Home revealed too early, London Studios dev admits

by Jason Dobson { Jan 9th 2009 at 4:26PM }

It's customary after saying something out of turn to ruminate options for a) quickly vacating the premises or b) dulling the memory of anyone within earshot with a swift blow to the head. Customary for everyone, it seems, but Sony, though the company concedes that when it comes to PlayStation Home it probably should have held its tongue a while longer.

In the initial segment of a two-part interview with Develop Magazine, Home game director (and, we imagine, bowling expert) Peter Edward opens up about developer reception to Sony's Quincy factory, which was first revealed nearly two years ago. Admits Edward, "We probably announced it too early – GDC 07 was a long time ago. I think there was sort of recognition amongst developers of 'Oh, this is interesting, but there's still a lot of work to be done.'" He adds that devs were "a little cagey" about creating content for the social platform early on, though now that it's a goldmine for fake commerce we imagine some of them will come around.

Tags: Home, Peter-Edward

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Saria the Cat @ Jan 9th 2009 4:32PM

And the entire internets reverberates with a powerful, collective facepalm.

el serpiente @ Jan 9th 2009 4:40PM

Or maybe just your dorm room...

Snowblind @ Jan 9th 2009 4:43PM

Definitely too much hype and waiting..

But yeah, even without that I would have deleted it from my HDD just as quickly.

Saria the Cat @ Jan 9th 2009 4:48PM

@el serpiente: But I don't have a dorm room... :O

el serpiente @ Jan 9th 2009 5:18PM

Sorry.

Or maybe just your chateau in the Alps...

Saria the Cat @ Jan 9th 2009 5:23PM

MUCH, much better.

Snap Count @ Jan 9th 2009 5:57PM

I am gonna go with mommy and daddy's basement...

Marty @ Jan 9th 2009 5:59PM

Don't say anything negative about Home around el serpiente - it makes el serpiente pequeño go soft.

el serpiente @ Jan 9th 2009 7:33PM

Martysoft, that comment wasn't related to destroying the credibility of the PS3 and its products. I think you will be docked a bit on your next check from Redmond.

Anam @ Jan 9th 2009 4:33PM

No, Duke Nukem Forever was revealed too early. Home is just uninteresting.

Burritoclock @ Jan 9th 2009 4:36PM

....annnnnd scene.

There is no need for any more comments, move along people.

NaeemTHM @ Jan 9th 2009 4:50PM

But...didn't you see the part were they were standing?!

BananaBoat @ Jan 9th 2009 5:05PM

We have a winner.

Sir Buzz Killington( The Artist formerly known as Jakka) @ Jan 9th 2009 4:36PM

Seeing how their entire marketing strategy pretty much revolves around revealing stuff to early, I'm not sure if we should really single out Home...

Burritoclock @ Jan 9th 2009 5:27PM

....annnnd encore!

Bravo good sirs!

klitorisaurus @ Jan 10th 2009 1:26AM

One two punch!

This is why news sites without comment sections no longer amuse me. In fact, everytime I listen to talk radio I wanna leave comment. It's infectious.

Gavin @ Jan 9th 2009 4:43PM

I honestly think home could have made an interesting addition to the PSN, just not as it ultimately was implemented, Making an avatar that represents you as a player (like Mii's or those little icons PSN used previously) is obviously interesting. Like your trophies collection, it helps you define your own identity.

Now if it had also allowed you to import that character model into PS3 games -- even if it was only some games like Drake's Fortune -- that too would be cool. (again, it gives you more identity as a player and a person)

At one point, Sony talked about Home allowing you to walk through Drake's Fortune and Resistence 1 in third person to find hidden goodies. While only a primitive example, it is interesting to think that new games could be built using old levels you knew and enjoyed, as free or inexpensive DLC.

Couple that with the (meh) Red Bull flight/race game, and the dreamer in me wishes for Home-GTA4 support. Flying through Liberty with my Home-built character, with downloadable games / gameplay additions would be cool -- what about a PAIN level set in Liberty (using liberty maps)

Soo much potential, so little brain power used at Sony... yay, it's second life. woot

Lekko @ Jan 9th 2009 9:28PM

I see where they want to go with it too, and am all for it if they could have actually pulled it off. It would be amazing and really really evolutionary if they really took off with the idea.

Problem is: this is Sony. They have a philosophy of "let the developer do whatever they want" which fails this generation because developers are lazier and won't support anything they aren't forced to. All the coolest features home could potentially offer would need to be mandatory, much like trophies, in-game soundtrack options, and screencap support. Home would be far harder to implement cooler features, so I highly doubt that many, if any, games will have such neat things.

Perhaps PS4 will have Home from the start and have full featured integration, but I don't expect great software out of a company that simply isn't a software powerhouse. Hopefully, if Sony learned anything from the PS3, they need to learn that hardware needs software to become useful.

SimbaDogg @ Jan 9th 2009 4:43PM

i dont think the problem was that it was revealed too early, it was ANNOUNCED too early. i think it was announced in summer of 2007, and then summer 08 rolls around and people are wondering where the hell its at. Starting to think its on vaporware status. So of course sony made the WE PROMISE it'll be out in 2008 statement, which they did. Thing is, it simply wasn't finished.

If they would have announced it maybe CES of 2008 instead, they or waited until last years E3 they would have found themselves in slightly cooler water. I think a few months after their announcement they should have realized the immense amount of work needed to make it work. Why they promised it in 2008 is still beyond me. I'm sure everyone would appreciate a "when it's done, its done" product, rather than something thats rushed out in a half ass manner. I think MS learned their lesson about this on the hardware side, now its sonys turn on the software side.

sk8monroe81 @ Jan 9th 2009 4:52PM

HOME was one of the only things sony could announce at GDC 2007. if they did not they would have had 1 less thing to talk about, which would have only helped out nintendo and ms more..

if sony had 1 less thing to talk about, which would have cut out some time from their speaking, they probably would have added in another early reveal.
so they would be in the same place.

does anybody proof read sony comments and statements before they are made public..
some of these statements could have been better worded and stated by most of us.

el serpiente @ Jan 9th 2009 7:35PM

At least they use capital letters, correct spelling, punctuation and avoid run-on sentences...

sk8monroe81 @ Jan 9th 2009 10:38PM

and some us understand common sense and general economics, which you have little idea about.

keep trollin the forums you have become my pest of choice.
just by using my imagination about your posts i have determined that you dont have much going on in your life.
you must be bored and looking for more.

spelling on a forum.? haha always love when a fanboy goes there, they really have nothing else to say.

but serp you never have anything real or meaningful to say.

serp do you have a girlfriend?
u might want to spend more time with her instead of trying to be my 3rd wheel.

el serpiente @ Jan 10th 2009 12:24AM

Hey, all I'm saying is that your prose is that of a spastic 12-year-old with a broken shift key. You might want to get help with that. It's kind of embarrassing.

If you want to be taken seriously, you might want to learn how to express yourself concisely and clearly.

sk8monroe81 @ Jan 10th 2009 4:07PM

im not embarrassed by the way in which I type my comments on a forum online.
this is not real life here, just cyber life.

hell in between posting comments I am usually doing some pretty important things which help a lot of homeowners and renters in the greater los angeles area.
i am usually professional in my real life, but we all have to find time to just have fun and not be too serious.

my business and real life is where i use my serious time.
sorry joystiq.com is not that place for me.
and when have you been serious or informative 1 time on joystiq?
youre posts make you look like a sony paid employee.

i guess i was right when i said this is pretty much all you have in your life and this is all you can look forward to winning or excelling in your life.

are u that much of a basement troll that you feel that internet life is real life and the measure of a mans success or intelligence?

el serpiente @ Jan 10th 2009 6:54PM

Yes, in real life you actually have a napkin to wipe away the drool when you talk, I understand.

And really? Whipping out 10-year-old internet insults? Not only are you dim, but utterly talentless. Please exercise more creativity in your verbiage.

Esat Dedezade @ Jan 9th 2009 4:59PM

How much more time did they want exactly? It's not as if its a crazyily complex pinnacle of technology. I can't believe how bare it is after a year of delays.

It's almost as if the dev team were as distracted and lazy as...

...Me?

Anticrawl @ Jan 9th 2009 5:59PM

They could have simply called up the owners of Second Life and said, "Hey can you guys put that thing on the PS3 but without the flying penis's and hermaphrodites? Oh that costs extra? Alright whatever just get it done."

Noshino @ Jan 9th 2009 6:33PM

sigh

Many services are bare bones at the beginning, and they weren't the pinnacle of technology either.

Example of that is the commonly praised XBL, it was barebones at the beginning and grew to a robust service in time.

Hell, even WoW wasn't anywhere as robust at the beginning as it is now.

Why is it that you guys don't like to give such chances to Sony and Home? oh...yah, Sony, right?...

Esat Dedezade @ Jan 9th 2009 7:06PM

Noshino: there is no excuse for the lack of content in home. It's been well over a year. Like I mentioned before how complex could it possible be?

The fact of the matter is people can say that Sony announced it to early: that's their own fault. For something they've been mentioning for a whole year they should have something to back up the cheques (checks?) their mouths have been writing. Otherwise they should have shut their damn mouths and people wouldn't be this dissapointed.

Not only that, but they then have the nerve to say that this is a system seller? I don't think I have to even bother talking about that statement.

Before any one asks, Sony have not killed my puppies or cause GBH to me or any member of my family. Nor have they stolen all of my toilet paper. It's just that the promise of toy story graphics on the PS2 along with lies about the Killzone 2 trailer and the many many cock ups that have occured with the PS3 and the amount of stick the 360 first got from the blind Sony Fanboys has made me the way I am today.

Esat Dedezade @ Jan 9th 2009 7:07PM

By the way I have a PS3... ad if it wasn't for the genius of Quincying sad perverts (thanks Joystiq!) I would basically never go on it.

Yuccadude @ Jan 9th 2009 5:04PM

Or was it not early enough?
Case in point: Quincying...

Jack Tretton @ Jan 9th 2009 5:08PM

I already bought virtual shelves on which to display my Trophies, but Sony isn't yet selling a virtual screwdriver.

343 Guilty Fart @ Jan 9th 2009 5:15PM

You could have picked one up at the virtual Ikea.

Jack Tretton @ Jan 9th 2009 5:28PM

I know I should have checked out Home's Home Depot.

JRM @ Jan 9th 2009 5:20PM

This gen, Sony is one stumble after another. By the time the "10 years" of their PS3 rolls around, they'll have made more mistakes than Sega and Atari combined!

colinbell @ Jan 9th 2009 5:39PM

I wonder how big a team they had on this? I suspect not too many people. But one thing that would be awesome is the war-room concept that was talked about some time back.

And there were a couple of things you have to take into account - firstly, there was a lot of "Sony has no games" pressure orchestrated by MS and the xbots early in 2007, so SOny had to reveal stuff early.
And, they also have a fanatical attitude towards quality - almost every one of their first party and second party games has been top notch. They could have launched inferior versions of Killzone 2 or White knight Story much earlier, but the delay has been worth it (white knight biggest seller on PS3 in 2nd week, more than MGS4, DMC!). same for the teams working on Ico, SOCOM (zipper), Infamous and GT5, they will all have spent 3-4 years in development

Evan @ Jan 9th 2009 5:49PM

More time for what? Add a layer of polish? You can't polish shit. (Well, Mythbusters proved that you can polish shit. But it's still shit.)

KobeBryunt @ Jan 9th 2009 5:51PM

lol. Home just reeked of failed ever since it's inception

el serpiente @ Jan 9th 2009 7:37PM

That sensation is a bit familiar to you, isn't it?

JoeTheBlow @ Jan 9th 2009 5:50PM

Ahhh, Joystiq.
Not a week goes by without you ragging on a FREE, optional little PSN toy, in some way.
Its getting quite sad now.

Marty @ Jan 9th 2009 6:01PM

By your logic, it would be wrong to criticize garbage games like Doritos' Dash of Destruction as well.

Killjebus @ Jan 9th 2009 6:02PM

You got to love the double standard. An unfinished BETA with massive amounts of potential (see EA HomeSpace trailer) is shit on constantly. Yet the wiicube's Mii's were never shit on even though you could only make them and parade them around a blank background.

Then MS comes along and has your avatars just STAND THERE doing nothing, but nooooo, nary a peep of negativity do you hear.

You know what Joystiq, and Kotaku, and most of the American gaming press, if you hat Sony soooo fracking much, stop reporting on the PS3, stop playing the PS3, and most definently don't play KZ2 when it comes out because no matter how good it will be, you will just find some excuse to shit all over it.

Pathetic, just pathetic.

Anticrawl @ Jan 9th 2009 6:03PM

It isn't as Free as you claim it. It is one of the many outrageous features the PS3 touts to sell systems. Honestly Sony should cut all the BS out of the system, add in better voice chat and pull the stick out of their ass. I have a few games for my PS3 I enjoy but the damn thing is spread so thin with a clusterfuck of options/updates/installs that I want to put a bullet in my brain everytime I try to use it. Jack of all trades, master of none describes Sony perfectly.

Farseer (GDI) @ Jan 9th 2009 6:07PM

Wow, I didn't know that Peter Edward worked for Joystiq.

Snowblind @ Jan 9th 2009 6:34PM

You never heard anything negative about the Avatars? Wow. But they at least serve some purpose, they're a more personal version of the gamer pics. I don't know about you guys, but I much prefer seeing these avatars as a representation of my friends instead of those old static pictures.

Home just serves no real purpose, it distracts from the lack of usability rather than add something useful like the NXE did.

PSN: Erdie @ Jan 9th 2009 8:43PM

I actually have to agree with KillJebus on this one. I know it's become gospel around here to start a flamewar on every PS3 thread, but this is getting a little stupid. Did any of you even read the article, or just read Joystiq's (or Kotaku's) highlight of the only negative excerpt from it?

Even the Wii articles are starting to become laced with sarcasm. The latest article about the Nyko stuff for example: "We know some of you aren't exactly burning through Wii batteries at the moment..." I know the 360 is a great machine. Hell, I'll be buying my own in a few months, but is this constant sarcasm shit really necessary?

Bluebrake @ Jan 9th 2009 5:59PM

I'm still utterly baffled how it took this long to get Home out the door. It's just a big (well, actually not that big) empty world. I don't mean that as a criticism (though I'll be happy to criticize it elsewhere). I just mean that the little bit of content we've got today -- customizable avatars that can roam around some 3D environments, and a couple of simple distractions like bowling -- was all in place already during that initial GDC reveal in 2007. What in god's name did they spend 2 more years doing?