Sony pushes Home open beta out until fall '08, closed beta extended

by Jason Dobson on Apr 22nd 2008 1:56AM

Sony's promise of a true open-world experience with Home has been a continual dot on the horizon for PlayStation 3 owners since it was first announced during former Sony-exec Phil Harrison's GDC keynote last year. This continues to be the case this evening, as Sony just sent word that it plans to extend the service's closed beta phase through the summer season, pushing the eventual open beta launch until sometime in the fall.

According to Sony, the move will allow the company to invite more PS3 users into the closed beta, perhaps to iron out some of the social MMO's failings we heard so much about late last year. Says SCEI president and group CEO Kaz Hirai, the delay will let Sony "refine the service to ensure a more focused gaming entertainment experience than what it is today," which is business speak for telling us that we'll have to wait a few more months before we can know the joy of throwing virtual televisions down equally virtual stairs.

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Tags: breaking-news, breakingnews, home, kaz-hirai, kazhirai, PS3, scei, sony

Reader Comments (94)

God damn it Sony! Yer pissin' me off!

ßETA postponed / delayed / canceled is started to become a habit with SONY ONLINE....

What is it with Japanese companies being complete imbeciles with Online? They're good (correction: awesome) with hardware, but online just fails.

I don't get it.

I'm at the point where I don't even care anymore. Unlike the Xbox Live service, where I actually know a ton of people that are on at any given time, I know almost noone that would be using this ridiculous home service, even if it were to go public. The result is that even if I wanted to play it, there would be noone I know playing it, and thus it would be just like trying to play any other non-popular MMO out there today (read: No fun).

Instead of doing important things like integrating the PSN store into the XMB (instead of making you fire up their junk web browser every time), they've now spent years trying to create what is essentially second life (minus the user created crap) on a console. I don't even see how they plan to make money on this thing anymore, unless there are actually companies willing to advertise on it.

I'm dissapointed that short of MGS4, I basically bought a cheap Blu-Ray player (although....I loves me some Blu-Ray).

Don't worry banana. The stuff is coming; should be a pretty good year for the PS3.

I agree with you banana, but turn on your PS3 once in a while - the PSN store is now part of the XMB.

yea dude, the Store is part of the XMB now. and how do you know that no one will use it if its not out yet? it could be great, it could suck ass. i know ill be curious when it comes out, and yes it does seem like something i probably wouldnt use outside of the trophy/accomplishments thing but you never know. im not going to personally write it off completely without ever touching it.

I haven't turned my PS3 on in over a week. Did they really integrate the store into the XMB? If so, then I'll give that to sony. It's still a YEAR late though, lol. That's the basic point, in that all of this stuff comes so late that it's not even new and exciting anymore.

Oh, and I base my opinion that noone will use Home, on the complete lack of buzz for it (everywhere but on PS3 fanboy, and even those guys are jumping off the boat left and right). Home will only be as good as how many people jump on the bandwagon at the beginning, and how many people stick around.

Aah whatever. Back to COD4 sirs!

@BananaBoat

I'm an ex-PS3 owner and that's how I feel, although I did have the chance to partake in the closed beta and it really is nothing special. No one is there to converse with, even if there is someone there it's a scramble as to how to communicate:

- Headset? Audio chat is badly implemented.
- Keyboard? Even this is pretty gimped.

Seriously, apart from playing virtual chess, Internet-based flash games and virtual, very bad bowling... there's no appeal yet Sony fanboys just lap this up. I'm highly amused at the all of those excited to try this out when in actual fact they will be vastly disappointed. I know I was looking forward to it until I played it. Plus, this region limitation is pathetic. Xbox Live is universal (I'm not a Xbox 360 owner, by the way). Home Japan is completely different to Home America and Home Europe. -_-

Going back to my original point, though, my PS3 become a cheap-BD player but then I thought I'd rather spend my cash wisely and pay a fifth of the price for the movies on DVD. Hence, sold it my 60GB for £430 (bought it a couple of weeks after launch at £425.) =D

"Don't worry banana. The stuff is coming; should be a pretty good year for the PS3."

What, with LittleBigPlanet, MGS4 and a potential public beta of Home? No, no thanks. I won't be buying a PS3 again.

Note: I am not a Xbox 360 owner but would be interested to see the next-generation Xbox. There will be no next-generation PlayStation as this generation of PlayStation products are truly gimped.

I'm a PS3 fanboy but what the hell Sony? Gosh damn! Your just adding more fuel to the fire for the rabid PS3 haters, they already got a crapload of ammo anyways.

Ninjakamster

How can you be a PS3 fanboy if you dont even own one yet?

Maybe next time you should do a little research.
-Geico Caveman

I'm buying one next month. : )

Being a fanboy without owning the system, now thats hardcore... or just sad. Either or

Hey, if it can end up as awesome as everything they've said it would be, I have no problem waiting for it. Strangely, I'm just getting more and more hyped about this for some reason. I guess I've fallen victim to social networking (damn you facebook/myspace/zune social!) I just wish I had more than one friend with a PS3.

I'll be your friend!

Once I figure out what my PSN ID is, that is...

This makes me feel sad =(

Asia is like the epitome of ONline services, 3g, 3.5g, WiFi, etc. Wtf Sony? Come on! Geez! /Whine /Grovel

I feel that this will be awesome once it is thoroughly completed, but even when it actually goes live, there will be a ton of bugs to work out of it.

They 'borrowed' rumble and 'waggle' concepts shamelessly from other console companies...Why not 'borrow' the ONline capabilities as well?!

Come on Sony! Ya slippin'! You know you want to 'borrow' some of that XBL service features...do...iiiiiit...

do you want it, do you need it, lemme hear it, well TOO BAD WAIT MORE.

seriously, i thought April was long enough when it was delayed LAST fall or whenever.

The song from the S.O.S. Band's 'Take your time (Do it right)' comes to mind though...

God that song. ARRRGH!!! IT'S STUCK IN MY MIND AGAIN!!!

DAMN YOU SALIVA!!!

Home is a myth

The home is a lie.

WILL IT NEVER END?!?

If i had to guess, i would say that Home will never be widely adopted by users or developers this generation

I have no idea how they can be struggling SO much with this. We're not exactly talking about some crazy, complex program here...

Speculative answer:

Because Phil Harrison is gone and nobody else at Sony actually ever thought this was a good idea or a useful service.

If that's true, expect some more Home delays and an eventual shutdown or half-hearted rollout in a year, followed by an eventual shutdown a year or two later because 5% of their consumer base or less cares or uses the service.

Home is/was a terrible idea, expensive to create, and cutting in to Sony's bottom line. As another poster mentioned they could be using those dev cycles to fix the serious interface shortcomings on the PS3 (in-game XMB anyone) instead of creating an also-ran Second Life. Plus the in-game XMB won't require server infrastructure or other ongoing OpEx to support it. If Home fades quietly into the night Sony saves time, money, and face with the populous at large.

I don't understand why HOME has to be so complicated. If it's just a matching service at its core, why not go dreadfully simple like the one used for HOT SHOTS GOLF? Sony, you're making this harder than it needs to be, and as a result - the confidence you were *trying* to build up; is falling quick to the wayside. I said it before, if it wasn't for:
A) inexpensive, upgradeable blu-ray player
B) MGS, GT, NaughtyDog games on the system
C) connectivity w/PSP, BC for PSone/two (I have a 60GB model)
...I swear I wouldn't have bothered.

And furthermore I personally couldn't give a rat's ass about achievements/accolade points or whatever... on PSN, X30, Wii, where-ever. It's not like I can go spend them on anything and the days of comparing high scores(or caring about them)died with the real arcade scene.

All they need to do is add community list features like they do in Steam. Sites like these already have a somewhat-community set up, and I'm inclined to believe that instead of making people 'virtually encounter' strangers in a SL ripoff it's wiser to exploit these prebuilt communities to the max.

KILLMEIMHERE guy, in the corner WTF!?!

did anybody saw that?

I SAWED IT!

Raise your hand if you didn't see that coming.

*everyone's hands stay down*

I hear that Microsoft are doing their own version and calling it Xbox Life?

At this rate MS's next xbox will be out and and in half the populations homes before home on BS3 becomes a reality. (Nintendo will still be selling Wiis).

Well atleast their expanding the closed beta userbase. Question will be how much. Sigh

By the time this actually releases, I won't be able to play it because I'll be too busy with my wife and kids :S

And the punchline is that he's seven years old!

I hate to say it, but once again, sony is f'in up... truthfully, I don't think they are that interested in it either.. its like theyre like: "Sigh, the fanboys want it, lets do it.." -but they really dont want to do it.

"I hate to say it,..."

No you don't!

I could care less if they do it. For me, if there's anything cool about it, it will be icing on the delicious cake. And shit, if it's sans monthly fee, all the better.

The truth hurts huh sony fanboys...

Oh well just wait till...

Maybe they can put the focus on releasing more games now ... I really could care less about Home

I second that!

Sony NEEDS bring more games, in-game messaging/in-game music, and PS video store. I could care less about HOME right now!!!

Worst fucking news ever!!

Wasnt this shit supposed to be out like a year ago.
Home is the number one exclusive piece of software I want for the PS3. They had better give us an in game XMB soon to ease the pain.

Hopefully Socom will come out this summer like EGM states and I'll forget all about Home for a couple months.

It's just that I want to start collecting my trophies

DelayStation 3!! This is Waiting

The Home is a Lie!!!

lol! Indeed...

And people say the PS3 is somehow not only going to outsell the 360, but magically outsell the Wii as well, gaining the monopoly that we don't mind them having but despise the very thought of Nintendo having.

The year of the PS3? PPPPFFFFFFFTTTTTTT!!! Delaystation 3 strikes again! =/

AMIRITE?

My big black behemoth is a little slow, or lets just call him..."special" =)

Well, when people say 2008 is the year of PS3, I don't think it means it will surpass the 360 and Wii in sales or any other benchmark, I think thats not going to happen.

I think that it will be a great year to own the PS3 though, lots of exciting things are to come out and things we don't even know about. E3 should yield exciting news.

I know man Im really excited for E3 this year. Looks like all the big guns should be out in full force! Gears2, Killzone2, Resistance2, Banjo3, and who knows what other surprises Sony and MS have up their sleeves this year.

So, two years out and the Beta will (maybe) just be hitting the public? Sad, sad, sad.

I have the PS3 (so, recognize that before the fanboy flames start flying) and I've gotta say that the PSN sucks balls. It is not even a shadow of XBLive and I can't stand playing on it, on the rare occasion I do (love my MLB 08: The Show). People who complain about $50 for Live, well, the PSN is the perfect example of getting what you pay for. Freaking lame.

By the way, wtf is the deal with Resistance? Finally got around to playing it, heard good things, big fan of Insomniac, and didn't like it a bit. That controller is horrible for FPS, no toggle option for crouch or scope, shooting from the R1 button (just like Uncharted, aaargh and uugh). Very dissapointed. Nice, smooth engine but other than that did nothing for me.

I just want Gears 2 at this point.

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Sony pushes Home open beta out until fall '08, closed beta extended

Reader Comments (94)

Posted: Apr 22nd 2008 2:10AM Klitorisaurus said

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