I felt compelled to write this article out of sheer laziness. Laziness and my own inability to let ignorance of others pass by me without stepping in to correct it. So instead of retyping many parts of this article over and over in direct response to various forum posts, I can now simply link them to this article and tell them to read (which they won’t, I know; but I’ll feel better for having tried.)
I actually went so far as to write out an outline for this article in the hopes of not missing anything and frankly, I liked the way it looked, so I’m keeping it in outline form (not to mention it makes it rather easy to go back and update if I miss something.) This is sure to strike up a lot of controversy between various groups. The two biggest groups are the Second-Life/Sims accusers and the Believers/Wait-and-Seers. Let’s get on with it, shall we?
What Home isn’t:
- Home isn’t Second Life- People comparing Playstation Home to Second Life are clearly ignorant of the goals of each product. Second Life enables virtually anybody to go in and create virtually anything, and has strong ties to big money sales of virtual real estate. Second Life also has an established history of griefers and sexual content. PS Home is a closed system where not just anybody can create an area and populate it with brothels and engage in cyber sex. Sales in Home have been described as focusing on “premium content” which will range from enhanced apartments (as close of a tie to Second Life’s virtual realty market as you get) to game-themed objects, designer objects, and actual traditional DLC.
- Home isn’t The Sims - While the avatars in PS Home allow a decent degree of customization and there are interactive environments, everyone in PS Home is “real”. There’s a real person controlling them and there is no “simulation” going on other than viewing a simulated environment. You’re not “directing” your characters to trend to one behavior or another, you are your character. PS Home is not a game at all, you cannot die… there is no game over, etc.
- Home isn’t MySpace- Some people love to generalize the “personalizing your apartment” aspect of PS Home as a 3D MySpace and at least from what’s been shown so far, it couldn’t be further from the case. If the Home Beta included multiple layers of gaudy animated GIFs, javascript effects, mp3s, flashing text, etc. then I would agree. If you really think PS Home deserves a comparison to MySpace, you might as well call the local bar a MySpace clone.
- Home isn’t an answer to Xbox Live- This one just dumbfounds me. What exactly is it that PS Home is supposedly bringing to the table that Xbox Live has? Is it in the Achievements/Accomplishments aspect? I only ask because I never equated Achievements to an Xbox Live feature. Either way, just like Xbox Live doesn’t need a 3D virtual world for Achievements, Home isn’t necessary for Sony’s upcoming equivalent either. They’ve actually said on multiple occasions that PS Home will sit on top of of the Playstation Network and it will not be required for any implementation of Accomplishments/Entitlements (depending on the “in” term at the time). Of course you’ll need to enter PS Home if you want to view your Trophy Room but that’s entirely because the Trophy Room is… (wait for it)… a part Playstation Home! The Trophy Room isn’t the Accomplishments implementation, think of it as an enhanced way to view your accomplishments. You will also be able to track them without going into PS Home.
- Home isn’t “Achievements”- Much like I mentioned above, PS Home is not synonymous with “Achievements” but an additional application layer that can be run on top of the Playstation Network that will be able to leverage your Accomplishments in a virtual 3D world. How do you view your Achievements on the 360 right now? You look at your profile and pull up a list of your games, then you can tunnel down into a specific game to see which Achievements you’ve earned and (possibly) which ones you haven’t. That same process could easily be handled from the XMB by going to your profile, pressing Triangle, choosing “View Accomplishments”, being presented with a list of games you have Accomplishments in, choosing a game, and see which Accomplishments you’ve earned. Bingo. You’ve just looked at Accomplishments on the PS3 without entering Home. I’m sure it will be implemented at least as slickly as that if not more-so.
- Home isn’t online multiplayer- This is another sticky point for a lot of folks. Thinking that you’ll have to use PS Home for multiplayer gaming. You don’t, and you won’t have to… but I’d be willing to bet a lot of us will want to. Take Sarcastic Gamer’s Gaming night for example. We arrange it in the Sarcastic Gamer forums and arrange to show up at a certain time to play a certain game. If you don’t have that game, then you don’t play. There’s usually no “backup plan” in place. Occasionally there is, but not always. So when the time comes, you all meet and play the game as planned, joining the game as you log on. Now look at how it can be different with PS Home. Instead of only drawing in the folks that have that game and want to play at that time, you can simply say Sarcastic Gamer Game Night, Friday 8:00 at Rothbart’s place. Ten or fifteen minutes early, I make sure I’m there to host the event so people can show up. As they show up, we can chat about our day, discuss the latest podcast or gaming news, etc. Dark Sora can then “create a game” which allows him to define a multiplayer gaming instance. Say he sets up say Warhawk as a 32-player match and reserves 16 slots for friends. As people arrive and want to play, they “join” his game (but he hasn’t launched it yet). When the time comes, he launches the game and everyone wanting to play goes off onto the game, to return when the session is over. The folks that weren’t playing are all still present. They can opt to launch into a different game, chat, view media I have playing on a virtual stereo or TV, and generally just socialize. After a while has passed, all the Warhawk guys show up again and we’ve got a crowd of folks. Someone can suggest another game and it all starts again.How this isn’t seen as a more robust way of gaming is beyond me. You can still manually launch Warhawk and search for a server just like you always could, but for a bunch of guys like us, boasting how much we like the “community atmosphere” of something like SarcasticGamer.com, this is the logical next step for taking our community online and directly into the games we play. I predict that after this is out, gets the kinks ironed out and gets enhanced some that it’s going to be huge. For the record, the only part of the above scenario that’s “imagined” (other than Dark Sora being able to host a 32-player match, because he can’t) is the audio/video sharing which we’ve seen in videos and have been told is coming. The game instance creation and launching is in the beta, right now.
- Home isn’t required - This one’s cut and dry. Unless you’re looking for a feature directly tied to the 3D virtual world, you can likely skip PS Home completely. I imagine it will start (especially in the open beta) as an XMB application but it will be stubbed out just like Folding@home to be an actual entry on the XMB. But just like Folding@home, participation is optional.
- Home isn’t something that should simply be mocked - If you try it and genuinely don’t like it, great.. ignore it. But if you’re otherwise ignorant as to what it is, it’s probably best (for you and your reputation) to stop, wait, and see. The world wide web sounded like a pretty goofy idea at first and now many can’t go a day without it. PS Home has every potential to redefine where and how a large chunk of gamers get their gaming news, media, and content.
Find out what Home is on the next page…
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26 responses so far ↓
1 Anski // Mar 12, 2008 at 1:04 pm
finally =)
I read this on the forums when it got posted there (before it was wiped away! o.O)
Glad you finally got around to it, because I am tired of hearing all of these things as well
2 LJ // Mar 12, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I feel that home would be something different in the gaming world when it comes to consoles but as for a new innovation…not really… Its just the combination of what is the next step for any online society’s. Most of the stuff they are doing is just taking things from online communities and placing them on a console. Still cool but not that wow.
3 NoneOfYourBusiness // Mar 12, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Excellent article, This is Digg worthy.
4 Lono // Mar 12, 2008 at 2:14 pm
yep… still not interested…
5 balaamsafe // Mar 12, 2008 at 2:19 pm
you have actualy sold it to me a little there, there, i have about 15 friends with ps3’s but at the moment the most we do together on them is COD4, if we got a routine gamernight going it would be awesome, and home might well be the thing that pushes us to do this
6 NoneOfYourBusiness // Mar 12, 2008 at 3:22 pm
@ Lono
How can you not be interested, its the perfect venue to share your ego with all of PSN!
Also, think of the Sarcastic Gamer implications. You could open up a new wing of SG in HOME. Maybe….
7 bsf94 // Mar 12, 2008 at 4:02 pm
@Lono. Agreed, i dont think this will really be that great.
Oh Rothbart, you saying “Home can be one of those things that sounds a little silly at first (cameras in cell phones, rumble in controllers, etc.) that we end up accepting and expecting in the long run” not really. While Home might be better than i might think, that doesnt make me want a PS3 for that.
*Note. I do want a PS3, but i don’t want it for Home*
8 HOLY BATMANS // Mar 12, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Well of course you’re not interested LONO, you’re a goddamn xbot. Why they hell would you care anything that the PS3 has to offer?
9 Marceles // Mar 12, 2008 at 5:48 pm
lol @ HOLY BATMANS…but seriously, LONO must’ve also not read the article at all.
“But if you?re otherwise ignorant as to what it is, it?s probably best (for you and your reputation) to stop, wait, and see”
10 Sean "rothbart" Workman // Mar 12, 2008 at 6:27 pm
@sth128: Hey, thanks for only pointing out errors, that really helps the conversation flow nicely.
BTW, Lono is the “editor” on the blog. Why don’t you PM and see what he has to say about your comments.
I never claimed to be a “journalist”, I’m a volunteer that writes what he wants. Feel free to write and submit articles to the site too if you’re up to it. I mean anyone can sit and wait for content to pick apart.
11 Sakimori // Mar 12, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Thanks for this write-up. Honestly, my biggest pet peeve re: Home is all the people who say it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be all that fun of a game… at which point I usually feel obligated to clarify that “Home isn’t *meant* to be a game; it’s a *service* that’s there to complement the gaming experience by giving you a consistent environment with which to bookend your gaming sessions!!”
Anyways, now I can just give people a link to your excellently-put-together overview.
12 ShockwaveLover // Mar 12, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Rothbart, this article is genius. But thanks, now I have absolutely no idea which console to get.
Also, who do I send articles etc. to for submission to the site?
13 Clstirens // Mar 12, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Home sounds great, but still sounds too bloaty for me.
That being said. It is free, and optional, so I am happy for those that enjoy it. End of story.
14 Wolf26pack // Mar 13, 2008 at 6:55 am
@ Rothbart
It is true that the Internet Community tends to as you say Generelize such things, such as comparing it to the likes of Myspace or Second Life.
While I know as you know that all they mean by that are such things like….
- Home will have 3D Avatars like what is in Second life. It won’t have all of Second life’s features just the Avatars.
- Home will hopefully have a community like Myspace or pretty much any MMOG. Not that it is a game or will be a Myspace Clone.
It is a mixture of some of these great Quality’s that will make Home Great. I am not criticizing your article, I just think that when most people read those Genrealizations they know thats all they really are. Although you could be right because there are some really down right stubbron and stupid people here on the interwebs. So your article well help those out there.
15 Mr Scavenge // Mar 13, 2008 at 7:29 am
i totally agree with like most of the stuff people have said especially with that people just bag out home because they go home and make love to there 360 every night instead of just coming to the light and realising that ps3’s are better
16 Lono // Mar 13, 2008 at 12:24 pm
lol @ Holy Batmans…
Look
up
Joke
in
Dictionary
Bang
Head
Against
Wall
Rinse
Repeat.
17 thesenderof8 // Mar 13, 2008 at 4:01 pm
lol lono. Pretty good article.
Rothbart knows how 2 get his diggs
18 Sean "rothbart" Workman // Mar 13, 2008 at 6:00 pm
This article is currently featured in the “Playstation Conversation” sidebar on the main page of the official Playstation Blog… http://blog.us.playstation.com
w00t!
19 crystalx3d // Mar 14, 2008 at 2:57 am
I don’t deny that this article nails on the head all the great reasons to be excited about Home. However, experience has shown me that many times a product that gets hyped up over what COULD be ends up being a complete failure… until two years later when some other company takes that same vision and turns it into a decent product, and charges twice as much for it. So I guess I’m not going to get my hopes up because I’ll probably be disappointed with Home. The idea of Home definitely has the potential of being something great, but it’s how Sony executes that idea that really matters.
20 ed // Mar 14, 2008 at 3:01 am
just for the WAR ROOM in WARHAWK …i am already sold. some people (xbots) will complain and bitch when its released but like anything else ps3, in time , it will be proven better than its competitors. its not a killer app on its own. rather one piece of a high quality puzzle. i predict that within a year, many xbots will have caved in and bought themselves a ps3. there are 17 games i will buy this year and i only buy the top notch titles. more than half of those are exclusives. its an exciting time to own a ps3. xbox 360… not so much.
21 Michael T. Babcock // Mar 14, 2008 at 8:41 am
The problem with generalizations is that people aren’t always able to pick out which part of the comparison you’re making. Unless you explicitly say “Home is a 3D virtual world for interacting the way Second Life is, but without the customized programming and controlled by Sony instead of a free-for-all”, they think its the same thing for all the wrong reasons.
Similarly, I wouldn’t compare anything to the horror that is Myspace.
22 Beth // Mar 14, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Unforunately I do believe you made a slight error in this otherwise wonderful description of what home isn’t. (I haven’t read the is part yet). Maybe I am not quite clear on something. Correct me if I’m wrong but… Is Dark Sora the owner of the apartment? If so, or if the owner goes into the multi-player game, I believe that no one will be allowed to stay in the apartment.
The other guest cannot stay if the owner of the apartment is not in it.
That being said, thank you for writing this. Being sarcastic myself, I think you hit the nail on the head! Hey, maybe people will read it too since I linked from the Playstation Blog!! Keep it up.
23 PSN:Kedaro // Mar 14, 2008 at 1:13 pm
I totally agree with this article completely, it’s not fair to compare/speculate at this time, I am a home beta tester, all I can say without being penalized is, It’s a genuine Sony idea, it’s executed in a genuine Sony way, so far all I know is, If you know how Sony operated before Home, expect no different, They are planning on delivering with this. It really is the future of gaming, not a half cooked, half thought out mismatch of other online communities/services. It’s become a great conduit already for me to display my early concept/design works to the masses, and actual Sony execs included in those masses.
24 JayD-1K // Mar 14, 2008 at 3:24 pm
@Kedaro
what if SG mad a SG areain Home? i think that, they could do exactly what he said! i would think sites like 1up, Joystiqu, and PSU to jump on this right away!
25 corvettes_82 // Mar 15, 2008 at 12:03 pm
i just have to say that i think this article is awesome lol (i like this site to come to think of it)anyway ive been waiting for home to come out cuz i had almost the exact same view of home (before this article)its one of 5 main reasons i bought a ps3 i think home will really take off if not at the beginning but not too long afterwords but yeah this article really nailed the idea i think so see yall on there and happy gaming
26 Lang // Mar 24, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Great article, however, I’ve had a bug up my anus regarding a certain issue with Home that just can’t be ignored.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed but Hot Shots Golf 5 was released in Japan and has its own Home-like lobby system. This is a direct threat to Home and what’s worse is that it’s coming from a game that’s published by Sony.
HSG allows you to explore and interact with other HSG players as well as setting up matches and the like. You also have full access to your friends list via in-game XMB (similar to Home).
The damage other developers could do to Home is to create a similar world thereby bypassing any chance of meeting up with friends in Home and launching a game from there. Chances are that if I plug the HSG game into my PS3 I probably want to play that game and not anything else.
So with all the great things Home can bring to the table having games create their own versions of Home (minus the social networking aspects) it will ultimately make Home look like a waste of time. Even more so if developers create their own mini-Homes and highlight their podcasts and other exclusive content instead of using Home.
Something to think about.
Oh yeah, the upcoming game “The Agency” has a similar interface with bars to hang-out and arcade cabinets to play (they’ve already shown off Q-Bert that gives you XP points while you wait for your buddies to sign and join in a little espionage).
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