Over the year, Home as been receiving a lot of free small arcade games and spaces. Now for the first time, it will launch a premium arcade game, called Sodium. The game will only be available on Home and users can try it out the demo on there as well. This seems to be the first game in what seems like a long list of future premium games for Home.

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 view.

There are also social games (such as a bartending minigame) and a full-fledged, fast-paced arcade shooter with five free levels. Users can purchase the full game, which launches directly from the hub, for $4.99 -- unlocking the full 50 levels. Playing the game earns the users credits, which can be spent on Home avatar upgrades and in-game items.

Sayyed via gamasutra.com »