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Playstation Home fans, rejoice! v1.5 drops today, with a host of new features and upgrades! Developers for Playstation Home games now have a more powerful array of tools to work with...
"When Sony launched PlayStation Home in 2008, players hoped that the supposed console version of Second Life would rock console gaming. Instead, Home hit players with massive downloads, constant updates, and a general lack of things to do. Most gamers jumped on and found Home to be slow and wonky, a weird platform for playing house."
"It’s hard to believe that nearly two years have passed since the launch of PlayStation Home, an online hub where gamers can interact with others socially, download content, and ... no one really knows what else. After the project failed to receive a positive reaction from gamers and the media, Home seemed to vanish into obscurity. As a relatively new PlayStation 3 owner, I frequently come across the Home selection option, but overlook it and head straight to my game, never thinking twice of d..."
"Thanks to a deal that will see a number of indie games hits republished in the virtual world, PlayStation Home looks to be getting a re-energized atmosphere for users. Working with Codename, an independent publisher formed by the team that curates the IndieCade events run at E3 and GameCity in Nottingham, SCEA wants to get developers around the world to help add more original content to the platform."
"Working closely with Ubisoft Montreal, Outso LTD has brought the world of Assassin’s Creed to life in vivid detail for PlayStation Home. Prolonged Animus exposure has caused the Bleeding Effect to take hold of your Home avatar, allowing you to use Eagle Vision to try and crack the Abstergo Labs security systems. Players will be able to view the illustrations and paintings that shaped the look and feel of the Assassin’s Creed games, revisit all of the details about the locations and characters..."
There' been many an "innovation" put forth over the last several years in this-gens line up of consoles. Some of them have proved great, and helped the gamer, some have simply proven to be nothing more than fluff, and needless money sinks, or not delivered on their initial promises.
Come check out what OXCGN thinks the top 5 failed innovations have been to date from the big three.
"Sony announced earlier today that Lucasarts will soon be going for the hip-pockets of fans of its two most treasured (and long-suffering) franchises, with a range of gear going up for sale in a Lucasarts shopfront within PlayStation Home."
White Knight Chronicles is coming to Home when it releases with intergrated trophy and home support. LBP costume & Sticker pack will release on Feb. 25th.
The Bender is back on Grep, have a listen for gaming news and other geek talk. We cover Star Trek Online, some Activision goings ons, OnLive, and much much more. Get us on iTunes - Grab us for your Zune - or Download the mp3 directly
"Based on your favourite London watering hole, situated on the banks of the river Thames overlooking The Houses of Parliament, The London Pub personal space comes complete with a multi-player darts game, a roaring open fire, comedy beer pumps, crank phone calls and hand dryers that don’t dry your hands (they’re only virtual you know)."
"Most importantly, however, this first year anniversary marks the launch of an entirely new virtual space called Sodium, developed by Nottingham, UK-based Outso for SCEA, which Buser describes as "our leading developer on PlayStation Home." He also describes Sodium as "the future of the platform."
Sodium?
Sodium, which Buser describes as "an arcade-style shooter wrapped inside of an MMO framework," marks "a quantum leap forward in terms of what a game means on the Home platform," in his..."
"VEEMEE has excitedly announced details of the first virtual London Pub, releasing on January 7th 2010, in PlayStation Home. Priced at €4.99, The London Pub offers traditional pub-based distractions for multiple players, without forcing you to brave that winter weather."
The EU Playstation Blog have announced that the Ratchet & Clank Home Space will be available today. One of the complaints many people have had with previous Home Space is the lack of things to do. Well Insomniac are here to fix that, having dozens of mini-games and missions. You can unlock many rewards and so on. Check out the video of the home space after the jump.
PSN users who have purchased either the Steel and Titanium Map Pack, or the Flash and Thunder Map Pack are in for a special 'thank you' from Guerrila Games. Today, promotional codes went out for a free, exclusive T-shirt in Playstation Home. So far, only SCEE regions have been confirmed for the free T-shirt.
Here's a list of all the content being released on Playstation Home this week. Although there won't be any new spaces, Home users can now use glow sticks, animated shirts, and much more.
Later this year, Playstation Home will be getting two new spaces. The first is the Singstar Space, which will feature a music quiz, a video jukebox, and an interactive dance floor. The second is a space devoted to the car company Audi. Nothing is known about the contents of the Audi space.
In addition to the two spaces mentioned, Home will be getting shrinking potions, and more undisclosed items in September.
A PlayStation Home Community Manager, Locust_Star, said that they are currently working on getting pets into Playstation Home. No details were given, like if these pets would be in personal spaces only, and Playstation has not confirmed this statement. This is the first we have heard about pets in Home since it was last mentioned about 4 months ago. If Sony has been working on pets since we last heard the rumors, then we may hear more news about it soon.
Over the past few months, Home users were given special costumes for pre-ordering certain games like Killzone 2 or Infamous. Although these costumes were given out for free, they have started selling on ebay for upwards of $60. On June 18th, a Helghast costume sold for $66. There are still 10 Reaper costumes for sale, so stop by ebay if you would like to purchase these items to use in Home.
Playstation Home as received an update with a brand new area, the Motorstorm Sphere. In this sphere you can unlock many cool rare prizes for your Home collection. This is a limited time only space as it will be removed for the bigger and badder Motorstorm space.
Also, the presentation podium has opened it's doors. Now you can check out the latest news from GamesCon from Home.
"-Able to play as The Joker in eight Challenge Map which will be released as downloadable content on August 25th on the PlayStation Network. This DLC will be free.
-There will be a "Batman Arkham Asylum Batcave Outpost Apartment". Apparently, this will be only for PlayStation Home. It will contain items such as the Batsuit, Batmobile, and Batwing, along with various Bat-gadgets. This content on PlayStation Home will be free.
-The comic book "The Road to Arkham" will be given to PSP owners vi..."
""Be sure to check out the screening rooms often – you never know when one of them will be giving something away. Stay tuned for lots of exclusive new videos over the coming months, including the future possibility of full-length TV shows or movies, with new features debuting on a regular basis.""
Today Nick McCandless from TheGamerAccess.com talks about PlayStation Home and how it could be improved. They keep bringing us these spaces, but is that going to keep us all coming back everyday?
"In a recent interview with PhysOrg.com, Dr David McKinnon a
researcher from Queensland University of Technology and the
Australasian CRC for Interaction Design (ACID), has made a
revolutionary new software that could have tremendous benefits for
Sony's playstation Home."
"In about 24 hours or so, you're going to be able to walk the docks of Empire City, the burg that Cole inadvertently blew up in Infamous. Sure, you could already kind of do that in the game itself, but this time, you'll be wandering the docks in PlayStation Home as the avatar you've whipped up.
Not intrigued yet? Well, there are also a mini-games, graffiti creation, and story-expanding tidbits.
Yup, there's a lot going on in this new Homespace, and Sony was nice enough to invite me ove..."
TheGamerAccess.com has posted a video showing what Sony promised us of Home two years ago, but has yet to come. Just imagine how much more enjoyable PlayStation Home would be features promised two years ago.
""To promote the release of TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, Paramount Pictures International (PPI) and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced the release of a selection of Transformers merchandise, available exclusively through a virtual treasure hunt in Home.""
"Hello everyone! My name is Victor and I’m the Editor for Killzone.com at Guerrilla. For my first post on the European PlayStation.Blog, I have the honour of announcing the new Killzone-themed content for PlayStation Home.
Have you ever peered out of the windows of your cosy Harbour Studio apartment and wished that the view was a little less… serene? Maybe you’ve stared down at the calm, sunlit marina and wondered what it would be like to overlook a burning, war-torn cityscape. Perhaps you ..."
TheGamerAccess.com has reported that the PlayStation Team working on PlayStation Home have removed the BUZZ! Home space. They have provided the reasoning behind it so be sure to check it out.
"Photo sharing, the first feature to support user-generated content, is finally coming to PlayStation Home! Starting today, Thursday, June 4th, you’ll be able to purchase picture frames in the Mall, upload photos from your hard drive or select from a gallery of default pictures, and then display them in your personal apartments. So if you’ve got photos from your latest game tournament that you want to share, all you have to do is upload them, choose the angle and size options for display, and ..."
"Right after you finish tuning in to our live blog of the Sony E3 09 press conference on Tuesday, June 2 (11:00 AM PST, 2:00 PM EST, 7:00 PM BST), you can head to your couch and watch it from PlayStation Home, confirmed James Gallagher of the European PlayStation Blog.
"You will be able to watch the SCEA press conference in Home, in a new space called the Presentation Podium," writes Gallagher. "We’re still waiting for confirmation of when [the video will be available].""
"Sony has just recently announced that Buzz! will be coming to PlayStation Home today. I personally feel this is one of the best, if not the best space out there for Home, so please watch the video and comment with your thoughts and let us know what your favorite Home space is thus far."
"
* inFAMOUS Super Power Code Giveaway and Fight Night Round 4 Demo Giveaway - Answer the questions, win the codes. It's that easy.
* RPG Love on The PS3 - Cross Edge Released
* LittleBigPlanet The Patch
* Kojima Announcement
* Terminator Salvation Impressions
* Home Space, Cole Costume from inFAMOUS
* Heavy Rain Delayed Til 2010?
* The Watchmen DVD/Blu-ray to include Full Game
* MUCH MUCH More"
"Several people who have signed up for official PlayStation newsletters have been receiving a newsletter stating that the Infamous demo unlocks a free Cole costume for your Home Avatar, The newsletter itself was not completely clear on how to unlock the costume. The official PlayStation Home forums were being bombarded with threads asking how to unlock the costume."
Many companies have used Home to promote there games, and the best way to do that is to create our own Home space. Insomniac announced a while ago that they will be working to create home space's. Now Insomniac has announced that they are bringing a Resistance Home space. It will be released this Thursday and be sure to check out the video after the jump.
"If you haven’t made good on Sony’s offer for a free Chamber Apartment, you should hop into Home and get it while the getting is good! The Chamber Apartment will only be available until may 21st. If you thought that was the only freebie Sony was dishing out for Home, then you are not very observant."
"A new apartment space will be hitting PlayStation Home next week, and guess what? It’s free! From May 14th to May 21st, the virtual apartment space will be available for free for the picking. And of course, after May 21st, you’ll have to purchase the space, so don’t miss out! The apartment will feature a giant living tree in the middle of the space, and has an overall fantasy look."
Home was already announced to get a new feature called 'StageSet', but its getting a lot more then just that. The Playstation.Blog has a run down of a ton of new features for Home. And Siren fans will be very pleased with this news as well.
"It looks like PlayStation Home is set to receive another ambitious update. No, we're not talking about the latest expansion of the Xi ARG. "StageSet" is an upcoming Home Space that allows you and other Home users to create short films on a virtual stage. You can operate the camera, set the lighting, and even stand in front of a green screen and add your own special effects. Best of all, you won't have to wait long for the new Space to arrive -- it'll be added to PlayStation Home this week."
"Xi, the ARG based in PlayStation Home, has taken a sinister turn with the emergence of an unknown organisation called Veilcorp.
Veilcorp claims that ‘Xi’ – whatever it is – belongs to them, and anyone hunting for it is in violation of Veilcorp’s rights.
What’s more, they’re recruiting. Anyone in the US is invited to apply for an interview through the Veilcorp website. Are they for real? In this story, it’s hard to tell…"
A post on Loot Gear’s Twitter page has confirmed that Ghostbusters will be making an appearance in PlayStation Home. How much of an appearance? Well, costumes, toys, shirts, an event space and an apartment are coming, just for you Ghostbusters fans.
"Instead of making a traditional game, or even an ARG (which is the way a lot of Home development was going), we wanted to make something that would really encourage the player to get together with their friends and have some fun."
"It looks as if we are in for a treat with upcoming Home Spaces from Insomniac Games. This time from the popular franchises of both Ratchet & Clank and Resistance."
"Home has steadily gained momentum since the start of the Open Beta. It seems that every other week, another addition is made to the virtual world. Movie studios have taken notice of Home’s theater and the next big studio release has an exclusive clip just for Home users. Go to the Home Theater tonight at 8:00 pm PST/ 11:00 pm EST and see the new clip after it goes live."
"It was only a few months ago that EA had announced the ambitious sports complex for Playstation Home, which I personally dubbed as one of the main reasons to jump into Sony’s virtual world. The complex is now open, offering users to play the EA sports racers, a fun little go-kart game which you will surely soon be queuing to play with your Home buddies..."
Great episode of The Bender here. Not a super long episode like last week, instead we are now on a real schedule, no chit chat, all game talk. We debate the downloadable content being on the disc as well as an old topic of review scores... plus all the gaming news of the week. Grab us on iTunes by clicking here or just get the mp3 by clicking here.
"The Playstation Home Beta has been around for some time now, gathering hordes of curious Playstation users to experience Sony’s virtual world. However, this free online service has come under attack by critics everywhere, accusing it of being too bland, hardly expandable and even going onto say “a total waste of hard drive space.” I personally find this an unfair analogy of an ever-growing FREE service that is still in BETA form. Though available to everyone with a Playstation 3, the word BET..."
"The other day, I powered up my PlayStation 3 and noticed something rather peculiar. Located directly above the PlayStation Store icon on the XMB was an emblem representing an intense, repressed hatred I felt some five months ago. Seeing it sent chills up my spine. It evoked veiled feelings of apathy and boredom that had eaten away at my very soul. Feelings that had corroded my mind and tarnished my faith in the PlayStation brand.
It was the icon for the PlayStation Home Beta.
Why the he..."
"Hi everyone, we’re adding some great new features with the next PS3 firmware update (v2.70) that will continue to enhance your connected experience on the PS3. The 2.70 update brings a new Text Chat feature that enables you to communicate online with your PlayStation Network friends. Now, you’ll be able to chat with up to 15 online friends using the Wireless Keypad, on-screen keyboard, or other compatible keyboard peripherals. Not only can you chat with your friends instantly, but you can als..."
""When Playstation Home was announced back at the 2007 GDC, it captured the attention of everyone at the show. While details were few, the promise of Home drove many people to pick up a PS3 in anticipation of the open beta. A couple years after their first look at Home, the door swung open and people finally got to see what they were waiting so long to experience. Many of the Playstation fans felt betrayed and disappointed when they found Home to be a cramped, glitchy, and mostly non-interacti..."
"It’s true, apparently. The entire PSP and PS3 XMB interface, otherwise known as the Xross Media Bar, was made a reality by a single person — Japanese-based UI artist Yasuhiro Yamanaka, according to the man’s LinkedIn profile. In it, he claims he “designed PSP and PS3 User Interface all by myself.” Yamanaka is also in charge of all on-screen localization, meaning all those dialogue pop-ups and menu item descriptors were written by him."
A bunch of new Resident Evil 5 gameplay videos have made their way onto the 'net. Here we get a glimpse at the bike chase, a sniper mission, and an explosive way to kill off that chainsaw guy. There is also a new trailer showing that the Resident Evil lounge is open in the Japanese Playstation HOME ...
Irem, a Japanese publisher, is one of the handful of companies making areas for Playstation Home. They have just revealed their Japanese festival lounge, which sadly is only scheduled for the Japanese version of Home. Hopefully it will make its way soon to the EU and NA versions, much like the other areas.
"A couple days ago I visited with Incognito studio director Dylan Jobe (you know him well) about the Warhawk space that launches today in PlayStation Home. Dylan was nice enough to walk us through the Warhawk Command Center, and specifically through the Sand Table where you can lay out strategies for all Warhawk maps. It’s all really slick, and Dylan goes into some great detail about how it all works."
"Acquire
Activision
AQ Interactive
Atlus
Bandai Namco Games
Capcom
D3 Publisher
Disney Interactive Studios
Electronic Arts
Games Republic
Genki
GungHo
Hudson
Irem
Koei
Konami
Nippon Ichi
Paon
Q Entertainment
Sega
Spike
SNK Playmore
Tecmo
Ubisoft"
"Capcom plans on supporting PlayStation Home in a big way. Famitsu has revealed brand new Home content based on Capcom's upcoming games, Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil 5. SFIV will receive a post-release patch that will allow players to meet in Home and then jump directly into a Street Fighter match."
"Click for high-resolution image.
It looks like PlayStation Home will be expanding soon, with a brand new Home Space. This cafe was introduced on the PlayStation Boards by Home Manager Locust_Star. Apparently, this space already exists in the Asian versions of Home. From the looks of things, this is just a lounge where people can gather and chat."
If there's one thing I've been missing on the UK version of Home its the game spaces. Areas especially designed by the developers to expand and promote their game. It looks like I can finally stop being gloomy though, as one of the leaders at the Playstation Forums has announced the Far Cry 2 space will be available after maintenance on Thursday. There will also be a leaderboard put in for the Red Bull race with a few weeks.
"Topics Include:
Apparently Video Games are not recession proof, find out why?
Home is making Sony a killing despite problems, and Silverthorne has a problem with that.
World at War and Prince of Persia down to $49, could we be heading back to this price point for games during this generation?
New Mickey Mouse game being made by the creator of the Deus EX series, is the Wii to blame for all of these casual games?
Take Two spends $11 million dollars, just so they will not be boug..."
"Electronic Arts Inc today announced its initial plans for the PlayStation Home Beta for the PLAYSTATION3 computer entertainment system, the 3D social gaming community that allows users to interact, communicate and share gaming experiences online. EAs support of the PlayStation Home Beta will begin with the EA SPORTS Complex, which is currently in development and is slated to launch this Spring."
"Speaking to Develop, core members of the Home development team have admitted that the PS3s social community service was probably announced too early.
In part one of our interview, published online today, game director Peter Edwards explains how plans for the service were less than concrete at the time of reveal at GDC 2007. At that time, there were so many ideas of what it could be everyone was very excited about the possibilities for it. Our angle for it at the time was that it coul..."
The official Sony blog has announced that the Red Bull Air Races will be available this week, (probably tomorrow). The new update will not just include this new snazzy area, but also gives Diesel and Ligne their own store fronts along with Resident Evil: Degeneration T shirts as well! It's all looking up for Home from here.
Those who pre-ordered Killzone 2 from Amazon will also receive Helghast and ISA (Killzone 2) costumes.
Earlier, it was reported that Microsoft was going to be one of the companies that would use PlayStation Home to hold business meetings. Now, Microsoft has denied this, saying they are not going to take part in it.
"It didn't seem like the usual fanboy fight. Sure, it may have started with the usual suspects, but then the hate evolved into a bizarre movement, with numerous independent gaming sites and blogs posting editorials on why Home is a failure, right under those "Nintendo hates hardcore gamer" articles.
I'm not a big PS3 fan, though I'm not really against the console either, and my bad relationship with Sony electronics (PlayStation 1 and 2 excluded) had no bearing on my decision to purchase a..."
"So, the much-vaunted PlayStation Home has been with us a few weeks now. It's still a bit dull though, isn't it? Once you've made your avatar, rearranged your furniture and spent a little while evading the inevitable deluge of "A/S/L/?" demands in the plaza, there's actually remarkably little to do. So we've decided to step in and shake up the fun with some patented GamesRadar *bleep*ing About (tm). Try these for size."
"Ever since PlayStation Home was first announced in January 2007, people have been calling it Second Life for the PlayStation 3. We take a look at what separates these two very different virtual worlds.
Having been immersed in Second Life for the better part of two years now, I first ventured into the virtual world due to the initial impressions that PlayStation Home was a clone of the popular online community for the PlayStation 3. Now having spent a significant amount of time exploring wh..."
Playstation Home has been teasing gamers with the concept of a social community network since the release of the PS3 two years ago, and has been in development even longer. Not long ago, the Public Beta was finally released to all gamers, allowing us to get inside the "Homeworld" for the first time en masse. However, many people complained that it was boring, plagued with annoying users, and felt that it was overall a very unfinished product. Others defend that it is still just in the beta ph...
2008 had tons of crazy moments in the world of gaming, and EuroGamer has decided to run through the events that happened from July all the way to December. They include the E3 conferences, the new 160 GB PS3, and Wii Music.
To check out the months before, click here.
"I already know a lot of people are going to complain about the screenshot comparison and how ridiculous and trivial it is. Okay, point taken. But for everyone else out there who seems to think that these two software titles share a similar taste in visual style, here's a comparison to show you just how close their visual appearances are."
"Apparently, Home has generated more revenue for Sony in its first four days than the rest of the PSN did during its entire launch week. Somewhere out there, people are actually buying furniture for their piece of sh*t Second Life knock-off that took valuable R&D away from actual videogame products.
According to Susan Panico, Sr. Director of the Playstation Network with Sony, it's a small amount of obsessives generating a lot of money: "It's a classic 80/20 model, where 20% of your custome..."
Despite what some sites claim Playstation Home has a lot to offer, whether it be watching videos at the Theatre, socialising in the Plaza or even buying things at the Mall there is a fair bit to experience. However Home is not identical for each person, in fact depending on which region you live in can drastically alter what you can see and do. IGN have explored the three major regions, the UK, US and Japan and offer their view of the subject. Which basically amounts to "Why can't every regio...
"PlayStation Home update 1.05 is scheduled to be released on December 22. With this new update, users will be able to use the voice chat within their personal space and clubhouses to communicate and share with friends online.
By clicking on their PlayStation Home icon on the PlayStation Network column of XMB, users will be able to update PlayStation Home to 1.05. Users who are online with PlayStation Home will need to log-off and click on PlayStation Home icon."
Tons of people are disappointed with the beta version of PlayStation Home, and Perry Piekarski over at Binge Gamer is no different. He went through the reasons why he (and tons of other people) thinks Home has failed, some of which include long loading times and spending some dough for just about everything.
In this weeks The Bender, Perry the Intern is back again, he dukes it out in a Christmas themed video game quiz against James. Allison and Mike debate the issue of review scores for video games. RIP to Majel Roddenberry and Free Radical studios. Plus a look at the upcoming video game movies (28 of them). This is almost a 2 hour episode, so load it up in the iPod and take it in the car with you. Enjoy!
"Home is getting bigger (well, it couldn't get much smaller, could it?) in Asia on Thursday. The service will expand with a new Namco Bandai space, which will include lounges for Tekken, Soul Calibur, Ridge Racer and a classics museum where you can play Galaga, Xevious, Dig Dug and Pac Man on arcade machines. There will also be a bunch of new items to buy, such as holiday themed costumes and furniture as well as Namco Bandai and Nippon-Ichi branded items.
With the original open beta press r..."
A Home user glitched up the game by moving furniture around and was able to escape from his home. And on his travels of floating couch he comes past a tower type building and inside is is a mine, from warhawk. Why the hell is that there? The mine can be seen at aproximetly 2:08 and a secret messege is seen at 4:00
Inspired by SomethingAwful, users on NeoGAF made a thread quite a while ago photoshopping video covers using anagrams of the video game titles. Recently the thread got bumped. Go to source for some choice titles or click alternate source to browse through some of the classic images if you have never seen them before (highly recommended).
"Sony kept saying it, but we finally understand what they meant when they said that Home would be expanded "based on consumer feedback." A SCEE community manager, MusterBuster, started a thread on the European PlayStation forums, trying to figure out why people were congregating around the PSP-3000 adverts all the time. After learning that people enjoy dancing to the advert's music the thread quickly evolved into a discussion of how best to deliver more music to Home users.
Suggestions ca..."
"Many of you have probably noticed that getting into Home since the open beta launch is something of a lottery. Chances are you'll be trying a fair number of times before you manage to sneak in. Thankfully, a patch is coming this Thursday which should fix that issue. So says SCEE community manager TedTheDog.
Hopefully this patch will be shortly followed by the release of some new content, which was announced last week. Namely, the Diesel and Ligne Roset shops, the Red Bull Air Race spa..."
"Will Home be supported not just throughout PS3's lifespan, but also when potential successors to the console are released?
Hill: Yes, Home is a platform service, and its potential is almost limitless in terms of where it could go. We see it as having a very long and fruitful life."
Tonight (December 16th, 2008), G4's Attack of the Show will be holding a live event from inside PlayStation Home. In a classic case of "let's see how much stress the servers can take", G4 has invited everyone with a PlayStation 3 and an internet connection to join them inside the PlayStation Home Mall at 7pm EST (4pm PST) to do one just thing: Dance.
"Dan Hill, Home service manager for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, thinks it will eventually shift consoles.
"... In time I would say that Home will definitely become a reason to purchase [PS3], he told CVG. "Today, we are at the beginning of a long journey - now is the time to start its evolution.""
"Everything you need in Home is simply accessed via your PDA, originally it was going to be a PSP. It will guide you through a list of menus, all allowing you to interact in some way or another. From the PDA you can travel to other areas re-decorate your living space, phone friends, or even check messages and announcements. The device makes everything run much smoother than you would have thought."
"We have been playing:
Assassins Creed (PS3), PixelJunk Monster (PS3), Rock Band 2 (Xbox 360), Call of Duty 4 (Xbox 360), Street Fighter HD Remix (PSN), Playstation Home Bowling (PS3), Lost Planet Extreme - Extreme Colonies Edition (Xbox 360)
Playstation Home talk
The NEWS:
Atari buys Cryptic Studios
Ubisoft is not pleased with this news
Team Ninja and the Smash Bros. Brawl guys working on a new TMNT
Capcom is on to those RE5 rippers
Is Jill dead!?!?
UGO to buy 1UP?
..."
"The Beta for Playstation home is now available to everyone, and now you know what I know: this is what happens when your marketing department tries to make a game. Here is everything you need to understand about Home, if you should accidentally launch it from your XMB: press and hold the Playstation button in the center of your Dual-Shock or Sixaxis controller. From the menu that appears, select Quit.
There are things about Home that are simply beyond my understanding. Chief among these bi..."
"During the interview, speaking about Playstation Home, the director of Home programming said:
Playstation home makes online gaming a lot more like what multiplayer gaming used to be; it will fundamentally change the way people play games or think about games. A friend's list in the past was a list of people you met in the real world or in the context of a particular game, what Playstation Home aims to do is abstract this out so that the friend's list has meaning. That's the core value of ..."
It's been awhile in the making, but it's finally up.
Get to your PS3, boot it up and go HOME now!
[ Discussion in the General PS3 Forum ]
In an interview with a Kotaku, Aaron Greenberg the group product manager for the XBOX360 has said "It feels like 2005 tech in 2008. I'm not sure thats what people want" in regards to Playstation Home, and I'd hate to admit it, but being a PS3 gamer, I agree... I haven't gone onto Home for longer than a few minutes...
"Electronic Theatre SONY Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) today announced that its highly anticipated PlayStation Home Beta service for PLAYSTATION3 will become available for all PS3 users around the world on December 11th, 2008..."
People are convinced Home has been delayed again, but director Jack Buser says the software is still going to be released this month, right after the open Beta. He also encourages to developers to make content for Home, promising not even to charge if the developers want to work it out for themselves. As well as this he mentions how developer created content can work, giving the the example of Uncharted where players have to work out a puzzle to open and door and what's within.
No it's not Coca Cola or McDonalds or even Nokia or Motorola. Instead the first brand to come to Home is Red Bull (it gives you wings ya know).
It won't be just a simple poster either. The Red Bull advertising brings it's very own island with a Red Bull plane statue as it's centrepiece. It also doubles as an arcade flying racing game.
No details as to when the Red Bull tropical Island will appear but maybe the Beta testers will be lucky enough to see it first.
"For those who got into the private Playstation Home Beta, you may notice some people running around with clothes that arent available to you. These items are unlockable through the arcade games in the Bowling Alley. I am compiling a list of the unlockable items, including clothing and furniture, and what is needed to achieve them. Here is what I have so far:
Echochrome -
Receive 4000 points on Level A (gloves, shirt, pants, shoes that resemble echochrome character)
Receive 10,000 points..."
Some very interesting rumors have popped about Home. We all know that the open beta will be out before the end of the year. So the beta will be out in 34 days or less. But rumors are that it will either be released on the 15th or 30th. Also there could be a random weather system which would be very cool. And another one is that you can earn HOME cash for the trophies you earn. More reason to go back and try that gaem again.
A leaked report has blown the dam wide open on Home, literally every detail or what has, is and will be in Home is featured and gives more than a few surprises. Regional travel is accessible, Clubs are detailed and in a surprise which is likely the source of earlier rumors there is now a rewards system in place to earn items for Home. Yes getting trophies and the like can earn you items in Home, which will surely give it an edge with its 360 counterpart. Go to the source to examine the docume...
Many thought that when they announced that Home was to be released to Qore subscribers, that simply buying the next episode (Episode 6) would have been treated to the beta... well unfortunately that is NOT the case. In fact, only Qore annual subscribers will be allowed into the beta, and on top of that, only those that subscribed to Qore on or before October 29th (inclusive).
Delays after delays, Home is finally being released. Well kind of. Early next month when the next issue of Qore comes out, subscribers will get access to the private beta. Qore Usually releases on the first thursday of the month.
With the decrypting of the beta client for Sony's PlayStation Home service, it would potentially allow homebrew apps and game backups without hard drive swapping. Now while this may be good for some (none of us as it is highly illegal), the rest of us have to wait for Sony to patch up the security holes in Home. And yes, that sucks. I'm stuck here asking, couldn't you hackers have waited just a little longer before making this announcement?
"Sony also has the right to keep records of anything you say or do online, or to simply listen in. "SCEA reserves the right to monitor and record any online activity and communication throughout PSN and you give SCEA your express consent to monitor and record your activities," the agreement reads. "Any data collected in this way, including the content of your communications, the time and location of your activities, your Online ID and IP address and other related information may be used by us ..."
To promote Playstation Home, the piece of software meant to revolutionise the way we interact with each other over the PS3. Sony have been advertising using this poster at TGS, which is meant to show all the companies who are involved or developing something for Home in some way. It seems to be a pretty good list, incorporating a lot of large name companies. Though there is a strange absence here and there.
Have you applied to the closed beta invite of HOME and didn't make it? Well, check your inboxes again, because Sony sent more of the rare invitations yesterday!
In addition, Jack Buser - a director for PlayStation Home - promised us that a lot more golden stars will be headed to some lucky PS3 owners in the near future.
There currently is a bug going around the Home Beta that keeps freezing the PS3. Home Manager, "TedtheDog." responded saying that in firmware 2.5 will fix that. And that it could be coming out sometime in October. Alongside the firmware, Home will be updated to version 1.00. Which is, for some who don't know, the official release of the public beta. Home beta is currently at v. 0.98
If you've never read the "Ask PS3 Fanboy" articles, random people send in their questions, hoping for an answer. The website recommends bundles (SOCOM: Confrontation), they predict if certain games will ever have Trophies (Metal Gear Solid 4), and a lot of other things.
This could also be a good opportunity to brush up on your PS3 knowledge. Check out some of the questions in the quote.
"As promised yesterday, we have four new videos of the extended closed beta of PlayStation Home. The new videos cover customizing your character and 'My Home Space', as well as show off two of the public areas in Home: the Central Plaza and Games Arcade. As you will see from the videos, there are currently only two ways to customize your personal space: wallpaper and furniture. The Games Arcade video shows off the pool tables and two of the mini arcade games you can play."
"To be added to the beta program, gamers must download a new Home theme (pictured) slated for release today on the PlayStation Network. Sony will thin the herd of applicants "using a variety of criteria including activity on the PlayStation Network..." Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is likewise expanding its closed beta testing of the Home service, but it will choose gamers based solely on how "active" they've been on PSN and the PlayStation Store.
Home is Sony's attempt to set up a vi..."
"I don't have any more specifics right now, but like Kaz [Hirai] said, it will go live [in the US] this summer and I think it will offer consumers everything they're looking for from us. It will offer everything they expect from us and probably a little bit more."
"Once again Fragcast is pleased to bring you a suite of new and world-exclusive screens from the latest build of Playstation Home. We'll be releasing these screens in 4 batches, so check back over the coming days for more! Home certainly looks better and better each time we see it!
Please note that Fragcast is in no way part of the Home beta test or affiliated to SCEE."
Home may have been delayed quite a bit more than PS3 owners would like, but at least we're getting a steady supply of media and news, right?
The screens are intriguing, displaying billboards and media promoting Sony's PlayStation Day held a few weeks ago.
"The Home Beta was recently updated to version 0.8.6. The update contained a Media and Events Space that was only available for a limited time.
Though nothing other than several stylish rooms were available to beta testers the day the area was open, we've heard that upon the launch of Home, Sony will use the space to showcase events such as PlayStation Day and host live presentations.
According to Scrawl, a survey coincided with the reveal of the Media and Events Space that inquired ab..."
"Sony was being too ambitious with the non-gaming applications of Home and delayed the project to focus on gaming, SCEE president David Reeves has told CVG.
In a brief interview at the recent PlayStation Day event in London, Reeves admitted that Sony wants to make sure the gaming parts of the service, like trophies and Home-to-game launching, are ready before it goes public.
"It is definitely coming out in autumn," assured Reeves. "Whether that's October or November, I don't precisely kn..."
"The Soon To Come, Home Experience!
Home has been on many if not most of the Playstation Nations minds at one point in time but we are still months from the full release. However, the guys at Sony have been allowing lucky members to try there new Sims like simulation of there free application in the beta of Home.
Now I was one of the lucky few that have it and lets just say, it has evolved so much from when I got it (July 7th of last year). So many changes yet so much content being squeeze..."
Just off the press wire. Sony PlayStation Home Open Beta is arriving in late 2008.
Why so long you might ask? Well, Sony wants to make sure that Home is completely redefined to meet up to the companies standards. Hopefully meaning a better experience for us.
Not much else was said but Sony says that the expansion registration, as well as testing mechanics and features, will be announced in the near future.
So gear up, because upon the completion of this expanded Closed Beta, the Open...
"Earlier this week we managed to get access to PlayStation Home by "hacking" a few files on the Sony server. Our video shows that we managed to download Home from the Sony servers, but we weren't able to access the online world. We have taken a few screenshots of the icon on our PS3 and the version information for the download (see below). Since the discovery of the hack, Sony have disabled access to the download."
PlayStation Home can be downloaded already with a bit of basic "hacking" but is not yet playable. A simple hack using the PS3 Proxy Server application can fool the PS3 into think that Home is available to download and it even points you to the correct download file. Though after installation, you will find that it is unplayable. Video available via Source.
The newest Playstation Magazine is out, and PlayStation.com Forums member patches 4 socom 3 has been kind enough to provide people with pictures of various pages of the magazine and even points out a passage where a Sony employee announces that they will be opening up the PlayStation Home beta to the public "very soon."
How soon is very soon? It could be as soon as the first update after the PS Store returns. However, "soon" is a relative term, though Sony has stated before that Home wou...
In a recent interview with Sony's creative director, Ron Fejesto, he has confirmed that Playstation Home is to be released sometime next week. Sony were planning on releasing it during Easter but since it came early this year, Sony couldn't release it in time. So now that the holidays are nearly here, Sony will be releasing Home just as scheduled for an April release next week.
Suprisingly enough RevolutionTT (a private gamers site) was capable of getting an interview with Home's creative...
Kazunori Yamauchi, the main man behind the Gran Turismo series has said that they wish to include car damage soon. Supposedly, the reason they haven't had it is because they haven't been able to convince enough car companies to let them put it in. This makes sense, when you try to compare the amount of cars in Forza, for example, to Gran Turismo 4. This is also the reason that Motorstorm used fictional cars and not real ones.
The interview also mentions that Yamauchi has wanted online play...
Yesturday Ubisoft's latest release schedule for Haze stated that it will be arriving in stores on May 22 though this is far, well not far but closeish from the truth as Ubisoft today in an amended release schedule issued and for Haze it stated they would be aiming for a May 2008 release though this is far from Official at the moment.
Sony is planning to reveal something big at this year's Sony E3 press conference and as the source says it will give them a boost during the holiday season against it's competitors the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii.
The announcement seems to be either a God of War 3, Killzone 2 or Playstation Home related as the source states.
It is also rumoured that the announcement can also include a public beta test for either titles.
Home just keeps getting better, according to creative director and lead artist of Home John Venables they are planning on providing customisation tools analogous with other games from day one. And while the tools will be very basic at first they promise to increase content in updates. What does this mean? Well this means that one day you may even be able to make your own clothes and objects. How do you like that?
With rumours about the Home Beta buzzing around the Internet like flies three new video's have surfaced highlighting some new features of Home. Some of this stuff we have seen before but there is quite a few new innovations present as well, including details of the in game PSP, how you purchase new clothes and how you create a game session. Click on the source to view them.
What could make Home better? When developers go the extra mile to make some amazing stuff that is all in Home. Resistance Fall Of Man will have a interactive "Home". Much like the Insomniac Musuem found in the R&C games. You will be able to view levels that never made it into the game, listen to hidden radio messages that will give more detail on the story and much more.
Uncharted takes it a step further. There will be "Homes" that are designed as the levels that are found in uncharted. Le...
It seems that news regarding Playstation Home are ripe, which could only mean that it's nearing release.
Well today we've gotten more information thanks to ps3fanboy who've been told via an email that the Home Beta will be upgraded next week to v0.8.3 only a couple more points away from v1 where it'll be released to the world.
Whilst this is really for the beta testers out there, here's a list of things you're likely to fine in the final version of the game.
Wow, what a rumor.
Take this as RUMOR though. Because it's a rumor, there's quite a chance it's not gonna happen.
The rumor says though, that a new Playstation dev kit update has released which is almost completely about integrating home and an XMB. The rumor goes on to state that the in-game XMB is ready to launch, and Playstation Home is almost completely done. The source also mentions that the PS3 is also almost ready to launch an "Accomplishment" system, similar to the achievement ...
Could a link between Playstation Home and Devil May Cry have been found? Well ps3fanboy certainly think so. Whilst playing the game for a while, they've managed to unlock various Achievements on the Playstation 3 version of the game, and after unlocking these achievements the messages that appear aren't one that's internally (in the game) but one that's similar to the "Network Connection Screen".
Could this eventually be turned into "Trophies" for PS Home when it's released? Or could it s...
Brand spanking new images for HOME are out know. If you are not familier with HOME, it is SONY's online virtual community. Create a character and a home and show it off to your friends. Show off your trophies and your house to people and play a game of bowling or pool.
Click the link to view all the images.
The annual Top Ten Vaporware Games of 2007 went up recently, and looking from the list, most of the winning games are PS3 titles--more specifically, PS3 titles that are yet to be released. Well, the rules for this list don't exactly follow the ones of the usual ones. The major one being that the games don't need to have a 2007 release date on it. However, for it to make the list it needs to have attained a certain level of "hype."
And it's no surprise that the No.1 on this list is the much...
"Changelog:
* There's a new building in the world, although it's currently one that can't be entered
* You are finally able to enter your Home Space's patio
* You can now use your own pictures in your Home Space
* A game launching option has been added, though it is not functioning completely at the present time
* The cinema's movie theatres have transferred from the second floor to the first floor
* America, Japan, and Europe each have their own server now"
"This is all just speculation so it is still classified as a rumor. There has been no official word from Sony, however, Phil Harrison once stated that the HOME beta will be released late November, early December and the 29th is late November, early December. This theory does seem to have a valid basis, but lets see what happens in coming weeks when the PS Store is updated."
A video showcasing most of the virtual worlds features. This video allows us to see what players are capable of doing online together. You can to the following together:
You probably can do much more but that's all the video is highlighting.
This video also shows you how large each section of Home is, it's basically like a next generation Grand Theft Auto but the world is divided into sections rather than one huge free roaming world. Oh and miss...
Director of NCsoft thinks that Home won't sell the Playstation 3, but the Playstation 3 needs a large install base to help Home be a success, so without this Home will be limited in terms of community. He continues saying that if Sony hopes for Home to sell PS3's then Home should be capable of introducing something more significant than just customisable avatars.
NCsoft director talks about why they chose the system Playstation 3 to release their MMORPG on it. It was because the PS3 will ...
Microsoft E&D GM Daniel Schiappa has hinted that a Playstation Home like world will be ready by next year for the Xbox 360. In the recent Virtual Worlds Conference & Expo in San Jose, Daniel says "by next year, you'll probably know more about why I'm up here."
Were all disappointed with the delay of HOME but there is a sliver lining to all this, every second we wait is one more second Sony are cramming it with features and content. And despite the delay the open beta is still scheduled for later this year. Confirmed by Phil Harrison himself. There is also news on the Dual Shock 3 and the chances of a PS3 price cut
After Sony recently announcing that their interactive online Home service will be delayed till Spring 2008, Pocket-Lint decided to talk with one Microsoft executive at the Xbox games preview event. The question was "whether Home would pose a competitive challenge, when it eventually does launch?"
The executive answered with that "I think that Sony will struggle." The Microsoft executive talks about how Xbox Live was able to achieve such a high audience and why the PSN won't.
Its just George, Paul and Stephen this week as we go through another week of gaming news and views. This week we talked about whether Halo 3 is reaching overhyped status among gamers. Also We hit on the Playstation Home beta that was extended into October. We have a small segment on the Microsoft Chatpad. We talk about how the hackers will take over the Guitar Hero 3 franchise when it hits the PC and Mac this fall. And we talk in depth about the Castlevania series.
Rob Smith, who was the former editor and chief for the Official Xbox Magazine, took a big swipe at Sony or to be more precise, Playstation Home in the Playstation Magazine. He pretty much critiques PS Home and says that the Xbox 360 "has you(Sony) licked".
"This last point is both encouraging and disappointing. It is good to see that Sony will continue to improve the quality of their product (which they are distributing for free after all). While the XMB has substantially improved since its first release and continues to do so , we would expect that this launch does not suffer from too many missing or incomplete features just so the product can be pushed out the door before Christmas.
As for Home replacing the XMB: Aside from whether this ..."
In an interview with MTV, Sony's marketing boss John Koller confirms plans on syncing the Playstation 3 virtual world with the Playstation Portable. Nothing official has been stated on what would be in this Playstation Portable extension of "Home", maybe it will be just messaging or customisation features, we are not to sure. But they do plan on something.
"With Brighton positively swimming under a bobbing sea of developers for this years Develop conference in the UK, it's hard to keep track of all the information morsals whizzing around. For instance, during a workshop hosted by Sony's Home development team yesterday, a couple of new screens snuck out, alongside news of some minor changes to the software."
"Marketing Week reports that Sony Computer Entertainment, "...is on the hunt for partners to help further develop its PS3 Home concept and is considering using the virtual world to sell non-Sony products."
Apparently, the company preparing to call on third-parties to provide physical goods that can be sold using Home's e-tail capabilities, which at the moment are geared towards providing items such as virtual clothing to be used by online avatars.
The report concludes by explaining how a..."
"With Sony's press conference in the past, we've created a roundup of all the small, but significant, announcements and confirmations. This year, Sony allowed very little time for the audience to ponder and absorb, so a lot of the groundbreaking revelations were not emphasised. This was of course a good thing, as it showed that Sony had a lot of things to say. So aside from the major announcements, such as MGS4, Haze and UT3 exclusivity, here are the other tidbits:
- 200 games on Blu-ray an..."
GamerSquad is in danger of overdosing on all these trailers, so we sure hope you appreciate them. This batch sees Sony take centre stage with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, which is possibly the coolest trailer to have hit E3 screens this year.
Sony also rolled out trailers and presentations for PlayStation Network attractions Pain and Home, which certainly pique interest.
Check 'em with GamerSquad
Sony has been talking a lot about HOME during their E3 conference today. One of the more interesting details that has been announced is that users playing HOME will be able to boot up any game on their HDD or in their PS3 and go straight to online multiplayer. This includes skipping title screens and legal notices and getting right into the game within seconds. It is currently unknown whether the people you're hanging out with in HOME will be the same people you match up with online using th...
Sony has confirmed that the soon to be launched Home service for the Playstation 3 will be humans only. The team are trying to take a more realistic look at reality by banning such avatars as Aliens, and other non-humans. I'm guessing that also excludes animals? I wonder if this shows signs for Sony to drop all games related to The Sims. The only bad thing I can see coming out of this would be for those lucky hippie's who got their hands on a PS3, not being able to create themselves as a Gree...
"With invitations already sent out for the North American closed beta, the first shaky-cam shots of PlayStation Home are starting to leak out of the woodwork - and here they are.
This first batch, which emerged on the internet this morning, shows quite a bit of the PS3 'Second Life-like' service in action including interacting with your virtual PSP and those damned in-game adverts.
There's also a shot of Home's multiplayer bowling in action, which we're almost certain we won't be able to..."