Sony Home - The official thread*

[tuna]

From a beta-tester (another forum):

"Ah, it's still rubbish!! It's almost exactly the same as it was before. The graphics are better, but it still has the same fundemental problems as before. Lots of expressionless zombies shuffling around the environments, and there is still nothing to do."

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Reasons to create content is interesting. But I guess the reason is no different to creating free download extensions to existing games. I know EA isn't big on that, but other developers haven't just created content to sell, but to maintain the gamer's experience. Creating Home content would be akin to creating a little flash game on your website to attract visitors - it counts as advertising even if there isn't direct revenue.

As for a beta-tester saying there's nothing to do, in a way there isn't supposed to be anything to do. Home is more a portal to other activities, and if those activities aren't available yet then it's like a shopping centre with no shops. Think of town squares where kids hang out. They don't do anything there either. They just sit and chat. So the open areas are for chatting, and the portals are for doing stuff (Home isn't a game, remember!). I also understand that they have chess, bowling, arcade machines and apartment functions in. So that's not 'nothing to do' as much as 'nothing I want to do' on the part of that beta tester, unless they haven't implemented any of these things yet.

Expressionless zombies isn't good, If they could use something like Uncharted's animation to humanise the characters, that'd be a big improvement. Probably too much to ask on a large crowd.

The clothing thing sounds pure genius! If they follow that to its full potential, they'll have a unique and highly valued function. Combine it with the Magic Mirror and you'll get the women-folk away from your console! That ought to double PS3's sales

 

[patsu]

I thought the update is next week ? There seems to be a "big" gathering in the beta next week too.

Guess the emote support is not good enough yet.

 

[Titanio]

Yeah, I don't think it's out yet.. the update is supposed to be this coming week according to the site that leaked those patch notes.

Shifty is right anyway, about the purpose of Home. If you don't find the purely 'Home' stuff interesting (e.g. home decoration, playing with interactive items, minigames, developer spaces etc.), then the beta isn't going to be much use to you until its functionality for supporting other activities is implemented (e.g. game launching or media sharing). Game launching is coming in the beta update, but it'll require game support to work fully..so people probably won't get a proper taste of that until, say, the next Warhawk patch is out. Even then, game launching will only bring people back to home again and again when more than one game is fully supported, so it might take some time for more games to get patched etc. beyond the next beta update..

 

[Arwin]

I think the biggest thing about Home in GDC went past without a lot of attention, which is that the Home SDK 1.0 has been released to developers. That's kind of a big thing, isn't it?

 

[inefficient]

I feel they need to put some kind of meta game within Home. Something akin to gaining XP in a MMORPG. Something that will incentivize players to spend time in there.

In it's current state I am going to lose interest after a few few hours just looking around. After that, there is very little reason to go back in there again. Of couse when they release new content updates, maybe I will drop back in again to look at that. But why would I spend a lot of time in there?

What they need is some kind of XP system. Something that rewards you actually going into home. The reward for higher XP doesn't have to be amazing. Even if they unlocked new clothing items or stuff for your home as you gained XP that would give people incentive to spend time in there. Just like a MMORPG, you need to reward people who spent a lot of time in there vs the "tourists". And you need to give the tourists something to look forward to.

When people say Home is currently just filled with "faceless zombies", I think they are trying to say that there is no way to give these character any "identity". You can dress them up and stuff. But everyone has the exact same options for dress up avaiable to them from the start. In a MMORPG, just from looking at the stuff someone is wearing, you can learn a bit about their identiy. You can see what kind of play style they like, how long they have been playing, maybe what acomplishments they've made in a particular game etc.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Again, Home isn't supposed to be an experience in a big way itself. Sony don't want people spending time in Home like it was an MMO, when they should instead be buying games and spending money! As a meeting place prior to going off and doing entertainments, or to meet friends when you can't meet physically, it does its job. So though on the outset I like the idea of some measure of accumulated XP, like those ratings people get on some forums, it would probably be counter-productive. People don't need incentives to go to the local shopping mall and amusements complex other than the experiences there, and Home is trying to emulate that experience. Of course Home does have competition in bypassed access to functions, so you don't have to go to Home to launch a game when launching it from XMB is quicker. I think variety of the experience will be key, which means getting developers on board early on. Sadly Sony's history is of slow growth in entertainment applications. If Home's experience grows at the rate of their online content for PSP, people will lose interest beyond the initial novelty.

I think you're right about the zombies. People will look like clones or inbred families if there isn't enough diversity possible from the outset. Perhaps Sony should start with everyone having some free Home currency to spend in the stores, to give everyone a taste of the experience?

 

[Npl]

In it's current state I am going to lose interest after a few few hours just looking around. After that, there is very little reason to go back in there again. Of couse when they release new content updates, maybe I will drop back in again to look at that. But why would I spend a lot of time in there?

Exclusive content ?
One part will be peoples individual homes which, as you put it, will tell a bit about what games they play and what kinda person they are. (Doesnt attract me atleast though). Noone gives a damn for youtube itself either, its the users creating the content.
The other will be companies that (hopefully) will leverage Home for product-placement, Game-Companies will be the most obvious. How they lure people to their place is up to imagination, but Im sure they wont run out of ideas for a long time (Freebies, Competition-prices, Treasure-hunts - the stuff you get/win could also be items for games or even the real world, Home-Integration could go both ways).

 

[Titanio]

In it's current state I am going to lose interest after a few few hours just looking around. After that, there is very little reason to go back in there again. Of couse when they release new content updates, maybe I will drop back in again to look at that. But why would I spend a lot of time in there?

You could not spend a lot of time in Home and still make thorough use of it, or have good reason to go into it. For example, if all my usual online games have game launching support, I'll definitely be using Home..even if I don't spend an awful lot of time in there between games. In that case, I'd just be treating it like a universal lobby system or sorts.

When people say Home is currently just filled with "faceless zombies", I think they are trying to say that there is no way to give these character any "identity". You can dress them up and stuff. But everyone has the exact same options for dress up avaiable to them from the start. In a MMORPG, just from looking at the stuff someone is wearing, you can learn a bit about their identiy. You can see what kind of play style they like, how long they have been playing, maybe what acomplishments they've made in a particular game etc.

Unlockable apparel from games should do what you're saying to some degree. If you see someone walking around with a Helghast t-shirt on, or something, then you know that person achieved a certain something in KZ2 or whatever. User tools for designing clothes, if they're ever made available, would also introduce more diversity beyond the 'same starter pack everyone gets'.

 

[deepbrown]

I'd just like to talk to my friends "in person" rather than having to send little messages to them, and invite them to my apartment, show off my trophies, share some content, and then launch into warhawk together. Come out...go to the store together and maybe buy a new song for guitar hero after seeing a demonstration by a guitar hero avatar.

Might try some bowling with my buddies, then ask if Phil Harrison wants to join in, get talking, forward my CV and then get a job

 

[Arwin]

Apart from what deepbrown said, with which I fully agree, if you paid close attention to the slides, I think you'll see that there are Home related achievements. One for bowling I think, and one for (I'm guessing) meeting / talking to 100 people in Home. I could imagine there might be a lot of those in the Home environment.

 

[patsu]

Intuitively, Home can be the funnel to draw general consumers into the combined Playstation entertainment space. It should assist newcomers, plus capture gamers who just completed a game and are looking for the next thing to do.

I also think that PS Home is not a "MMORPG" itself but at the same time, *if* Home has its own attractions (especially for non/casual-gamers), it will be more effective in distributing "foot" traffic to third party apps and stores. Now that's the theory (my theory ).


First and foremost, the Home virtual world lacks the collective knowledge and persistent pull of a forum. It also lacks the persistent draw of MySpace because a user's house is only accessible when he/she is logged in. People can't take their own sweet time to discover the complete community consistently within the 3D world.

In this regard, I feel that the Home 3D world is more geared towards existing friends (i.e., existing group entertainment) and transient activities. However if Sony has a Home website that can persist the entire Home virtual world activities, it may be a better (convenient, "larger" and less intimidating) marketing tool.


OTOH, I feel that Home can be (is !) better than HTML's pull model for capturing dynamic activities (e.g., watching a keynote together). Instead of people refreshing the web page and posting loose notes, they become an integral part of the experiences.

From this perspective, I think the following broad activities will define the Home experiences.

* Online marketing event (a la Internet conferences, keynotes, TV game shows, contests, user-generated events, ...). Together with the Home website, this is the part that can address inefficient's concerns about "constant draw" and also drive traffic to third party applications/spaces.

* Online education/learning (This can be seen as a specialized form of marketing event, but I split it out because a developer may focus on it).

* Group activities for existing relationships/meetups (game launching, strategizing clan games, team building mini-games, etc.)


Basically, anything time-based and highly interactive fits well with Home. Individual "home page" may be "created" by each user within Home, but most people may view them from the Home website (if there is such a thing) instead of within Home.


And the following Home Items should form the basic virtual world experience.

* A real-time directory or a newspaper/newsletter to point people, especially newcomers, to the latest activities, freebies and sale within the Home world. This may be snapshot'ed to the website periodically.

* Web browser to allow users to interact with the open web world (e.g., recruiting more guys from the GAF forum to join an on-going match, posting loose notes missed by the Playstation Home system)

EDIT: The award of exclusive Home Items form another draw of the virtual world. These items may have unique behaviour in the virtual world to attract people.

As for introducing a currency for PS Home, it is not clear if it's needed yet. Sony may want to wait until they have a sizable user base before they decide if they need it.

 

[Asher]

I still can't help but think this is one of those things cool in theory, annoying in implementation. It sounds like a "Me Too" to the hype (unsubstantiated hype) behind Second Life. I am trying to think of use cases where I'd enjoy Home, and aside from gaping at the beautiful graphics, I'm not sure what there is?

I talk to my friends on google talk / MSN and not on XBL or in Home. So the chatting aspect isn't that practical to me. Sharing music/movies in realtime doesn't really interest me. If memory serves, MSN long ago introduced a realtime music sharing feature that no one uses.

And the simple fact that you'd need to walk places to get to new features, is that really good? I'm not one with a lot of patience, I vastly prefer the instantaneous menu systems for navigation. From a functional perspective, there's a "high latency" delay when you need to walk from place to place. I understand you can still use some form of menu, and Home is completely optional, but I can't help but thinking most people would be like me and toy with Home for a bit, but when it comes to real use-cases, sticking to the menu system to do everything.

 

[Nesh]

Intuitively, Home can be the funnel to draw general consumers into the combined Playstation entertainment space. It should assist newcomers, plus capture gamers who just completed a game and are looking for the next thing to do.

I also think that PS Home is not a "MMORPG" itself but at the same time, *if* Home has its own attractions (especially for non/casual-gamers), it will be more effective in distributing "foot" traffic to third party apps and stores. Now that's the theory (my theory ).


First and foremost, the Home virtual world lacks the collective knowledge and persistent pull of a forum. It also lacks the persistent draw of MySpace because a user's house is only accessible when he/she is logged in. People can't take their own sweet time to discover the complete community consistently within the 3D world.

In this regard, I feel that the Home 3D world is more geared towards existing friends (i.e., existing group entertainment) and transient activities. However if Sony has a Home website that can persist the entire Home virtual world activities, it may be a better (convenient, "larger" and less intimidating) marketing tool.


OTOH, I feel that Home can be (is !) better than HTML's pull model for capturing dynamic activities (e.g., watching a keynote together). Instead of people refreshing the web page and posting loose notes, they become an integral part of the experiences.

From this perspective, I think the following broad activities will define the Home experiences.

* Online marketing event (a la Internet conferences, keynotes, TV game shows, contests, user-generated events, ...). Together with the Home website, this is the part that can address inefficient's concerns about "constant draw" and also drive traffic to third party applications/spaces.

* Online education/learning (This can be seen as a specialized form of marketing event, but I split it out because a developer may focus on it).

* Group activities for existing relationships/meetups (game launching, strategizing clan games, team building mini-games, etc.)


Basically, anything time-based and highly interactive fits well with Home. Individual "home page" may be "created" by each user within Home, but most people may view them from the Home website (if there is such a thing) instead of within Home.


And the following Home Items should form the basic virtual world experience.

* A real-time directory or a newspaper/newsletter to point people, especially newcomers, to the latest activities, freebies and sale within the Home world. This may be snapshot'ed to the website periodically.

* Web browser to allow users to interact with the open web world (e.g., recruiting more guys from the GAF forum to join an on-going match, posting loose notes missed by the Playstation Home system)

EDIT: The award of exclusive Home Items form another draw of the virtual world. These items may have unique behaviour in the virtual world to attract people.

As for introducing a currency for PS Home, it is not clear if it's needed yet. Sony may want to wait until they have a sizable user base before they decide if they need it.

I can only say I am greatly excited with this. Past similar attempts from other services/apllications failed to gain my interest but this does

 

[one]

I still can't help but think this is one of those things cool in theory, annoying in implementation. It sounds like a "Me Too" to the hype (unsubstantiated hype) behind Second Life. I am trying to think of use cases where I'd enjoy Home, and aside from gaping at the beautiful graphics, I'm not sure what there is?

I talk to my friends on google talk / MSN and not on XBL or in Home. So the chatting aspect isn't that practical to me. Sharing music/movies in realtime doesn't really interest me. If memory serves, MSN long ago introduced a realtime music sharing feature that no one uses.

And the simple fact that you'd need to walk places to get to new features, is that really good? I'm not one with a lot of patience, I vastly prefer the instantaneous menu systems for navigation. From a functional perspective, there's a "high latency" delay when you need to walk from place to place. I understand you can still use some form of menu, and Home is completely optional, but I can't help but thinking most people would be like me and toy with Home for a bit, but when it comes to real use-cases, sticking to the menu system to do everything.

Home is not a fancy menu replacement. It's as absurd as to say Adobe Flash is a replacement of HTML. Home has its own menu in the Virtual PSP.

 

[Titanio]

And the simple fact that you'd need to walk places to get to new features, is that really good?

Walk? You can warp to locations via the virtual PSP.

In fact, a lot of stuff can be and is driven using the virtual PSP - those instaneous menu systems you prefer.

Your post also doesn't refer to the party management functionality of Home, which if widely implemented, would be useful to anyone who plays online with friends.

If that also doesn't appeal in addition to the other core functionalities (the trophy system, community aspects, the media sharing you mentioned etc.), then perhaps indeed Home won't be for you. But the good thing is, it's free, there's no harm trying it and seeing for yourself.

 

[DieH@rd]

I want to know more about HOME related stuff that can be viewed directly from the XMB... Any more info about that?

 

[wco81]

Sounds like EA and other major publishers aren't that enthusiastic.

Does Sony have a content partners lined up?

Or will this be some curiosity that people check out a few times and not use much.

If the biggest use of Home turns out to be game launching, it will be overkill and a failure.

But for people who could care less about Myspace or achievements, there's little else which appeals.

 

[joker454]

So I'll admit, I have little interest in home and don't really get the appeal. But lets just say thats because I'm a dumb Canuck that's not jiggy with it, and leave it at that Moving to development houses, what exactly is the appeal of home to them? Given the already high costs of doing business, why would them want to spent more time money and resources on home?

I understand selling downloadable content, there is obvious money there. But there are already systems in place to sell dlc. I guess they could support it with ads, it seems like most messaging/community type apps are ad driven in one way or another. But aside from that, are they expecting companies like Ubisoft, etc, to start selling Assasins Creed statues for peoples homes? Splinter Cell carpeting? Aside from dlc, what revenue streams are their to encourage companies to support home?

 

[patsu]

At the moment, most of us can see the Home infrastructure (i.e., the mechanism). Content-wise, my view is as follow...

Initially, Sony may have to rely on its first parties to start the ball rolling. Subsequently, they will likely empower the community leaders and end users to organize periodic online events, and generate more content. Sponsored freebies will go a long way to help build up the buzz too.

The Home space is not necessarily driven by the game developers alone.

At one extreme, they can try to own a domain e.g., "Dress" is a collaborative project with the fashion industry.

For developers who simply want to deliver the minimal experience, I believe the basic requirements are game launching and trophies/accomplishment. I do not know how much resources are needed to implement these basic services (Similar to XBL online gaming and achievements ?).

Nonetheless, it should be possible for a separate party to create dedicated Home spaces or special items on behalf of a game developer. This is similar to theme/topic-based community websites that market products for multiple vendors. I believe IGN has signed up to create dedicated Home space(s).

Some of these Home features may also be implemented by the middleware providers to differentiate their products better.


EDIT: As for whether end users will embrace Playstation Home. Sony is doing the right thing by opening it up for beta. I was told Flickr took 1+ year to find its path to success (It started as a real time Java tool for photo sharing ?). As long as Home integrates seamlessly with the web, I think they should be fine. Just keep innovating/improving based on user feedback.