PlayStation Home, the free virtual world of PlayStation 3

108 Comments by Jared Rea Mar 7th 2007 1:31PM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, MMO

Sony has validated the "blackball rumor" with the unveiling of PlayStation Home -- a free to download, virtual world for the PlayStation 3. While earlier murmurings mentioned customizable avatars and achievements, our brief demonstration revealed that to be just the tip of the iceberg.

Comparable to Second Life, PlayStation Home is a virtual community of PS3 owners living together in both public and private environments. Users will be able to login, chat with both text and speech and play casual games together such as pool, bowling and even embedded arcade machines. And when the old stand-bys grow stale, users can invite one another into other PlayStation Network titles outside of PlayStation Home.

Every user will have their own virtual apartment to decorate with furniture, their trophies from various games (see: achievements) and content from their own PS3s. For example, Phil Harrison took a snapshot of us in the crowd, slapped it onto a USB stick and right into a picture frame in his virtual flat. Not content at just images, users will also be allowed to share both music and videos with friends inside their private homes, which will most likely lead to some sort of underground pornography syndicate on the PlayStation Network.

Check out video footage of PlayStation Home after the jump!

And while the download itself is free, users can choose to accentuate their looks with additional clothing for an unspecified fee. The PlayStation Home will also feature dynamic advertising -- the details of which are not currently known. A large scale beta for the service begins this April with the final product to see release this Fall.

Gallery: PlayStation Home

Tags: gdc07, playstationhome

(Page 1) Reader Comments

JodyAnthony: Mar 7th 2007; 1:35PM

looks a lot like second life, only, you know, the graphics in this don't seem to be eyeburningly ugly.

JodyAnthony: Mar 7th 2007; 1:37PM

that being said, i still prefer the look of Miis to this. If there was something like this with mii-like graphics, it would be sweet.

hohoho: Mar 7th 2007; 1:40PM

This looks a bit too "serious". A cartoony Mii is nice. I hope the characters could put on a godzilla suit or something.

LunarDuality: Mar 7th 2007; 1:45PM

I've got defintely mixed feelings about this.
On one hand you've got what amounts to a "free game" on the PS3 that allows you to interact in a Second Life-esque environment with other PS3 owners.

On the other hand, I want the UI to be nearly invisible so that I can jump right into games and this seems like an extra level of junk (and ads) to push through. So far, the level of ads and junk on the 360's dash hasn't exceeded my tolerance threshold...this might. But, at least it's optional.

Then again, it being optional (and not included at the launch of the PS3) segments the user base to some degree and unless all those devs are patching their launch titles (unlikely) there won't be that cohesive eco-system for a while.

I guess we'll find out more when real users actually get their hands on this stuff.

t3nguman: Mar 7th 2007; 1:45PM

*sigh*

I'm even more disappointed I bought a PS3 now. $600 and they let me play house later this year. Yippee, whoop whoop. hazaa.

Anyone want to buy my PS3? $400 no joke.

quazi: Mar 7th 2007; 1:48PM

im sold i want it! but im probably gonna need a ps3 first =/.
lol i love the line "infinetly more exciting than anything available on other consoles"
ah sony your so funny.

kevinski: Mar 7th 2007; 1:49PM

I agree. The cartoony look of Mii's is generally just more interesting-looking, whereas this comes off as more of a oh-no-we-need-to-show-that-our-console-is-powerful move than anything. Actually, how about ditching the realistic avatars in favor of less-detailed cartoon version that PlayStation 3 might actually be able to anti-alias properly without risking a serious frame rate drop.

Charron: Mar 7th 2007; 1:49PM

"underground" porn syndicate? That stuff's gonna be front and forward for a lot of people.

Porn comment out of the way, this doesn't look like the ripoff so many were claiming it'd be. Then again, the claimed mix of Miis + achievements doesn't seem to describe it right at all. Yea, the trophies are there, but that seems less important in their grand scheme of things. It does seem like Second Life, minus the lousy graphics, porn, and furries (though allowing furry avatars would make this a hell of a lot more hilarious. In my opinion.)

Among my worries- people generally don't "behave". If you've played WoW, Second Life, or to an extent XBox Live you probably know what I mean. Also, ads? This looks like a *very* expensive system to maintain, and if it's (mostly) free, that means I foresee a lot of ads, possibly to the point of pushing users away. Only way to avoid that would be really expensive add-ons, like the clothes and furniture, and then you don't get as many buyers, and you're back to square one. So we'll see about that.

All in all, I can say this looks good and has a lot more potential than I, or the entire Nintendo camp, gave it credit. And I really don't like Sony.

danjo1: Mar 7th 2007; 1:49PM

is it the one with wifi?

Judd: Mar 7th 2007; 1:50PM

I own a 360 and a Wii and have no intentions on getting a PS3. That being said I have to admit this looks cool. I prefer the realistic look over the Mii look. Mii works well on the Wii due to the style of graphics in games like Wii Sports. But I feel that with the realism potential of the PS3 this is a nice fit.

It doesn't feel like a Mii ripoff, as it seems more like the Sims. And the Playstation 3 trophies doesn't seem like an Achievement ripoff as it seems to be stressing speciic feats in games, as opposed to with the Xbox 360 which stresses overall scores in cumulative games.

Jon: Mar 7th 2007; 1:51PM

If they make it look more like a cartoony Mii most of you will be screaming bloody rip-off anyway.

You can't please everyone, particularly the Sony haters. Sigh.

danjo1: Mar 7th 2007; 1:51PM

t3nguman: are you serious, if so, let me know

kevinski: Mar 7th 2007; 1:51PM

Hey, having watched the video, I noticed that it's possible to make your avatar dress/act like a total g-unit. They really weren't kidding about the similarities to MySpace, were they?

JodyAnthony: Mar 7th 2007; 1:51PM

OK so I just watched the video and it is actually pretty damn cool looking.

JodyAnthony: Mar 7th 2007; 1:53PM

Whenever this launches will probably be the time I decide to pick up a PS3.

mikey: Mar 7th 2007; 1:58PM

t3nguman - i will buy it right now. really.

RoroCo: Mar 7th 2007; 1:59PM

Sorry guys, but this one gets the {meh} tag for me.

I will admit that this is a pretty cool idea - if not borrowed from several sources (Mii, Sims), but I do not see how this can improve gaming experiences for the games that I want to play. I would much rather see better friend support with out the "Sims OS" running everything.

Plus, it seems like this will be a micro-transaction nightmare. "Do you want the zebra-skinned couch? 2 dollars please."

I will give it its fair trial when it comes about, but I can not share the glee some of you are showing.

REUYL: Mar 7th 2007; 2:00PM

I'd MUCH rather have these than Miis. Too bad I still can't justify buying another Sony product.

Raycer: Mar 7th 2007; 2:03PM

I think it look great and has the ability to be awesome.

Mii's cuteness is good on the Wii since that is what it is, cute. The PS3 Home community should have a more adult look to it IMO

Owning all 3 systems, I have to say that the Home interface definately seems more interesting and a welcome addition to my PS3.

lord hobo: Mar 7th 2007; 2:04PM

this has caught my intrest, as a 360 owner this is cool no where near enough for me to buy one but this is cool

Kevout: Mar 7th 2007; 2:05PM

That looks really cool, I must admit

Digi Smalls: Mar 7th 2007; 2:06PM

this looks really nice.

now for the important question: can i get to it in the middle of a game?

.

Jack: Mar 7th 2007; 2:07PM

even though i still disagree with almost everything that sony has done (they lost a diehard fanboy in me midway through last year, i converted to the 360 thanks to Gears of War), i have to admit this looks really cool. as much as you want to bash the sims or myspace, theres no denying the addictive nature to them. the way this encompasses achievements, miis, music, video, personal expression, all into one package is just exciting to me and almost makes me want to go back to being a sony fanboy.. almost...

Tom: Mar 7th 2007; 2:09PM

As long as I can make my avatar look as fat as me then I'm good... did I say fat? Woops, I meant phat...

dvnt: Mar 7th 2007; 2:12PM

Well, you had to see this coming. It was the only way Sony could attempt to one-up Xbox's achievements program. However, wouldn't you rather be playing a game than walking around a virtual chat room filled with 14yr old boys looking for pr0n and trying to thug out their avatar? It's like an MMOG without any meaningful interaction.

This may appeal to those who don't get out of their homes very often but count me out.

JodyAnthony: Mar 7th 2007; 2:14PM

"It's like an MMOG without any meaningful interaction"

Since when has there been a such thing as an MMOG WITH meaningful interaction?

Flit: Mar 7th 2007; 2:15PM

So, PS3 got Second Life? Welcome to 2002 sony!

How long until you think Hackers completely destroy this place?

Sharable music? Doubt it. Sony/BMG wouldn't allow that. It would be funny thought if this became a major mp3 trading network...

Phil: Mar 7th 2007; 2:16PM

OMFG, Sony is ripping off second life!!!

Just kidding.

I am a 360 owner and this looks like it could be really cool. Not for me personally, I am not a MySpace or Second Live user or any of that shit, but obviously this will appeal to a lot of people. I think stuff like this is a waste of time.

This is so far beyond Achievements or Miis. I imagine a lot of people will spend a lot of time customizing this feature on their PS3 (cuz they won't be playing games, lol, sorry, couldn't resist).

Dash: Mar 7th 2007; 2:18PM

Meh, doesn't interest me. My PS3 is already gathering dust and the only thing that's going to change that is a real game. I couldn't care less about some "virtual world" crap. I play games for fun and I'm not intested in wasting time in some meaningless virtual world that does nothing but promote how much spare time I have.

Billy: Mar 7th 2007; 2:18PM

I hate Sony and I hate the PS3 but I admit this looks pretty sweet. I think it will be a big hit with PS3 owners. Kinda jealous actually :)

I much prefer the realistic look this has instead of the Mii cartoony look, but I can see how some people wouldn't.

Chocolate Starfish: Mar 7th 2007; 2:18PM

Cue pedobear.

kabes: Mar 7th 2007; 2:19PM

Free but pay $xxx playstation points for a chair.

Very cool idea on the surface but the more I think about it, the more unnecessary and gimmicky it seems.

lord hobo: Mar 7th 2007; 2:19PM

@27

i was thinking the same thing, this could turn up or there would be greifers

Steve Galgas: Mar 7th 2007; 2:19PM

The idea of Second Life was always appealing to me, but its implementation was awful. The idea of such a virtual community is a great one, and one that should be explored more often- despite people's feelings for Second Life. There are so many better ways to do it, and this already looks more promising. If the word on Playstation Home is any good, it would help pursuade me to consider one.

BadVermin: Mar 7th 2007; 2:20PM

Wow. Looks very cool and although I still don't plan on getting a PS3.

Good jorb Sony.

Rob Holiday: Mar 7th 2007; 2:24PM

I think this is a really cool idea. I wish it was coming earlier though.

Being the single guy, I would be surprised if there were that many actual women as shown in the video. I would expect it to be overwhelmingly male. When an actual female enters, I'd bet she would get over-run with guys wanting to "chat".

F1ghter: Mar 7th 2007; 2:26PM

This is what the Mii concept should've been. Though what I was really hoping for Wii was that Animal Crossing would be the OS.

I'm sorry, this looks cool and all, but I *DO NOT* want to make a realistic human avatar. At the very least I want something fantastic like the Phantasy Star online games. Don't give me something I can already get in real life, give me something much cooler. Give me the Advent Children motorcycle, or some swords, or a sweet armored suit, or 6 feet of spiky hair...anything but *REAL LIFE*. That is the one thing that causes me to not like this. Cool concept - way better than the extremely limited Miis - but it is incredibly boring and mundane.

Jake: Mar 7th 2007; 2:27PM

Ah, so you can pace around with other dejected PS3 customers while you are waiting for decent games to come out. Neat.

Steve Galgas: Mar 7th 2007; 2:30PM

playclever: Mar 7th 2007; 2:36PM

This is the first thing that Sony has done right in a good, long while. It's brave, innovative, and the first thing that usefully differentiates the Playstation 3 from the 360. Personally, it's the first thing that has even made me consider buying one.

Of course, actually making the thing work is not going to be an easy task, but the concept is very solid, and I believe it may just be Sony's saviour.

Slaziman: Mar 7th 2007; 2:38PM

I thought it looked cool at first, but I've thought about it, and really, this is lame. You can't pimp out your avatars without paying, and I'm betting furniture for your house will cost too. I hope more is done with the trophy thing, because apart from that this doesn't really affect real games, and is like some sort of MySpace thing. That really doesn't appeal to me, and I believe this would appeal to the more "casual" gamers, but with the price of the PS3 I'm not so sure there will be many casual gamers. Still, this is a welcome addition, it's free and it might be pretty cool, and from the looks of it, it comes with some free games :)

daddycool: Mar 7th 2007; 2:40PM

Eh. I never really gave two shits about the SIMS or Second Life. I guess it's alright though.

You can tell Sony is definitely thinking long term though. I keep telling people, Sony's not just going after Live, they're going after Live, iTunes, MySpace. And now it appears also YouTube, Second Life, and gunning for a burgeoning ad business.

Still not budging me much. I want God of War and Soul Caliber to come out. Freaking Madden online for god sakes.

arcsine: Mar 7th 2007; 2:41PM

"Hrm... People really like to make avatars and use them to go bowling. Make it so, slaves!" says Sony.

Also, I can't wait for the first episode of politician penisgriefing on Home.

Cee: Mar 7th 2007; 2:44PM

Is this the news that will make me "very happy" I own a PS3? If I wanted to decorate a house I already have the Sims 2 on my computer. This might appeal to my wife and daughter, but I could care less about the Playstation Home.

Grendel711: Mar 7th 2007; 2:44PM

See...this could be cool, but it's not going to have that same console wide service that xbox live provides. From anywhere at anytime you can see your friends, messages, etc. With this, you'll have to go INTO home to view any of that. Never the less, it does seem pretty cool and hopefully it'll push Microsoft to innovate even more.

One thing that was utterly stupid was the "Unlike anything on any of the other consoles" god sony is full of themselves.

E.J.: Mar 7th 2007; 2:45PM

This does seem pretty cool. But I have my doubts about this.

"Download extras from the Playstation Store for that extra unique look."

Ala Second Life, this will be a microtransaction-focused program. Like #32 says, you're gonna have to pay for something you really want. Want half of the stuff they showed on the video? Shell out $$$, please. But unlike Second Life, if you already have a PC, it's free to enter. If you don't already have a PS3, it's $500-600 to do this.

And in terms of this being an attempt to "centralize" multiplayer, it's a bit over the top and unnecessary. Most people are used to just selecting their match settings and letting the servers just do the rest, not having to go to some virtual club and convince people to play with you.

All in all, I don't really wanna play "Second Life" in order to get into a multiplayer match.

alienclay: Mar 7th 2007; 2:45PM

can i take my avatar in game? if i could play GTA4 or resistance 2 with my face and possibly my look/style of clothing that would be great.

it would be more immersive to me if i can recognise a face i fragged in resistance to the avatar in PSNhome and laugh about my 1337ness over his n00b

Almack64: Mar 7th 2007; 2:47PM

I'm actually quite impressed. While I do agree with others concerning not wanting the avatars to be so realistic, I do think the implementation is exactly what Ninentdo should have done with the Mii's. Regardless of whether or not you need to enter in specific console codes to connect with other wiis, why do we have a Mii Plaza when the Mii's there can't really interact with one another. I understand the extra security of the codes but once connected ther should be more interaction than what amounts to an email server. Good job Sony. ...Maybe Nintendo will pull a Sony and shamelessly copy them... Nah Big N's has too much integrity (too prideful) to do that.

the_kid: Mar 7th 2007; 2:49PM

to JodyAnthony:

She/He works for Sony, i can prove it

Almack64: Mar 7th 2007; 2:50PM

@ EJ #46, I'm not at all a Sony supporter but your argument is so flawed.

"But unlike Second Life, if you already have a PC, it's free to enter. If you don't already have a PS3, it's $500-600 to do this."

You kinda forgot that PC's cost money too...Yes I know more people own PC's than PS3's but you still have to be fair if you make such a comment.

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