PlayStation Home relaunches this fall with a questing system, themed districts

by David Hinkle on Aug 23rd 2011 11:00AM

Big things are happening in PlayStation Home this fall. Sony has announced that an entirely new Home experience is currently in the works, one which it hopes will better cater to the needs of its users and offer a better experience overall. Home will relaunch with a new Hub and destinations based on desired gaming experience.

The new Hub "integrates games, quests, community events and user-generated content, while providing players with additional navigation, shopping, socialization and entertainment options." Essentially, it's the launch pad to anything else in Home. Within the Hub, players can go over to the Activity Board to check on quests or create their own events and share them with their friends. Users can also check out the Activity Board to quickly jump to games and content.

Outside of the Hub, there are four main areas: Action District, Sportswalk, Adventure District and Pier Park. As you can imagine, each caters to the needs of a certain gamer -- the Action and Adventure Districts both cater to hardcore and action-adventure fans, respectively, while Sportswalk is for sports nuts. Pier Park is an interactive theme park, replete with rides and games and such.

This big update will piggyback on a core client update arriving this fall, which Sony hopes will help players get into games and content much quicker than before.

Show full PR text

Sony Computer Entertainment America Announces Redesign of PlayStation®Home, Coming Fall 2011

New Design Opens up a Whole New World of Games and Reinforces PlayStation Home's Evolution into a Social Game Platform

FOSTER CITY, Calif., August 23, 2011 – Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced major changes coming to PlayStation®Home in Fall 2011. This complete redesign includes a new core experience for PlayStation Home, available exclusively on PlayStation®Network for the PlayStation®3 (PS3™) system, featuring an all-new Hub that integrates games, quests, community events and user-generated content, while providing players with additional navigation, shopping, socialization and entertainment options. From the Hub, players can teleport to various genre-based districts, where they will encounter games tailored to their interests and style, while introducing them to a rich and diverse selection of game experiences.

The new core experience reinforces PlayStation Home's evolution from a virtual environment to a world of games, with a focus on rapidly connecting players with game content that pertains to their style and mood. In the Hub, players can head over to the Activity Board, where they will discover the robust questing system that transforms PlayStation Home itself into a game, quickly find games and content, and create their own events to share with their friends.

"PlayStation Home's new core experience is a giant leap in the evolution of the platform, not to mention a major milestone for PlayStation Network, and its new modelquickly deploys our users to many compelling free-to-play games that fit their interests," said Jack Buser, director of PlayStation Home, SCEA. "With this update, coming this fall, PlayStation Home becomes a game itself, making it the most robust gamified social experience available."

PlayStation Home's new core experience provides players with a dynamic and constantly changing pool of activities and challenges throughout the Hub and districts, with thematic content that enables players to find games that are relevant to their interests:

The Hub: The new, futuristic Hub brings games directly to players with a featured game front-and-center upon login, the Activity Board where players can engage in quests and community activities, and a direct path to free games via the teleporter.
Action District: A gathering place for the hardcore demographic, the Action District has a gritty, urban feel reminiscent of a first-person shooter level and provides a direct travel point to action and horror games.
Sportswalk: The Sportswalk has an exciting outside-the-stadium feel with instant major league sports scores, headlines and highlights, ample space for sports-themed games and provides direct travel points to sports-related games.
Adventure District The Adventure District drops you in a lush island jungle with an air of mystery, hidden treasure and discovery, where players will be able to launch directly into adventure-themed games.
Pier Park: A waterfront boardwalk leads players to carnival, puzzle, outdoor and arcade games. Take a ride on the Pier Park Ferris wheel or visit the arcade for some bright entertainment.

Also planned to be released this fall as a separate core client upgrade is a revamp of the underlying user experience in PlayStation Home. This update will deliver a more streamlined experience upon login with customized tracks for new, returning and regular PlayStation Home users, minimizing the time it takes for players to get into games.

PlayStation pioneered new ground in interactive entertainment with the launch of PlayStation Home in December 2008. PlayStation Home has since evolved beyond a social network into a true social game platform:

PlayStation Home has been used by over 23 million users worldwide. (WW)
The average time spent in the Home platform is 70 minutes per session (SCEA)
Over 230 games ready-to-play (SCEA)
Over 9,000 virtual items (SCEA)
Over 65 spaces (SCEA)
Over 600 community events (SCEA)
Over 35 partners (SCEA)
Total Game Integration: Total Game Integration extends the game experience for players of Blu-ray Disc™ or PlayStation Network games to PlayStation Home. The first Total Game Integration was introduced in January 2011, where players in PlayStation Home could complete a series of mini-games to earn unlock points for Killzone 3 multiplayer. Total Game Integration for Deep Silver's Dead Island™ is available now in PlayStation Home's Central Plaza.

For additional information about PlayStation Home's new core experience, please visit: http://us.playstation.com/psn/playstation-home/homedetail/.

About Sony Computer Entertainment America

Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC continues to redefine the entertainment lifestyle with its PlayStation® and PS one® gameconsole, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) handheld entertainment system, the ground-breaking PlayStation®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system and its online and network services the PlayStation®Network and PlayStation®Store. Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC markets the PlayStation family of products and develops, publishes, markets and distributes software for the PS one, PlayStation 2, PSP and PS3 systems for the North American market. Based in Foster City, Calif., Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC serves as headquarters for all North American operations.

"PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks and "PS3" and the Home design are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Tags: jack-buser, playstation, playstation-home, ps3, scea, sony

Reader Comments (85)

I'd actually check that out to see what they could come up with.

@Cavall

Thats the impression I got when I read about this.
HOME as it is now, let me down. Its a peado hub!

@Cavall Same here, it's worth trying out like I would any demo. If I hate it then I wipe my hands...er... HDD clean of it.

Wow, sounds great! I guess it's finally time to bring it out of beta then?

@InkSix

Why? As a beta it means it'll keep growing, it's really just a name either way.

@MrAlex

Was just wondering. Home seems to have had the longest beta period for anything I've ever been a part of. I wondered if the "beta" part was really true, or if they were using it like a scapegoat in case anyone thought the service was lacking.

@InkSix

Used Google?

@InkSix

just like minecraft is in beta.

It'd be cool if it was a sandbox experience.

@ComedyInK

YES. and the ability to jump.

The problem with Home has never REALLY been the structure of it though. It's all the loading. You have to load Home, then load the Plaza, then you finally get there and everyone is a white ghost because it's still loading them in. Then if you want to switch locations, you start the whole process over.

And nowhere in any report I've read about this Home update have they talked about how they're fixing all the loading. They're just touting how they've already got 9000 items in the store and now they're adding a ferris wheel. Whoopee!

@whatisdelicious

A to the men.

@whatisdelicious Also planned to be released this fall as a separate core client upgrade is a revamp of the underlying user experience in PlayStation Home. This update will deliver a more streamlined experience upon login with customized tracks for new, returning and regular PlayStation Home users, minimizing the time it takes for players to get into games.

Don't know if this will help load content more. What they really need to do is just load all store items, zones and games onto the harddrive and have the only loading stuff be the players and new content.
You're right though, the loading is horrible but I don't know if that's a PS3 issue or an issue or their server side. Or both.

@hami83 Yeah, saw that, but it sounds more like you'll have an option to just skip going to the Hub or whatever and just launch directly into a game. Menu stuff, basically. "Steamlined" doesn't necessarily mean "faster" in the way it needs to mean for this Home update to matter.

It's that art style coming back to bite them. They should have just ripped off Miis like Microsoft did. Simpler characters and environments = less stuff to load.

@whatisdelicious

See here...

"This big update will piggyback on a core client update arriving this fall, which Sony hopes will help players get into games and content much quicker than before."

@whatisdelicious

I feel the same damn way! I hated having to load, then download, then load, and dread exploring home for each area needed to be downloaded....then I'd quit and come back a few months later only to have to redownload it all over. No thanks lol.

Not to mention the fact I messed up a long time ago when I set my account under an admin account when I first got my ps3, and I hold the admin account lol. So now past turning 18, and then 19, I still cannot play home on my main psn handle even when I never turned on any parental controls or anything. See you sony bastards! This is why people lie about their age!

The new overhaul of home is looking good it's about time i am thinking that the loading will be more streamlined the loading didn't bother me when I go on home too take part in the different events like the Dead Island zombie game waiting a couple minutes wasn't a big deal.

As long as it is quick so sign in, I might check it out. Right now I only click on the Home icon by accident, and usually end up cursing for the next three minutes as I try to back out.

@Goldenspiral

You, me, and probably everybody else who doesn't really frequent Home that much.

The thing is so goddamn slow it's excruciating.

@Goldenspiral So why haven't you deleted it? You can delete Home from your system, where clicking on the icon would launch a prompt for installation rather than Home itself.

@Epoque

really? that's great news. will definitely be deleting Home asap.

i checked PlayStation Home only once when i bought to system. this sounds interesting so i might check it out.

Well when this launches, it'll probably the first time in a while that I boot up Home.

@The Cole Train

So you never even tried it?

@MrAlex

First time *in a while*...

@liquidsoap89

Derp, my bad.

I only use PS Home for Game Launching and bowling occasionally. Nice to see it getting more functionality & features.

Though I think it probably would've caught a lot of backlash, I'm surprised they didn't use Home as a menu/dashboard of sorts for the PS3 online users... which in turn, would allow cross-talk and custom soundtrack without hopefully imposing on X360's offerings(and royalty payments to Microsoft).

@foxhound Yeah, I totally assumed that's what they were trying to lead up to when they first launched Home. Though I still don't think that would resolve any cross-game chat or custom soundtrack issues. If this generation proved anything, it's though, "Yo dawgs, make sure you put a lot of RAM in your console or you'll regret it later."

@whatisdelicious "it's though" >> "it's that"

@whatisdelicious Home was supposed to be a place for everyone to go to before they started a game, but who in their right mind wants to sit in a crap load of loading just to meet up with friends and THEN launch their game? It's evolved into a social hangout.. game.. thing.. where people do a whole lot of nothing.

As long as they don't remove the ability to Quincy

I love Home and visit it daily. It was nice to meet some international players in the Gamescom space. I hope that Sony makes a permanent international space.

oh god. Home is going to become Myst online.

@benedictm, indeed lol. I use it to play Chest sometimes. Good addition to chatting as well. Its like Yahoo Messenger for Gamers lol.

I just don't want to spend my time in Home. My time is limited enough between 60 hour work weeks and school so I'd rather be playing a game.

I remember when i first tryed Home. the downloading took forever. after i left my apartment i had to sit for another 20 min download and said "screw you" took it off and never tried that again.
still not planning on trying this.

I had Home from the start and checked in on it a few times over the last couple of years and was never impressed with it. Seemed like an idea that went absolutely nowhere.

Are they still going to make us wait in "virtual lines" to use these new rides and games? Worst design choice EVER!

Can we open clubs and stage demonstrations against Capcorn?

@Trilancer

I'll join that one.

I went in there recently for the Dead Island games and it was truly boring. Bunch of avatars hanging around doing nothing, saying stuff to each other like, "LOL whatchu doing, oh nothin, haha, just hanging out, yeah I'm going out tonite" (which I somehow doubt). Then I remembered I had actual games to play on my PS3.

@captplut9465
lol which i somehow doubt xD nice one.

Oh god this means xbox avatar quests cant be far behind -.-

@EvilDrPorkchop
yes please. been badgering major nelson about an xboxHome for a couple years now, never get the answer im lookin for

i go to home just to collect all the free stuff, when im in that mood, and to play blackjack.
im waiting to see what their gonna go with the quests, hopefully they will be short, and wont have to spend too much time in order to complete them

My question is, what will happen to the games and locations already there (like Sodium space), and personal spaces? Will they still be there? I would imagine they would, since they charged people for some of them, but they haven't mentioned anything about that.

"... which Sony hopes will help players get into games and content much quicker than before."

don't they already have a "hub" for this called the XMB?

@eat it

Home games and content, not normal games and content

@Spunky Monkey 190906

When I on there yesterday, there was a separate in-Home XMB with easy access to content.

@captplut9465

That's a navigation XMB and it has the "Latest stuff", if you really want particular stuff, you have to go through the long process of downloading the shopping malls (if you haven't already) then walking to the shop you want (If you can even flipping remember which one it was ¬_¬) and buying from there.

The frustrating thing is that sometimes you see people with clothes or items and you have no frigging clue where they got it from without asking them, so it isn't exactly marketing your items if there is no way to know where they bought it. That's not the fault of the sellers, that's Sony's Home's fault for not putting that system in just to see where someone bought something so that you too can buy it there. TBH, rather then having a shopping mall (except for apartments and furniture) I'd prefer a one stop place with ALL clothes to buy (except for those given away in competitions etc), it would make things far easier, then spaces can concentrate more on things to reel people into buying the games rather then just buying the home stuff :/

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PlayStation Home relaunches this fall with a questing system, themed districts

Reader Comments (85)

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 11:06AM Cavall said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 12:39PM DigitalEmporer said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 1:54PM YourMomsLover said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 11:06AM InkSix said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 11:14AM MrAlex said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 12:06PM InkSix said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 12:38PM MrAlex said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 5:36PM dez said

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Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 11:38AM whatisdelicious said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 12:53PM Committed said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 12:55PM Godslegion said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 3:17PM nightripper said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 11:13AM Goldenspiral said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 12:15PM kentuckyfried said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 3:42PM Epoque said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 4:39PM broken 4th wall said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 11:13AM DokiDokiBawanga said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 11:13AM The Cole Train said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 11:38AM MrAlex said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 1:06PM liquidsoap89 said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 2:06PM MrAlex said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 11:14AM foxhound said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 11:18AM whatisdelicious said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 11:19AM whatisdelicious said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 11:31PM Dcmac said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2011 11:15AM Ryuk said

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