See, this is the fundamental problem. Now is not the time to have an online infrastructure and experience that's a "work in progress" and is relatively bare-bones at this point in time. They're already vastly behind and trying to play catch up. They got caught with their pants down and IMO I don't think they'll ever truly catch up with and exceed the competition (in this case Xbox Live).
Where online service is concerned, it's always going to be a changing picture. What they have revealed so far is the definitive experience. The purpose is to set a course, and kick-start partnerships and business discussions. The rest will evolve as the service runs its course.
The missing/pending pieces in this framework are:
* Initial enthusiasts (The beta users)
* The feedback mechanism they promised (e.g. in the form of blog sites for XMB and PS Home)
* Relevant Sony libraries and feature roadmaps. At this point, the basic architecture and online infrastructure for the entire Playstation Home and online gaming experience should be more or less ready for April beta. I suspect they won't say more until after the beta launch.
* (More) developer participation pending business discussion
* Pricing policies
Perhaps the third and fourth items (or their lack thereof) cause many down-to-earth, utility-oriented people to question the big picture. Over here we have no choice but to wait for more info (perhaps from the promised blog sites).
The fifth item is partially answered (Free to access PS Home with basic amenities, free online gaming) but presumably some want (even) more assurance.
Because of its extensible nature, I don't think Sony knows all the answers. But since it's free to join, we will have a choice whether to spend money in PS Home or elsewhere... especially since the same people also pointed out that PS Home is not new, people have done it before, etc. etc....
I really don't see what the big deal is with Sony's current
free statements. What more do people want them to say ?
Some of us are simply not impressed nor as convinced as others who are in some kind of endless Cloud-9 state with everything Sony. Their whole outlook and attitude almost make me gag, but I'll try my best to keep the floors clean in here.
BTW, are you the same DeathKnight in AVSForum ? (i.e., a developer ?).
So far, we only have some rough ideas on what's coming in firmware 1.6 this month. We also know media download will be available by this fall.
Any tips or insider news ?