50% of American PS3 owners use Home

While critics are quick to pan Home, recent stats reveal the platform to be shockingly popular, especially in the United States. Buser revealed that over 4 million Americans actively use Home, which very roughly represents half of the PS3's total user base in the States.

[shadowfox]

I am not one of those 4 million lol. Haven't touched it since they launched it last year.

[NewZealander]

me too, i checked it out once or twice, but it just seemed pointless, dont think ill be going back any time soon.

[Tinted Eyes]

bu bu bu Who uses Home??? Is teh suxorz!!

[Darkeyes]

Hmm.. Should I look it as glass half full or half empty? Either ways, I hope Sony adds in more features to attract more users. Home game launch sounds good to create hype. Hopefully some social networking site integration in the future might rope in more users.

[Silellak]

I checked it out shortly after I got my PS3 in August, but honestly haven't felt the need to log in again since then.

I have enough PS3 games to play for months to come, and from what I can tell, Home does very little to fascilitate my game playing experience.

[raztad]

It's ok if some of you dont use/dont like Home, others do. Home is somehow like N4G, a place for social interaction except that N4G is way more sterile, every second "wasted" for any of us posting or reading comments here is less time for gaming, at least from Home people can Launch online games, play some mini games or just hang around with virtual friends.

Home is a absolute success for Sony and I bet you MS will bring something similar to Xbox Live gold.

[darthv72]

there just isnt anything compelling me to come back day after day. The game space idea is cool. I really wish they would make a theme park space. Take me little guy on a roller coaster or bumper cars. Maybe go into a HUGE kick a** acrade with hundreds of old school games that you DONT need to purchase to play in home.

I do find it odd that there isnt anything else you can do with your avatar OTHER than home. You would think sony would make a game or two that lets you take the virtual person and put them at the wheel of the car in modnation racers or be on a game show like environment with a psn version of buzz or something.

Maybe those things are coming but I sure would like to see something more to do than walk around. The game launching is cool though.

[frostypants]

It's not that Home is BAD, per se. In fact it's pretty cool, if you want pure social interaction (i.e., a chat room). It's just unnecessary from a gaming perspective, as the base XMB works just fine for level of interaction required for that.

Though I don't use Home much, I do see its importance in the long run. I see it as a sort of live R&D/alpha testing for the PS4's online community.

[gaffyh]

I used it a few times for the arcade, but I can see why some people would be interested in it. I find it kinda pointless personally.

[gauntletpython]

Great concept, poor execution. If Home would have launched like it is now, the whole thing could have taken off much quicker.

[sikbeta]

I never use Home, but I read that is changing and become in a good feature, with mini-games and stuff, maybe is time to try

[Darkstorn]

The only thing worth doing in Home is playing Chess, but there are always idiots who try to get in your way.

[Blaze929]

cant say I'm one of those 50% either. I haven't used HOME since Resident Evil 5's game launching was added.

[Milky Joe]

All you people saying Home is pointless and that you haven't been on in months... try it.

I love Home, it's great for just wasting a bit of time with mates and there's something new pretty much every time I go on.

I'm fed up of people saying it's 'pointless'. It's not pointless, you just don't appreciate it for what it is.

[Godmars290]

Lots of games in Home you don't have to pay for, but it is too much to ask that classic arcade games get handed out for free as well. Especially when they're 3rd party.

Seriously, people complain about PSN being free but then they want free crap.

[Bodyboarder_VGamer]

You know what's funny? I have a friend that bought a PS3 just for Home and that's the only thing he does with it. lol

Every time I see him online he is always in Home, and I mean, ALWAYS. I really don't know what he finds so entertaining about it.

[Rigmaster]

Wow, this is some serious ownage by Sony.

Home is absolutely incredible - but only if you aren't some anti-social retard.

The fear it generates is understandable. Microsoft has been forcing Xbox owners to pay 50 dollars a year just to be allowed to play games online and all they managed to do with that hundred of millions of dollars in online fees was a creepy copy of Nintendo's Mii avatars.

While Sony has been providing free online with dedicated servers and managed to create this massive and insanely cool online world with over 8 million people online in only the first 10 months.

It should be obvious why the gaming media and so many people are so desperate to trash the amazing service out of jealously and fear.

You really have to wonder why Microsoft isn't learning from Sony's massive success with Home and the PS3 online service:

* Free online play for all

* Dedicated servers for lagfree online play

* Massive online game sizes like 64 for R2 and 256 for MAG for epic battles

* And the incredible Home online world that is growing at an insane rate with both userbase and exclusive content from developers and publishers

Sony is showing Microsoft how to do online gaming right. Why isn't Microsoft learning from Sony.

[randomwiz]

I like the idea of home, i log on occasionally to see new spaces. Last time i logged in was when the Audi space was released.

Home is seeing huge numbers of users. Sony could make a lot of money off of advertising in Home. I bet Audi viewed Home as advertising potential, which is why they took time to make a Home space.

[SupaPlaya]

is the loading times between each area, and the fact that each update require you to re-download all spaces (at least it was true when I used it last, like 3 months ago).

What would really help is more exclusive content and events for Home so people who's interested in gaming but not chatting have more incentive to visit Home regularly.

Something like: "Join our Uncharted 2 launch event. Find all the clues and get a chance to win our super duper special edition of UC2".

[badz149]

and it's free! but for someone like me who has only little time for gaming, how can I afford going HOME when there are lots and lots of great games yet to be played?

[frostypants]

To those who say Home ISN'T kind of pointless, it's because you're using it as a social outlet. Those of us who do most of our socializing in the real world (no offense) just don't get much out of it. I was just on 2 weeks ago, and frankly I'm still not that impressed. Who the hell is actually paying real life money for virtual t-shirts and virtual decorative foyer tables?! What's wrong with you? Wtf?! Sorry, but as of now it's just a corporatized "Second Life" with nicer visuals, a butt-ton of load screens, and gaggles of newly pubescent boys fawning over every female avatar they see hanging out by the virtual clothing store, seeing who can call the other a f** the most in hopes of winning her affections.

I love Sony, I really do. But not Home. The direction the technology for Home is going is hopeful, but to those of you saying we don't appreciate Home for what it is in its current state, I would say that you need to appreciate its current limitations and the fact that many of us may have been around the block enough to just not be all that impressed.

[josuttis]

@frostypants

Says the guy posting on a Net social media site...

The fact that your ironic post was filled with an attempt at condescension made it even more hilarious.

[frostypants]

You just inadvertently implied that Home is just a discussion forum with fancy graphics.

I actually disagree. It's a far cry from a topical discussion forum. It's more like a general text chat forum, but it tries to simulate real life with avatars. That's what I find pointless. Don't you get enough of that in the real world? Maybe I'm asking the wrong person, because you apparently equate it to a simple thread engine (yet attack me for apparently not seeing how awesome it is...that's true irony).

What part of what I said wasn't true? Don't just get defensive. Prove me wrong.

[NoBias]

But what it's become is pretty much Perv Central. Mass amount of male avatars huddled around any female one. It's corny and sad...

[Lifendz]

and was so peeved at having wasted the time necessary to quit and get back to the XMB.

I hear it's better now, but I just have no interest in it. I still maintain my position that I would have preferred some feature we can use while playing games over Home.

[Danja]

I personally love Home... Great way to meet new gamers and play some free mini games .

To everyone saying they tried home a few times and then stopped using it....Home isn't a game I don't think you can just try something like home twice and then say its pointless ... That's where you guys went wrong ...

Either way its a great social app for gamers with a lot of content being added and it can only get better as time goes on

Kudos to Sony

[barom]

I go in there every now and then. Some of the newer spaces are pretty cool but some are still pretty dumb and useless. I love the EA Sports and Godfather space, and also dig the Buzz. the Xi stuff or whatever it's called was pretty cool but I guess they took it down somewhere along, which I can't quite understand since if I were to be spending time in Home I would've gone for that.

[kewlkat007]

I wonder what they mean by "USE" like go in dance a little then exit?

I wonder how much hours do some spend in there..actually doing stuff and not chasing weird characters.

[George Sears]

Was going to try it out but I hate that I have to redownload spaces from time to time. I understand the updates but I don't like that I have to constantly redownload the mall, theater RE5 space etc.

[Szarky]

Deleted mine a little while ago. Who has time for it? So many games to play right now. I'd rather be gaming than running around with a bunch of fruit loops wearing digital clothes they bought.

[FunAndGun]

I think it is a great application and the potential is overwhelming, but it just takes too long to load and roam around in home. If it was more integrated and connected faster, I would be more inclined to click on the icon. Normally I scroll over to it in the XMB, think about it for a second, then realize that I don't want to wait for all the loading.

[TheTeam06]

It's just that some people don't realize that PlayStation Home is like the PlayStation 3 itself. It continues to evolve over time.

The PlayStation Home you visited last month will be a different Home the next month. It's ever-changing and very dynamic, which gives users a feeling of realism.

I went to college in September, and recently came back to visit this past weekend. Home feels TOTALLY different from when I was last there. If you don't like it now, try again later. And if you know you won't like it, that's cool, too. It's just an app.

[xoxideu]

http://www.joystiq.com/2009...

[SmokeyMcBear]

seriously... I didnt go into home for a good couple of months and was blown away by how much they added to the app. I actually broke down and paid 2 bucks for a picture frame and now have bikini clad babes in my apt... lame.. i know.. i couldnt help it. So many damn rooms now, each with a little 10-15 min time wasting mini game... you drop a couple of hours and not really know it. My only real gripe is that if you havent tried it out for a while.. then you will literally have to download every single room again because they all have changed. It doesnt help the people have to wait for rooms to download... but the background downloading is a plus

[D4RkNIKON]

I agree, HOME is a great place to kill some time. The new movie theater is one of my favorite newer features. There are like 10 different theaters with different content, I go in the same time with a few friends and we watch together and chat. When we sit in the seats it reminds me of that show mystery science theater haha

[Redempteur]

That's it ..!!

Home changes very two weeks if you spent months not coming .. you're sure it will have changed ..( i don't know how much time i wasted on the buzz mini games ) but right now i'm enjoying the sing star rooms quite much ...

[ReconHope]

Canadian figures because I have a lot of friends from our friends up north.

[Rifle-Man]

Really? I had no idea.

I was into it for awhile. Mostly I just trash-talked people while bowling and did the old "Hey, come dance with me, I'm a chick!" and then changed into a fat dude.

It was fun for a few weeks.

[gauntletpython]

I had entirely way too much fun doing that.

[frostypants]

This is one reason why I don't like it...LOL. How many sad suckers did you rope in with that?

[frugalfrak]

Home was fun for like 3 minutes. Why would I want to go to a theatre to watch game trailers. How about entice me with real movies I can watch. Give them credit for the Uncharted content, it was very well designed. Just not fun. The arcade was ok, and I like to collect things but I don't want to pay for a couch.

[TheTeam06]

That's exactly what I was talking about. When was the last time you visited Home? Because if you tried it for three minutes when it first released, you should see it now.

It's a big theater lobby like the one in Europe, and each auditorium has different videos, not trailers. The Soup, Criss Angel's Mindfreak, US Army Rangers and even Ice Age has made appearances in the theater.

They are currently working deals so that movies can be shown, full-length in the Theater for free.

[orangeback]

home is okay... but i rather spend all my time playin all new ps3 exlusives.

[Iceman100]

lol yeah right well here is one person that will never use it.

[ReBurn]

I actually removed it. I was in the beta before it became public and it didn't really get any better after it became public. Some folks like it I guess, but it just wasn't for me.

[SmokeyMcBear]

I find it utterly hilarious to read comments on home based on what it was within a month or 2 of the public beta start. Oh man has the application changed since then. Virtually every single home space has some sort of mini game.. with buzz and siren being the best of the bunch.. imho. Every single time I log into home.. its always chock full of people. Even the theatre has some great behind the scenes interviews and extra content not available anywhere else.

[JonnyBigBoss]

It's for the casuals, but I enjoy it too.

[Captain Tuttle]

Define "actively use".

[Captain Tuttle]

lol

[ZombieAutopsy]

I tried all the little games in home, played some poker, and havent signed back on in about 5 or 6 months. Home is a good investment for Sony because people will pay for virtual cloths/homes and such which will bring them in some money but i dont think anythign they do will ever get me to sign back onto it.

too the fairy that disagree. Im so sorry you know what i do more than myself, please come forward so i know who to ask what i think the next time i think i know.

[foreverflame]

And 50% dont buy games on the ps3

[The gaming GOD]

Why are the WORLDWIDE numbers so close? And why don't you look at some recent multi platform games. The ps3 multi's are getting very close and even beating the 360 in some sales. Tomb raider and Batman ring a bell?

[OmarJA]

Only 54.2% of 360s in the world are functioning.

[ambientFLIER]

OmarJ you idiot, if you're going to troll, at least do it right. 100% total - 54.2% rrod = 45.8% functioning.

[Theoneneo81]

Home is getting better i usally check out home every update for a hour or 2 but Home needs to have Open voice chat back asap and ill be in there alot more.

[Captain Tuttle]

Sounds great.

[Redempteur]

No since the open voice chat was disabled .. everyone can enjoy home ... Beside you won't find a online community without idiots inside ..

[Jeff257]

Im one of those who actually uses Home. Ive definitely been on it a lot more since they added the Universal Game Launching back in. Its not really that bad of a place. Usually can find other good gamers to chat with or just check out what is new and play some good mini games.

[ambientFLIER]

Only 8 million ps3 owners in the US? Wow, I thought it was more than that...what's the total install base?

I never even went on home with mine. I have games sitting unplayed from last year, so I definitely don't have the time for gay line dancing in front of locked doors.

[chrisulloa]

lol, kinda reminds me of Second Life. I'd rather play some actual games.

[PLAYSTATIONGENRATION]

I like it...it still needs something but for gathering and meeting new people who play the same game u do it is fun..they need more rooms the bigger games and even niche games like demon souls

[beavis4play]

i enjoy bowling, the arcade, the different spaces with game themes. (like uncharted and resistance) the silent hill hospital mini-game is ok.

but, i LOVE the red bull air race. flying those planes through the course is cool.

[Serial_EDX]

I use it, its kinda fun really. XD when I get bored of some of my games I go into home and just chill out with random people.

Wish they would bring a special event to the US like they did with Miku in Japan though. ^.^ That would be awesome.

[ultimolu]

I really like Home. Need to get back to it eventually.

[CAPT IRISH]

i hate home

[shutupandplay]

Home, lol. Just another overhyped FAILURE. Shame on whoever uses it.
1 vs 100 LIVE >>>>>>> Home.

[OmarJA]

1 vs. who?

[ambientFLIER]

1 vs. 100

[N4G king]

LOL

you keep telling your self
it my hapens sometime

[kevinx1000]

it already happened....

[N4G king]

yah you too
and by the way

they are not even the same thing dumb ass
home = social network
1 vs 100 = a crapy generic game that's trying to be BUZZ
and its not even an exclusive that thing is on the DS too

[kevinx1000]

i love your droid logic.
every racing game is wanabe/stolen gran turismo
every quiz game is a wanabe/stolen buzz

...every shooter is a wanabe doom?

and keep telling myself what? that 1 VS 100 will come to the 360?
it already has.
That live is >>> than home?
it was since launch. PSN has been trying to catch up for years, copying every bit of the 360 and live.

[R3DD]

i was the one that would say i never get on home. But now i do just not everyday. Im more of the "hardcore" gamer my wife on the other hand is a "social gamer" so it works perfect for her...lol. They do add a space or two every so often, and they are bringing new events in alot more, more devs are joining in as well. It is getting bigger. I think later on in time there will be something for everyone to do on home. Well only with the ppl with a PS3 i mean..lol.

[dkgshiz]

Due to the fact you people never leave N4G. Thats the living :)

[UrbanJabroni]

I hate to use empirical evidence, but this just doesn't seem to add up. Of the literally hundreds of developers with PS3s where I work, not one of them used home beyond the initial "check it out" stage, and even on this site you'll notice that even the majority of very-pro PS3 users don't seem to touch it. So either there is this huge demographics of PS3 users that I'm not seeing either in the wild or through survey responses, or the definition of "active" is off.

I'm not saying Home is bad, and yes it is free and all, but I just can't fathom where these people are...the article does say 4 million "users", so the only thing I can imagine that there are _some_ very active households with quite a few accounts/people that may use home regularly.

[Ldubbz]

I do have a fair amount of friends with a PS3, and not a single one I know of has ever checked it out, myself included. I personally dont see the appeal, but hey its free

[DevilWillCry289]

Home is just for the social network lovers. Im not oneof those so think its pointless. I just dont get why these people like it so much. Its just a waste of time and money. Just because you have a ps3 means that you have to use andlike everything it offers. I personally think game launching is pointless. Why would you want to get in Home just to look for people to play with? You do that when you play online. By the way, its way faster to look for people in a matchmaking to play in a game, than getting in Home and looking for someone. Most people dont use Home to look for others to play, they use it to chat with others. Theres 99% you wont find someone to play with in Home.

[TwistedMetal]

I like unlocking stuff, getting trophies and maximizing my ps3 experience. Also doing all this home stuff, psn stuff, playstation forum stuff and getting trophies has allowed me to get into every beta this gen for the ps3. The mini games and stuff are fun in home as well and some of them are different experiences that I never had before like text adventure games and othere cool little games in there. also playeing poker is fun becuase it s like real life. They need to create an open world type environment for the blueray released poker games where its got tables and everything set up like that for an official torunament or something so people can walk around in the game world and look at othere peoples matches etc without all the menus. Its more realistic that way.

[RAM MAGNUMS]

I love that they added the in game camera for home!
I also love that HOME has universal game launching which means I never have to disconnect form home.

I love the singstar space and XI and the theathre.
But most of all the reason I love HOME is because it reminds me and gets me into the mood to play games. I get excited and i like talking to people on HOME.

Its FUN if you know what youre doing.

I suspect the guys who dont really enjoy home are from the uk. i must admit I visited that HOME and it was really dry and boring but arent all brits that way anyway? LOL just kidding but still... The american HOME is POPPIN!

[djfullshred]

Checked it out, wandered around. I have zero interest to log on to it again. I'd rather just play games on the box, and launch them the old fashion way...insert disc, start playing.