We've seen what happens when SCE rushes stuff out the door due to competitive, and other, reasons. We get PSN, we get the Playstation store, we get the XMB as they all were day 1. Incomplete and feature light. Do we really want them rushing something else out the door?
They don't have to rush it out to the general public. Home is a different animal. What I meant was Sony needs to plan for an incremental, rapid prototype approach instead of the traditional waterfall model. In addition, they need to keep the users close to them.
Sony has decided to focus on the gamers first. This is a belated but reasonable/necessary first move. However, instead of keeping people out, they should not be afraid to involve interested, productive and highly tolerant supporters. Afterall, as you said, people have already seen the minimalist XMB and PS Store before. The problem is not anemic feature set. The problem was we could not do anything to change the situation (We could only wait).
Getting the users involved early will help to build interest and responsibility around the PS network. It will give them a sense of ownership to help keep the community livable later on. For now, they could already distribute HDK to qualified users (e.g. clan site operators). Let them build the Home environment today (during the closed beta). It takes time for users to learn and experiment. Let them know that things may change and the created structures may need to be redone/modified along the way. As long as these users can see incremental results, they will be happy with the progress.
The enthusiasm will spread to their friends. This will work even if HDK is somewhat buggy (Need to set the right expectations).
Recently, Sony has started to run interactive marketing programs (e.g., EoJ free cards, Folklore contest, GT5P + Nissan co-marketing race event). It is time to organize and consolidate these activities around Playstation Home. These individual activities can be grouped together for better coverage and impact. They should also rationalize the relationship between Home, the PS Blogs, Playstation.com, etc. [They should just combine all the online sites. Different sections may be managed by geographical groups but they odd to appear as one to the end users]
The Playstation store is now where it should have been day 1. The XMB and PSN aren't even where they should have been day 1 (but are slowly getting there). After hearing about some of the things they have planned for Home, like the Warhawk sandbox and Resistance rooms, I'm glad they're taking their time. I'm really looking forward to those features, and if delaying it means it launches with that type of interactivity and more, I'm happy to wait.
Yes, these are the end user features. When I talk about Home, I am talking about the general/overall Playstation community support. It includes Home, the software environment, the people and their content. People in the closed beta are already testing game launching. They should extend the closed beta to more people soon. in-game XMB will come independently (i.e., People can use HDK, participate in community programs without worrying about in-game XMB)
I do understand that the more they delay, the more chance there is of people losing interest. But I don't see that being an issue if they take the time to come through with some of the potential it holds (like the Warhawk and Resistance examples) when they do launch publiclly.
It is about building and sustaining momentum. Losing interest is only one facet.
EDIT:
Exactly. You can't have an online, community experience if members are isolated from each other, and that's pretty much how it is with PS3 at the moment. Unless you arrange to talk, or stick to emails, you aren't really socialising. The worrying aspect here is, AFAIR, Sony have never actually said they're going to provide these services. They say they're listening, yadayada, but haven't yet said 'Yes, we're going to put it in, around about such-and-such a time.' We just guess/hope that it's coming with Home or an in-game XMB firmware update.
Start with the users' heart and mind first. Cross game messaging, unified friends list are only mechanics. e.g., Today, I straddle between B3D and GAF, but can still share PS3 interests with likeminded folks. These in-game XMB tools will have multiplier effects, but they are not show stoppers. It is possible to start addressing/engaging Home issues without slowing in-game XMB development/deployment.
In general, technical development is bottom-up (because you need the low level stuff to work properly first), while marketing works top-down (or backwards from users to the technical deliverables). You need both, especially for a user centric service like Home. The closed beta is a good start but I don't think they are maximizing its mileage yet.
