Home coming this year as 'open, working beta'

by Jason Dobson { Jun 3rd 2008 at 2:55PM }

Sony has again trumpeted intention to get its virtual world Home out the door this year, though precisely what state it will be in when players are eventually allowed to log on remains another issue entirely. Speaking to Wired, PSN senior director Susan Panico referred to Home's initial roll out as "similar to Gmail," calling the online initiative's presumably fall release an "open, working beta."

These comments have not exactly filled our heart containers with confidence. Google officially launched its email service in 2004, and now, some four years later, it's still in beta.

Tags: gmail, home, sony

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

pkpk523 @ Jun 3rd 2008 2:59PM

I'll believe it when I see it. But man, i want to believe it.

FOXHOUND @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:35PM

seconded.

Granted, I'm glad they clarified that this 'ambitious project' is expected to cover the PlayStation brand as a whole; but I'd still like to participate in the beta when possible.

Talryyn @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:02PM

SOE breaks everything, even if Home is launched, going by Sony history it will be a very rocky launch. And just when you think you like Home, the will change it with Home NGE, where everyone is a Jedi, and yah.... I think you get the picture.

tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:05PM

Seeing as it's not a game, they can't really break it. Only way is if they charge for it which I don't think is likely

Talryyn @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:11PM

What I meant is name a SOE launch that did not have server issues, and huge game crashes (some lasting days). I am sure home will have its share of bugs, what erm since you said not a game, what program of this type has not had bugs.

And yes I am still mad that SWG go borked beyond imagination.

Kodros @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:19PM

What MMO didn't have issues when it was first released? From my experience, LOTRO was the only one that had stable servers at launch.

Plus, I'm sure LucasArts had something to do with that SWG change, not so much SOE.

Noshino @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:38PM

Kodros,

shush, you are making too much sense, don't you know that it is always Sony's fault? NEVER doubt that!

Grog @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:02PM

Uh... there's a problem here. Google releases *all* of its software as "beta," but it's always a working product. For most companies, and I'm not picking on Sony here, "beta" means "barely working, with many absent features."

Not exactly a vote of confidence that they're equating the two.

Eggy @ Jun 3rd 2008 5:34PM

Clearly you have no clue what beta means.

SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread) @ Jun 3rd 2008 11:14PM

burn

xFenixKnightx @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:02PM

They never should have done this in the first place. Just give us In-game XMB, a unified friends list across all games and accomplishments/trophies. Let the 2nd Life lovers go play second life.

arrrgh @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:03PM

now that doesnt sound very sony :|

Dirty @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:21PM

agreed

NATO_Duke @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:30PM

Yeah I think this app is gonna be a lot more of a disppointment than people realize. The whole 2nd life approach really does not work for those of us who jump on a console wanting to be in and out of the game fast.

Yet I have to say that I am glad this will be rolled out soon so that all the people who HAVEN'T touched it can stop telling the rest of us what a great thing it is and how its the next best thing to life itself. That part of living in a fantasy will soon be coming to an end.

el serpiente @ Jun 3rd 2008 4:31PM

Yet I have to say that I am glad this will be rolled out soon so that all the people who HAVEN'T touched it can stop telling the rest of us what a horrible thing it is and how its the next worst thing to death itself.

NATO_Duke @ Jun 3rd 2008 4:41PM

Yeah OK tough guy, I've been in the beta for a long time now - so thanks for your typical baseless comment.

JaKa (Because 666 gives a wrong impression!) @ Jun 3rd 2008 4:43PM

Now you can have sex and play on the same machine!

NATO_Duke @ Jun 3rd 2008 4:56PM

BTW el serpiente, when that Beta first began, and there were no beta forums to use, I remember reading the SDF types and their posts in the Home forums where they were crying about how mean Sony was for not letting them in and rewarding their loyalty and how life was only worth living if they were in the Beta - because this was going to be the greatest thing in the history of gaming. Oh, and the attacks on those in the Beta were amazing - calling people names and giving threats over it. We are talking about a lot of people who flipped out.

I read that crap, and you can feel free to do some searching in those forums (and in GAP's as well). Maybe then you will come to these discussions with some actual knowledge of wtf people have said in anticipation of this thing. Don't jump on my comments when you are clueless. Its transparent as all hell.

el serpiente @ Jun 3rd 2008 5:53PM

Nato, unknot your panties.

'can stop telling the rest of us what a great thing it is and how its the next best thing to life itself'

Who here is even saying this? You have constructed a straw man NATO, to better showcase your pompous flubbering.

And since when was your opinion the definitive verdict on all things Home? Yeah, maybe you played in some beta a while ago, but who knows what that will be like compared to what they release to the public?

And here you are making me defend Home when, to be honest, I couldn't give two shits if Home even comes out or not. But I'll certainly try it out when it comes out (it IS free after all) and judge for myself. But in your self-importance you have already decided that everyone shouldn't like it at all. Please, try to get over yourself

el serpiente @ Jun 3rd 2008 5:54PM

Oh, and nice cat!

NATO_Duke @ Jun 3rd 2008 6:03PM

I just posted points about what I have observed people saying and doing, and you went into another one of your tirades calling me pompous and shit. Dude, you are an SDF slave who never speaks with knowledge because you can just speak from desire and bullshit. I don't care if you disagree with me, but don't start acting like you have a basis to do so. Thats the crap that I am talking about with Home and the comments about it around here.

You are, as always, making shit up and using blatant personal attacks to lay down a smoke screen. I didn't force you to defend Home - you just feel the need to on your own.

el serpiente @ Jun 3rd 2008 7:53PM

*burp*

Oh, excuse me.

arrrgh @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:03PM

gmail is fucking amazing though. i love it.

Daniel @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:05PM

Damn right! If it launches anything like Gmail, it will be awesome. I don't care how long it's in "open beta", just let me use the damn thing.

xFenixKnightx @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:09PM

Yeah I finally switched my main e-mail account to gmail a while back.

Best. Email. Ever.

Noshino @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:17PM

Gmail is insane! Faster and more robust than all other email services.

I also love their April Fool jokes, I actually believed the Gmail Custom Time one :(

AwesomeTown @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:53PM

I went from really liking gmail to loving gmail when I noticed the spam recipes in the ad bar when i was deleting spam.

K387 @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:04PM

This is what I translate from the comments.

It sounds like they really don't know when it can be complete and in turn, if they put it out there, they can patch it til its good enough. That way, they can work on it in "peace" and not have the pressure to "get it out".

K387

el serpiente @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:08PM

Yes, that sounds about right.

Kind regards,

el serpiente

PojoMofo @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:47PM

you guys realize that you dont have to sign your letters, i mean, your name is right there.

xFenixKnightx @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:54PM

I know right, good point PojoM.

xFenixKnightx

voodoo_craig @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:05PM

Good grief, Home is starting to make the PS3 launch look like a resounding sucess!

Come on Sony, please get your act together and give me my in-game-XMB and everything else I've had on my XBOX 360 for 2 years.

Silver R. Wolfe @ Jun 3rd 2008 4:36PM

You've had in-game XMB on your Xbox? What kind of Xbox do you have man?!

LaughingTarget @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:06PM

This means that Home will be invite-only. They'll probably give out a set number of invites per specified timeframe to give out to others. If it's anything like GMail, there will be more invites than people on the planet, meaning they should just bypass that mess and make it a no hassle download from the PSN.

xGeneral DEATHx @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:30PM

Would you like a Gmail invite? I only have 610,321 left...it's very exclusive.

Shagittarius @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:36PM

Isn't everything released now adays pretty much a beta?

arrrgh @ Jun 3rd 2008 4:25PM

I agree with shagi...holy fuck.

el serpiente @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:06PM

Will you be allowed to teabag in the Home beta?

klitorisaurus @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:14PM

Why not? We're being teabagged by Sony on a daily basis. This is why these damn companies should announce shit 4 years before it's even close to done. Every F'n game I get excited about gets delayed. It's ridiculous! Don't announce shit until you've got it together, period.
At least thats my perfect world :)

baby sea tuna @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:13PM

I think that you should replace that home pic with one of Phil Harrison (Father of Home) if only because then we'd have 3 consecutive posts featuring 3 very bald dudes.

Too bad there's no Hitman news today...

4MyFriends @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:14PM

Seems like they are going to rush out an extremely buggy and unreliable beta to stop the complaining, which could both help and harm them at the same time.

I remember being excited for Home like a year or so ago, but I have lost all interest in it.

samfish @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:15PM

What the hell is so complicated about Home that it's taking like 2 years+ to get just a beta out?

baby sea tuna @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:23PM

Don't you remember all those cool features they announced like...um...movie trailers and, um, ads and stuff?! I also vaguely remember something about going "behind the scenes" in all of those games that I beat and sold like 6 months ago.

Seriously though, just release the damn thing and let it take on a life of its own. Chances are, the community'll come up with functionality that Sony never even dreamed of and probably do a reasonable job of moderating itself as well. (See: Wikipedia, 360 Achievement sites, PC mod community, etc.)

Noshino @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:24PM

samfish,

In general, a regular game tend to take in average between 2 to 3 years to be developed...

Home was announced too soon, just like LBP, as their last resort...(aside from that, I don't think there was anything else that was that great on GDC07

Anyway, the way I see Home is more like..uh...have you seen the .Hack series? There are the main cities, and everyone can have their own houses and such, and from there they can teleport as a party to different maps, in this case, you can arrange meetings with your guild mates and then be sent instantaneously into the game as a party and so on, and if they implement things such as the ones announced for Resistance and Warhawk, than that would strengthen that idea even more...

Shimrra @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:18PM

After all this time it is finely coming out and yet I could less. Its a nice concept but I think this would be better on the PS4 right out of the box Home on the PS4 than have it come out so late into the life cycle of the PS3. Its almost like how late the online gameplay came out on the PS2 so late into the cycle game companies really couldnt tap into its full potential.