the cover art. World championships in Games where you win a Custom apartment, free cd and a movie in the cinema? Potential is endless, and from the sound of the speech all these tools are free(?) and easy to use for the developers... very very remarkable.
 
It's really interesting how so many of these online worlds are starting to resemble snow crash.

What would be really interesting to me is if they made building new structures or landscapes actually require some thought and adherence to some kind of global physics model. I'm convinced that people come up with more interesting and appealing things when they are forced to work within certain constraints. When someone comes up with a clever way to make something that seemingly violates the gameworld's physics it will be truly unique until the next person figures out the secret.

Nite_Hawk
 
Back
Top