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Home: Feedback led to changes

GameIndustry reports Sony's forthcoming PlayStation Home platform has undergone key changes in the last few months as a result of feedback from users currently engaged in its beta test.

New screens of a recent build of Home, shown to the audience by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's John Venables and Ron Festejo in a session at Imagina 08, demonstrated the new look of what will be every user's first view of the world.

What had been an enclosed room with a large window showing a lush view has now been transformed into a serene outside space, with plenty of room for people to interact, and tables with fully functional chess and draughts games included.

The Theatre itself, while retaining the same functionality, has had all of the screening areas moved down to the ground floor, after feedback from users that the 12 second walk to go upstairs took too long.

Venables and Festejo also revealed that it was now possible to take your avatar out onto a balcony from your own apartment, and that there would be "around eight or nine" different apartments available at launch, although no new details on potential pricing options for the premium apartments were available.

The Imagina 08 conference is taking place in the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, until February 1
Alternative Sources:
Sony outlines Home changes - eurogamer.net | By: Cyrus365
New changes to Home - psu.com | By: Cyrus365
Cyrus365 - contributor
Published: 693 days ago | News | PlayStation 3 | Industry News
 
 

Showing: 1 - 44 of 44 Comments
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Cyrus365 - 693 days ago
1 -
Looks like they'll be alot of home information coming in the next few weeks with this conf, GDC, etc.
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scottie2521 - 692 days 18 hours ago
1.1 - i hope we here something soon
i've been in the beta for months but i barely use it.

they've got alot that still needs to be fixed:

the #1 thing that needs to be changed is the way Home is launched. right now, its launched like a game or demo saved on the HDD. this is a problem because that means you're not in Home automatically, you have to launch it everything you want to go Home. i think there should be an option for those that want to be in Home automactically in between games, meaning Home replaces the XMB. we should be able to switch between the two on the fly.

second, the games in the arcade need to have save the top scores overall and of the person thats currenly playing. also we should have arcade machines in our apartments of the games bought off the PSN.

third, the Theater needs to stream all of the video. currently when you go into the theater you have to wait 5-10mins for the video to start playing. in the Gamespace, video of God of War II and MLB'08 are being streamed constantly. when you come in the room the video is playing and thats how it needs to be in the Theater.

other things needed include: custom music (text-messaging and voice-chat are already there), more games in the Gamespace, and more apartments styles.

i've told them this and more a while ago but this is all i can think of now.......i think i'm gonna copy n paste this and send it to them again.
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rawg - 692 days 17 hours ago
1.2 - Scottie
Everything you said makes me want Home right now, even with the problems you've described. I wish I had been included in the beta...
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scottie2521 - 692 days 17 hours ago
1.3 - @ rawg
don't get me wrong, it is cool but the feeling doesn't last long. i think they should make it as easy as possible for people to go in and out of Home.

the way it is now, whenever there's an update its packed....but after a day or two its empty. it definately catches your attention, it just doesn't keep it and thats what they need to work on.
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MaximusPrime - 693 days ago
2 -
nice to hear some good progress.

Delaying Home is a good move, this helps to make Home better than before.

Looking forward to this conference.
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bRisIE_St4R - 693 days ago
3 -
yeah good, cuz there wasn't much in the beta
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BulletToothtony - 692 days 23 hours ago
3.1 - hey star
where have you been, partying too much? haven't seen you on the site for like 3 months..
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Mattearl - 693 days ago
4 - we need something....
yeah... its only been about 3 months since we've heard ANYTHING about home. Just news like this every so often would be much better then nothing, imho.

But looks great, can't wait!
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kingOVsticks - 693 days ago
5 - home region free?
I really hope that they have home so you can go to any country like japan for example and learn about each other cultures and gaming interest. If sony did that then they would have done something no gaming company has done before, make the world seem small
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MaximusPrime - 693 days ago
5.1 -
i think it will be region locked.
There will be NA server, EU server etc etc.
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-EvoAnubis- - 692 days 23 hours ago
5.2 -
As someone else said, there will be different servers and you'll start at the one for your region, but you can always bust out the virtual PSP and go to any server that you want to.
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mintaro - 693 days ago
6 -
12 second walk was too long? oh well cant wait for it to be released
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UnblessedSoul - 693 days ago
7 -
Theres seperate region servers but I believe you can switch whenever you want
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kingOVsticks - 692 days 23 hours ago
7.1 - @UnblessedSoul
yeah I kinda figured that 2 cuz i made multiple accounts anyway but it would be fullofawesome if u register for your server then when ever you please you go on like idk a virtual plane or sumtin and you go to spain and you'll have like a flag icon above your head showing where your from what language you etc and like you chit chat or play some games. I think that would really help break culturally blockades and make gaming even more diverse then it already is.
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PStriple703 - 693 days ago
8 -
there's no place like home
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Mr_Showtime1 - 692 days 23 hours ago
9 - I am really...
really looking forward to home, its one of the reasons why im extremly excited for my ps3 this year rather than my 360 or wii, cant wait for it to roll out!

Btw, im totally digging this gamer zone, its nice to be able to comment on games with having someone hurl abuse in return lol
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whoelse - 692 days 23 hours ago
10 -
I will be happy to give some feedback!

Must they must give us the open beta first!
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-EvoAnubis- - 692 days 23 hours ago
11 - Spring 2008 release?
I'd really like to see that happen, but I'm not holding my breath.

But again, if it does . . . very exciting times. Even if they just added more people to the beta . . . Hell, I'd do it . . . that'd be okay for me.
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JohnRico - 692 days 23 hours ago
12 -
They promised two times an Open Beta & failed to deliver. They should either put up or shut up. Especially since we have not heard from Phil Harrison since the day he promised an Open Beta. Obviously he is cowering away in his office at Sony.
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-EvoAnubis- - 692 days 23 hours ago
12.1 - *chuckles*
Yeah, you're right about that. If memory serves, we were supposed to see an open beta at the end of '07, and somehow I don't recall that happening.

All will be forgiven when it finally comes out though.

@ Dark Sniper: That'd be stupid. Sony needs to get this service out as soon as humanly possible, before the holiday season starts and the heavy hitters come into play. That way, you already have the service up, devs can get a chance to see what the full Home experience is like and figure how to intergrade their games into it (like making social areas for MGS4 or something), and it'd give them more things to advertise for the holidays (no more "Home is coming soon....we think." It'd be, "Home is out. Right now. People are on it. Right now.")

Waiting would be a mistake.
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DarkSniper - 692 days 23 hours ago
12.2 -
All will be forgiven once Home is released. However Dark Sniper cant help but to think that Sony will try to play it's cards in a particular period of the year. Which is either fall or winter. This may result in Sony strategically delaying Home until they decide on when they want to hit their stride.

Dark Sniper wouldnt put it past Sony to hit gamers with everything at once, MGS, Home, Resistance 2, Killzone 2, Little Big Planet, Haze, US DUAL SHOCK 3 release, etc. all from September to the end of 2008.

$niper
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xionpunk - 692 days 23 hours ago
13 -
I think home was a great idea. As long as you can customize the hell out of your stuff, it should do pretty well. Plus its free.
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Doctor Strange - 692 days 23 hours ago
14 -
I can't wait to mess around with Home too and its good to see them taking the complaints and suggestions from beat users and implementing them to make Home better.

I think this will be a hit since you can invest as much time or as little to do what you want.
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zonetrooper5 - 692 days 23 hours ago
15 -
Wanna see what all the hype is about.
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richierich - 692 days 23 hours ago
16 -
Is there still going to be an open beta?
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Lord_Ash - 692 days 23 hours ago
17 -
As long as they are improving the service then I don't mind the delay, but if the delay of home means the delay of In-game XMB then I do mind.
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rexor0717 - 692 days 23 hours ago
18 - I think Ive said this before....
Im glad they are having delays if it means progress. Once its out, it will be great. But I heard that alot of the Home features will be accessible from the XMB...is this true? Like trophy viewing?
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-EvoAnubis- - 692 days 19 hours ago
18.1 - Correct.
All those features will indeed be available via the XMB, w/o having to actually go into Home.
19 eddierivera | 692 days 23 hours ago - User only got 1 bubble - Show
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undacovabrothe - 692 days 22 hours ago
20 - Any1 has beta?
I wondering if any1 has the closed beta and is currently in it. If so ... add me on psn my id is same as this id for the site.
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scottie2521 - 692 days 18 hours ago
20.1 - i am
add me PSN: MikeG115
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JBaby343 - 692 days 21 hours ago
21 - As A PS3 Owner
I'm worried about the launch of Home. Everybody connecting and being on at once suddenly could lead to big problems. I know they are planning for this and taking lots of extra time to get it right but it only takes one glitch to shut it all down. Here's hoping that when it finally does go live it will handle all the people.
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EastCoastSB - 692 days 21 hours ago
22 -
I just wanna see the achievement/trophy system...I'm addicted to that kinda stuff. lol
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RecSpec - 692 days 21 hours ago
23 -
I'm worried about Home, if it is anything like Animal Crossing, my personal life is royally f***ed. Goodbye free time...
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totao - 692 days 20 hours ago
24 -
well the beta ends 3/31/2008 so hopefully they'll have a release date by the time gdc arrives
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Tempist - 692 days 19 hours ago
25 -
For the love of gaud, I hope they don't plaster the home universe with Ads. That would really suck. Suck a lot.

All and all, if it does indeed come out in spring... well, cya there.
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OMGLOLZ - 692 days 18 hours ago
25.1 - Yeah! Ads suck! Fight the man!
What are you, twelve?

Here are Sony's options:

A)Make you pay for home.
B)Scrap the project.
C)Make you look at "Axe Body Spray" ads while giving you a free service.

I dunno about you but I'm really feeling that last one. How many times have in-game ads stopped the game from being fun?

I bet when you played the Burnout Demo your loading screen was an advertisement for trojan condoms right? No, it was a damned billboard which you didn't even see because you were too busy driving headfirst into walls.

FOOL
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cr33ping_death - 692 days 18 hours ago
26 -
"after feedback from users that the 12 second walk to go upstairs took too long." damn lol come on people.....really? i cant wait for HOME but a 12 second walk being to long?.....lol too funny
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QuackPot - 692 days 16 hours ago
27 - Home should be...
A better version of Second Life or Sims or RPG that also doubles as a virtual meeting place for gamers to brag, chat and play.

Character Avatars from popular games should have been allowed...especially from games that Sony owns.

Also, users should have been allowed to purchase land to build their own homes/estates.

Also users should have been able to build or purchase shops to sell their own products from....virtual world. EBAY so to spec.

So many obvious things that Sony could do with HOME to make it the ultimate online place to hang out in.

Just delay, delay, delay and get it RIGHT !!
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Lancey77 - 692 days 14 hours ago
28 - 40 -
Im part of the Beta trial but fail to see why they done this as there are so few and far between updates on the Beta I can honestly say that people not on are not missing much.

Oh Im new BTW so be gentle and hello everyone.......1st post
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Iron Man 2 - 692 days 13 hours ago
29 -
I don't really care much for HOME TBH,I just want to play the games coming out this year(MGS4,Resistance 2,Killzone 2,LBP etc.);)
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timmyp53 - 692 days 9 hours ago
30 - Thats good news.
Sony making it as user-frinedly as possible.
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creeping judas - 692 days 8 hours ago
31 - ok am I
the only one who read "potential pricing options for the premium apartments". Does this mean that anything you do apart from the basics Sony is going to charge for? I thought this was supposed to be free?
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joe382 - 692 days 6 hours ago
31.1 -
I read it. It might be that you buy them with 'money' u earn from games ?
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