Sony to launch Home virtual world for PlayStation 3

[Dion]

After some hesitation, Home becomes accessible to anyone with the last console Sony. This mixture universe games, social network and e-commerce ...



"There is no and there will be no launch of Home." One white. Because "Home is and will be constantly evolving. Here's how a spokesman for Sony said the opening of doors of his 3D virtual universe, accessible from the PS3.

As from tomorrow, Thursday 11 December 2008, twenty days after the launch of the new interface for Xbox Live, PlayStation Home will therefore finally closed beta status to that of open beta. A caution for the form, because everything is ready We confirmed there. Remember that Home has been repeatedly pushed by Sony.

All users of the PS3 will therefore connect to the universe in 3D. This will entail have a Playstation Network (free), download the application on the network and have a broadband connection. They can then create and customize their avatar.

An impressive 3D

Visually splendid, the 3D universe takes the form of a village, since the global users worldwide may be found. Home consists of areas identified where to travel, meet other avatars and discuss with them, either using a keyboard or with a microphone and even a camera. There is also a cinema, Playstation Home Theater, where users can view trailers of movies or video games.

The video game, precisely, this is obviously a result of minigames or through areas devoted to titles available on PS3. They will be available only if the player has the game concerned. So to reach the area MotorStorm will it have purchased it. Each of these areas "public" can accommodate up to 64 people.

The user will also allocate an apartment, which will "reflect the contents of your hard drive" of its console, we are told at Sony. The photos will be tables on the wall, MP3 will be broadcast on a virtual stereo and awards earned during the parties will be displayed in a trophy room.

The apartment can also be used to receive friends, for a virtual feast, or to play with them directly. A sort of interface to access servers. The gamers by the same title will also be reflected in a club, to share information or parts online.

with pieces of pub inside

If anyone has escaped that Home is free, there is a reason strong commercial presence, which will certainly rise with the addition of new services.

Thus, the avatars can wear Diesel signed, provided free or for a sum of up to 1.5 euro. Same for the apartment of player who will be furnished pick in the Ligne Roset catalog. And for events that animate this community of players, it will take with Red Bull Energy Drink ...

In short, Home is a mixture of Xbox Live's approach to video games, Second Life for 3D and spirit merchant and a set of last generation for the "rendered" General.

[Raiz]

It's been about a week since we first heard about the Red Bull sponsored island in PlayStation Home, and -- now that the open beta is only a day away -- we finally have a good idea what this ad revenue-generating paradise will look like. Sandy beaches? Check. Palm trees? You betcha. Red Bull logos dotting the landscape like craters on the Moon? Absolutely.

Once more advertisers take notice of Sony's virtual community, what's to stop it from becoming a marketing and PR stunt-filled cesspool like Second Life? This Red Bull sponsorship appears tasteful enough so far, and it gets bonus points for letting you zip around the island in an airplane the Red Bull Air Race. For the time being, things seem pretty tame on the Home-front.