Sony Home - The official thread*

[jeff_rigby]

PS Suite has some new Information being released for Home.

From past discussion on various threads on B3D:

The Home Client supports Lua which is a cross platform language running on an engine in your PS3.

When Home was upgraded to support Hard Disk Cache, the methods used and objects cached made it appear as if Cache was limited to supporting a platform with SD memory storage not a hard disk. Speculation at that time was that since home was cross platform some future platform would be supported that used SD memory for program storage.

PSP2 or NGP uses SD memory for program storage and the following image is part of the NGP and PS Suite news conference.

Home is a Social interaction site to support Sony Games and Sony games will be on the PS3, PSP2 and Android platforms with PS Suite. I would speculate that Home will be available on those platforms also. There is another new social interaction site called Live listed on the PSP2 main screen.

NGP appears to have enough power to support Home and the minimum PS Suite hardware/software port appears to also have enough to support Home also.

Delays in implementing PS3 features as well as methods used to support features on the PS3 are probably due to cross platform and least common denominator. Libraries currently missing for advanced support of modern windows type graphics needed for a new Webkit browser were probably delayed waiting for a "Standard" so that the coming Sony Family of hardware platforms would be compatible with each other.

A wait for a hardware platform powerful enough to support Home and Sony games was part of this. iOS tablets were first last year and now in 2011 new Android 2.3 cell phones and tablets are and will be powerful enough. 2011 will also see faster iOS using the same chipsets the new Android platforms use.

The Sony Snap developer program started the middle of 2010 and was very similar to Apple iOS but it was put on hold Nov 27, 2010, it was probably going to support Playstation to iOS. Now the New PS Suite program supports NGP to Android. Sony has also mentioned that in the future PS Suite will support the PS3 and other platforms.

A year ago or longer Sony started signing up developers and purchasing older games for PS1 and other older platforms, some have already made it to the PS3. I suspect those games were for first iOS and now PS Suite. PS Suite may eventually support iOS.

Patsu: message 1716 above spot on.

Decouple items/games from the 3D world. i.e., It should be possible for us to use a completely empty room, or a 2D page, and load our own items and games there. The activities, games and items are much more important than the landscape/geometry. The ability to share and leave messages (like Demon's Souls) is more important than the 3D world.

* More ways for users to promote their crafts (e.g., Clubhouses, events).

= Live on the NGP my guess and it will probably be supported on all platforms.

* They are now going after integrated LUA games. PS3's memory size probably prevent them from incorporating game launching satisfactorily today. I think regular BR and PSN games should at least allow Home to import achievements and leaderboards for more complex interaction (e.g., informal betting). They should also support Home game launching so that we can launch a party by clicking on a "bookmark" in XMB directly. As a side effect, Home can also launch game parties.

* More games !! 'specially board games and arcades since they should be easier to do for LUA.

Lua and WebGL games both. Cross Platform is the Buzz word. The business models allowing Sony to make money are as yet to be announced.

Speculation is that eventually Home could be a WebGL rather than a Lua cross platform application. There is nothing supporting this other than all platforms will support OpenGL WebGL javascript engines and all will have fast JIT support. Sony can write Lua engines for all platforms or convert Home from Lua to WebGL once.

 

[Arwin]

Home in this picture refers to your PS3, basically, in your Home. Not the Home application. Also, Home isn't written in Lua. Home supports Lua scripting for building interactivity in Home spaces.

 

[jeff_rigby]

Home in this picture refers to your PS3, basically, in your Home. Not the Home application. Also, Home isn't written in Lua. Home supports Lua scripting for building interactivity in Home spaces.

You are correct and I edited the in Lua to supports Lua, thanks. To be clear, the Home client is most likely written in "C" and supports Lua which is a cross platform scripting language. The Home client on each platform must be in native machine language and "C" can be used as it's relatively portable between POSIX platforms just as in PS Suite.

You are correct, Home on the NGP was not mentioned and I took the picture as an unsupported leak which when tied to cross platform Lua and the way Home Cache was supported to be speculated (mentioned) support for Home on other platforms. Combining what appears to be a long term plan spanning years for cross platform games sales by Sony I suspect I am correct and Home will be available on other platforms.

If the Home in the picture refers to the PS3 then why does it say Home not PS3....Cross platform in that picture is in no way supported by a PS3 but the NGP could be. The Home in the background (smaller in rear) would seem to indicate that the "Home" supports both Portable (NGP) and other platforms (cross platform) through the internet (in artwork). How does the PS3 support cross platform?

Edit: just went over the blog, Sony is saying that they have the Home game consoles (PS3 & PS2) and now support portable and cross platform with the PSN. There is another picture with Home in the foreground with cross platform and portable in the background. Two picture for this with Home moving from background to foreground? Yes I'm stretching speculation. Why use the term "Home" for home consoles when it could be misinterpreted? They are talking PSN and Home is PSN. http://www.engadget.com/liveblog/live-from-sonys-tokyo-event/

I think the following is "Live" which also has Avatars but allows more functionality due to more memory in the NGP. I think I see Playstation something on the trash can. Home + with more features (launching) because of more memory, Home to only be PS3 with Home+ on PS4 and other products?

The artist who generated the slide may be relating what he was told (future plans) and the speaker is talking about only Sony products (PS3 and NGP). Just as I made a mistake, the presenter may have made a mistake or the slide was put in when it shouldn't have been used at this time (Sony does not announce many of their future plans). The same slides will be used at GDC and E3 and may then be properly presented.

I'd also add and speculate that the Portable and Cross platform may have closer ties and all this cross platform is going to occur on PORTABLE platforms and did not occur with PCs which have been powerful enough. There is a market for older simpler games on portables but not so much on desktops though I expect that is also coming as the portable market will generate a renewed interest in these simpler games.

Arwin, thanks for the correction and opportunity to spell out why I used the picture and still included speculate in my post. I have been accused of being wordy and did not spell this all out in the first post. I honestly don't know how I can support speculation without explaining (being wordy).

http://psoneclassics.com/miscellaneous/what-online-features-will-the-psp2-have-guesses/

 

[Shifty Geezer]

You do like your rather wild speculations! They're talking PSN, content like games and movies, which isn't Home - Home is currently a standalone application and a server. They talk about PSN serving your home console, you're portable console, and other paltforms, which is being able to access PSN content on TVs and Android phones thanks to PSS and Qriocity and various strategies by Sony.

That is the obvious explanation that fits everything comfortably and doesn't need interpretations to be stretched, so why try and stretch ideas? I can well imagine Home coming to NGP and maybe even PSS, but it'll be announced, rather than secretly revealed in cryptic codes buried in subtle ambiguities.

 

[jeff_rigby]

You do like your rather wild speculations! They're talking PSN, content like games and movies, which isn't Home - Home is currently a standalone application and a server. They talk about PSN serving your home console, you're portable console, and other paltforms, which is being able to access PSN content on TVs and Android phones thanks to PSS and Qriocity and various strategies by Sony.

That is the obvious explanation that fits everything comfortably and doesn't need interpretations to be stretched, so why try and stretch ideas? I can well imagine Home coming to NGP and maybe even PSS, but it'll be announced, rather than secretly revealed in cryptic codes buried in subtle ambiguities.

I think it's a given that the NGP can support "Home". I've been trying to find reasons for this to not be so and why "Live". There has to be some differences - features - limitations between the PS3 and NGP.

PSN movies and media on NGP but no ability to display on a TV. Possible reason, DRM. Portable use only may have implications in licencing media.

Home not announced yet or will not be announced for the NGP. 3G may not support the data rates needed by "Home". Weak as Wifi is supported at "N" speeds. Doing research in my area on 3G brought up information that 3G and 4G will be the same price with 4G being min 5 times faster with a theoretical max speed equal to current Cable modem (min) speeds. Why does the NGP have 3G then? Off Topic rhetorical question

Slow load times from SD memory is possibly the biggest limitation and might affect what Sony provides on the NGP, at least for launch. Most Android platforms pre-load many applications and they are running all the time. This reduces available memory. The Home client would use lots of memory and probably couldn't be pre-loaded. A smaller application with Avatar could reside in main memory.

Sony Duo SD memory is an attempt to increase SD memory speed. The Flash memory on the early PS3 used the same technique (2 flash chips and alternate flash chip reads). A quad SD memory could be released by Sony for Android and the NGP.

A new Avatar, "Home" like PSN feature called "Live" for the NGP but no announcement for the PS3. Still not enough information beyond the picture but I expect the Touchscreen, more memory and portability impact the "Live" experience and are not possible on the PS3.

 

[patsu]

If you're into this sort of things…
http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/02/13/macross_ps_home/

Sony is also holding the "Macross x PS Home Special Campaign. Through this campaign, Home users can view the first two episodes of the various Macross series in Home's theaters for free.

The campaign kicked off on the 3rd and will run through March 16. Visit the PS Home official site or a schedule (hurry up -- the original Macross airing is over!)

This is actually the second time Sony has held this Macross viewing campaign. Similar to the first time, viewers will be able to obtain the giant SDF-1 personal space item as a free present. To get the SDF-1, you'll need to watch six episodes throughout the campaign. After your sixth episode, you'll get the SDF-1 as a Home Reward on the spot.

 

[patsu]

Home's platform director talks about internal organization and progress...
http://www.develop-online.net/features/1124/A-money-makerM-PlayStation-Home

The team is bigger than I thought (70 strong. and still profitable it seems).

For those not familiar, what’s the business model for Home? At first there was a lot of talk about creating promotional spaces for brands – but now it’s a games platform.

Well, there are a number of brands that do see Home as a really good promotional space and a way to reach a very passionate community. That has panned out. But, importantly, the ones that work are those who know they have to offer a gaming experience.

Take Audi – they worked with a third-party to create some games in Home. Users kept playing, and Audi has since put more games in. Actual, decent fun games. Red Bull has seen the same results. What doesn’t work is just creating a showroom – but Home wasn’t really about that in the first place, and the smarter companies get that.

From a business point of view, virtual items and microtransactions… it just works. We have tens of thousands of items, and they are making money. There are some developers solely working on Home now, which speaks a lot to the success we can create. There are developers making money from virtual items in Home, simple as that.

But you’ve also got the free to play and freemium model. Sodium, the game by Lockwood, is a great example of that. They offer the first five levels of their game for free, but to get the other 45 you have to buy an item of clothing for your avatar to wear that unlocks that access. They’ve had a massive conversion rate – 25 per cent of players pay up.

Do you think the industry understands that Home offers all that potential?

I think a lot of the industry understands it – and I think there are a lot of people in the industry who don’t realise how much the others understand it.

So, there are 120 studios using the HDK and making content with it. That’s a huge community already using the platform.

...

You’re growing the Home team – who are you looking for? And how many?

We’re over 70 at the moment, and are looking for around ten or so more.

Ultimately we’re a tools and technology platform, so we’re looking for people to expand that. The skills are obvious from one point of view – server programmers, engineers, and so on. But also we are growing to include things like operations. We’ve got nine different teams supporting the platform, which makes us a microcosm of the whole PlayStation business.

The important thing when it comes to growing the team is finding people who are going to be inspired by what other people can create with the platform they produce.

We’ve undergone a mindset change on the existing team and we need people who are inspired by that.

And SCEE tends to pride itself on having a very broad skill base of staff drawn from all kinds of industries – does that play into how you’re growing the team?

The aim is always to recruit the very best people, which takes time and means we don’t just fill a role. That tends to mean we do often look outside the games industry, because the chance to work on games is attractive, but you can find different enthusiasms, aptitudes and professional attitudes in other sectors.

Of course experience is useful, but we’d never discount someone because they don’t necessarily know games well. If you’re trying to make games and content for the social or casual space or whatever you want to call it, that really helps, and growing the gene pool pays off in every direction.

You only have to look at London Studio – which made EyeToy, SingStar and Home – to see that we have a very broad mix of products, which to a great extent represents our broadminded outlook.

 

[Arwin]

I've just been walking around in the Magic The Gathering spaces, and they are very nice. I really like the perspective puzzles they've put in there. THe city outside the balcony is also very nicely done, you almost get an Assassin's Creed style vibe from it, looks very large. And the art/paintings of some of the early cards are very nice, with a cute little game that invites you to look at them more closely too. Lots of free t-shirts to be had too, though who needs those.

There are also some new things announced. I think the 'build a pixeljunk world' stuff for your own space is simple, but very cute. Those suits look smart too.

http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2011/02/23/playstation-home-build-a-pixeljunk-world/

There are a lot of new spaces I've never visited before. I think some people who haven't been in here a long time would be surprised by both how much stuff is in here now and how fast everything loads.

EDIT: I found a new maze style game with powerups and keys and doors and what not that is controlled with sixaxis tilt controls. That's a first time I've seen that.

 

[patsu]

I keep forgetting to visit the Magic The Gathering space. Went in a few times but always ended up in Sodium. >_<

The build-your-own-world PixelJunk space sounds more ilke my type of thing. They should make the outcome relevant or useful at some level (like integrate it with Internet greeting cards, FaceBook, blogs, forum posts, etc.).

I hope to see an "empty" Home space with lot's of evolving activities and usable items. The static buildings and landscape really doesn't do much for me, except waste space.

 

[patsu]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-03-01-playstation-home-downloaded-19m-times

Sony has announced that the PlayStation Home client has been downloaded 19 million times since launch.

...

The 19 million figure refers to instances of Home being downloaded and booted up at least once. When asked how many active users the service has, Buser declined to comment - saying that figure is available, but only to developers who have signed a non-disclosure agreement.

However, he did say that as an indication, 1.6 million users played the racing game Sodium within six weeks of release, in North America alone.

 

[patsu]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-03-01-playstation-home-gets-real-time-multiplayer

Version 1.5 of the Home core client is scheduled to launch this spring. According to Sony, it will allow for the creation of "fast-action" online first-person shooters and racing games within Home.

Such as Sodium 2: Project Velocity, which Sony showed a brief demo of during an update briefing. It looks like a futuristic racer set within desert landscape - WipEout meets MotorStorm, in other words. Expect customisable vehicles, a "pounding" soundtrack and a spring release date.

The update also features a revamped physics engine, said to allow for more realistic collisions and other physics elements. Plus there are new animation tools for better graphics and improved frame-rates.

EDIT:
http://gamasutra.com/view/news/3330...n_Home_Update_Focused_On_Game_Development.php

Bjornsson pointed out that Home integration will allow Sodium 2 players to walk over to their garage, hop in a customized car, and accelerate directly into a live race with other players seamlessly. The tracks themselves will also be integrated into Home's larger virtual world, allowing spectators unique access, he said.

“You can actually walk up to the game with all the people and step into it,” he said. “The best example is to imagine in Gran Turismo, if you're in the pit and you can see the cars going past. Home offers you a sort of unique relationship between you, the players, and the games you play. Psychologically, we really love that.”

Developing in Home also allows strong access to a built-in community of players that can provide great feedback, and metrics that let you iterate improvements to your game quickly, Bjornsson said, all at a lower cost than traditional PS3 development.

... etc. etc.

 

[patsu]

Playstation Home survey and concept images leaked:
http://fourplayercoop.com/news/2011/03/08/could-this-be-the-new-playstation-home/

An anonymous tipster has dropped us some pictures that fans of Sony’s PlayStation Home will probably be interested in. The images show what appears to be a revamped PlayStation Home Central Plaza. Sporting a clean-lined, almost futuristic-mall sort of look, the possible new space is a bit of a departure from the more traditional neighborhood feel the Central Plaza currently has.

...

Better tie in with my cloud save so that I can host my own home/website. ^_^

 

[Arwin]

Looks like Home is reaching a big new milestone with Havok physics, much faster multiplayer and various other improvements in its 1.50 update. With the earlier added party chat and now the ability to shoot each other, things are definitely looking up for Home. Maybe we should arrange to check it out together over the weekend ...

http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2011/04/20/playstation-home-version-1-50-is-here/

 

[tuna]

Goddammit, I just deleted it! We could go sunday maybe?

 

[Arwin]

Ok, Home is back up and I tried the new 1.5 update, and it is indeed *very* fast. Home already wasn't that slow, but downloads and avatars (which could show up a bit slow still) are definitely faster now. I'm thinking of maybe trying to get a birthday party going in Home on my real birthday, 23rd of June. Could be fun to try and fill up a personal space, never gotten close to 64 people in there before and would be an interesting test.

 

[patsu]

Heh heh, I really do think they need to revamp Home to keep up with NGP concepts and UI.

I still think together with LittleBigPlanet, they should integrate Home with the Internet (See iOS, MS's Mango).

 

[patsu]

E3 Live Streaming in Playstation Home:
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011...-streaming-keynote-virtual-playstation-booth/

For the first time ever, PlayStation Home will host a live public video stream of the Sony E3 press conference on Monday, June 6 at 5pm Pacific Time

...

Be sure to visit the E3 Booth in Home at the start of the show on Tuesday, June 7 at 12pm Pacific Time and earn exclusive virtual items as you visit the different areas in the virtual E3 booth. Once you unlock all the virtual items, you’ll be able to check out Home content in the VIP area and play the first level of Scribble Shooter – an upcoming top-down, shoot-em up game featuring hand-drawn enemies that is being designed to look as if you’re playing on a notepad — as well as a Heavy Water package with active virtual items.

...

Additionally, the PlayStation.Blog team will be streaming live game demonstrations straight from the show floor into PlayStation Home, so you won’t miss a single beat of all the excitement of E3.

 

[Arwin]

About time they finally get it to stream live! Hopefully a good way to show off how far Home has come. Would love to see some of you guys there, particularly as we can create a voice and text chat party inside. Last time you could see the various shows in there as well though not live, but shortly after, but it did have various nice interviews as well.

They are also streaming the video on the official playtation blog / site.

 

[patsu]

Oh I'll be there alright.

I was there @ the FIFA event and it was crazy to meet people from all over the world on the soccer field. You see people chatting in different languages, trying to understand each other lol.

Spoiler

And Latin guys going after (fake) Japanese girls. ^__^

Now that we are in the same GAF XMB Chat room again...

I wish they could integrate the XMB Chat room and Home. e.g., Add a Home "radio channel" to gateway XMB chat room conversation into the Home world. Had fun yesterday gossiping about GAF friends and moderators in the room with banned Gaffers like Kittonwy.


EDIT: btw, who else is a Gaffer ? I can invite you to the XMB chat room too.

 

[Arwin]

Yeah, integrating the XMB chat with the Home text-chat would definitely be a good idea, although of course the Home version is a lot more powerful (at least it supports way more users), so there could be some trickyness.