Sony's latest version of "Home" is relying on the inaccurate stereotype that gamers don't want to leave their consoles to meet people. Jack Buser, Sony's director of the PS3 virtual platform, showed writer Stephen Totilo the private demo that's been released to selected PS3 owners, and is supposed to roll out at an unspecified date this Fall.
The most curious thing about the new "Home" is Buser's assertion that it won't be released until certain conditions are met:
"Buser said they won’t even launch “Home” — an event scheduled for this fall —until they meet their goal to 'have a kind of community to show people around.'”
Sony appears to be betting that gamers need help meeting new people to game with, and are willing to use a virtual world to meet new gaming partners. In the interview, Buser never mentioned virtual world competitors, and positioned "Home" merely as a conduit for gamers to interact with other gamers.
Totilo seemed sold on the new execution, if not the concept. Gaming is no longer the closet domain of nerds, and the proliferation of social networks has provided people with another means to meet fellow gamers without submitting to the time suck of virtual world interactions. Gamers want to game, not hang out and meet people, even within a virtual environment.
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"Gamers want to game, not hang out and meet people, even within a virtual environment."
Then how can explain all of the different MMO (SIMS and Second Life come to mind very quickly.)
It feels a bit dystopian and empty. Somehow, I feel like I'm in a minimum security prison with exceptional architecture. Except nothing is keeping me in prison, so I go do something more interesting.
It doesn't have the expanse of an MMO and you quickly exhaust all your options. Once you have seen it all, there is no real reason to "hang out".
Playstation Home: Flopping this Holiday!
Vin, I'd argue that there isn't a lot of crossover... see the frequent arguments I get into here with Jordan, who is a Warcraft fan, while I'm more of a Sims/Second Lifer. My husband plays FPS and Madden, but I'm more of a quest-type gamer. I can't see either of us trolling around a virtual world to hook up with other gamers for online play, and even for people who already like MMOs/virtual worlds, who needs one more when there are more compelling options already there?
Anonymous, agreed. It's lacking the game play of WoW and the expanse of something like SL, so why bother. And they completely discriminated against furries, which is bound to earn scorn. Looks like a fail to me too.
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