Sony confirms full Home coming to PS3 this fall - Will it outdo Xbox Live?
By Dave Parrack
Playstation Home is coming to the PS3 this fall (or autumn for the non-Americans reading), but will it be worth the wait, and give PS3 owners the chance to ram Xbox Live down the throats of all their Xbox 360-owning friends once and for all, or a complete and utter disappointment?
Owners of all three current-gen consoles will have probably heard of Playstation Home, and have their own thoughts on the oft-delayed service.
Wii owners probably couldn’t give two hoots about it, as they don’t really have an online service to compete, and are probably not too bothered about what is happening with rival consoles anyway. Xbox 360 owners will be smug that the service still hasn’t seen the light of day after three years in the making, and will be happily playing on Xbox Live in the meantime. Playstation 3 owners, on the other hand, seem to see Home as the second coming, and will defend Sony, and the delays for all they’re worth. They also think that once it does finally arrive, it is likely to be an Xbox Live-beater, but will it?
We here at Blorge have been pretty critical of Playstation Home so far, mainly because its been so long in the making, and delayed more times than I’ve received lap-dances in Grand Theft Auto 4, that it’s been a huge disappointment so far. But it could be brilliant in the end, and if the comments here on the matter are anything to go by, PS3 owners are certainly convinced.
The good news is that Home is still scheduled to be released in the fall, with Eric Lempel, Sony’s PlayStation Network director confirming the date to Next-Gen. He told them in a recent interview:
The Home open beta is still on schedule for release later this fall. The reason we’ve been delaying [Home] is so that we can deliver a high quality service that the users will enjoy. Even though it will be in beta, it will be a fair representation of what the service can be and its potential, so it won’t be a 0.5 release, it will be a fully robust service.
So, while still a beta, there is a fully-fledged working model of Home just months away. Some people who have visited the current beta model of Home have been disappointed with it, but that seems to be because of the lack of other people present. Populate Home with every PS3 owner in the world who is connected to the Internet, and the whole thing could become the place to be.
If Sony can also fix the slow-loading environments, and add all the features which have been rumoured for so long, then Home could become a must-see service rather than the white elephant it currently is, and that Sony probably wished it had never bothered with.
And then, and only then, could it outdo Xbox Live, which has been an innovation that probably makes the Xbox 360 an essential purchase all on its own. If Home does prove to be as brilliant as it could be, will it do the same for the PS3?
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Tips N4G
July 6th, 2008
I havent receievd an invite yet because its ONLY Americans who are allowed to beta test. GET IT TOGETHER SONY.bastards
July 6th, 2008
when it comes out, it’l be great. one of the biggest plus’s is being able to meet ur whole clan in a service that everyone has (instead of meeting everyone in one single game)
July 6th, 2008
I’m a Wii owner and I’m primarily more excited about the Wii’s prospects over the next 12 months. But uhhh, I gotta turn the PS3 on. Cause I wants me some home. And I still gotta finish MGS4.
Hell yeah I want a more comprehensive online service for the Wii! I’d even settle for something like the Mario Kart Channel for all games.
July 6th, 2008
How about they fix the 2.40 bricking problem before they release home?
How come blorge hasn’t reported the 2.40 problem anyway? It is a major issue. Putting your head in the sand is not going to make it go away!
July 6th, 2008
actually the 2.40 didnt have a problem at first..then it started to..now they are fixing it…..no problem at all
July 6th, 2008
I’m planning on getting a PS3 soon (I have a 360 from slight before launch day), and I really don’t see the allure of this Home thing. I’ve looked at it, and it seems to be more of a technological showcase than a entertainment device. I think its just showing off, mostly. I can’t wait to get a PS3 and my new HDTV, but I won’t get it for Home. It’ll be mostly for Blu-Ray and MGS4. Maybe Resistance 2, but I dunno.
July 6th, 2008
I been digging the concept for years, but its kinda like waiting for a girl to take her top off, yeah the more talk and sudden interest make it exciting, but after 3 years, that other girl with the nice cleavage is more promising Wait…time for my meds.
July 7th, 2008
@ Matt. How can you say there is no problem? The update being pulled definitely seems like a problem to me….
July 7th, 2008
Maybe, maybe not
July 7th, 2008
If the firmware/patch get pulled….that means there is a problem me thinks….. or Sony just likes to tease ??
July 9th, 2008
actually they did fix the problem if u get on now (if u haven’t been on in 2 days) then u will see that they made 2.41 which is 2.40, just without the bugs. and i have also been researching home for approximatly 3 years, it does seem like a big deal, if u actually own a ps3 system. on the other hand if only 1,000 americans that own a ps3 buy it, then it will suck. and ps3 online already beats Xbox live because Xbox keeps on charging u $50 dollars a year after u originally buy it, but since it’s only $50 dollars u won’t even notice the $50 drop in income. But with the rising gas prices, anyone that reads this is probably completely pissed off at Microsoft. its not my fault though, i completely protest against microsoft ever since i found that out.
July 9th, 2008
oh and they fixed the problem roughly around 9:00 PM so if u were on on the 7th, u would have gotten the notice at around that time.
August 25th, 2008
I THINK HOME IS GOING TO BE FUN ALL YOUR FRIENDS GATHERING TOGETHER TO MEET AND HAVE PARTYS AND LISTIN TO MUSIC. WELL ANY WAY I CANT WAIT TO PLAY SOME MOVIES IN MY HOUSE IT’S LIKE A HOME AWAY FROM HOME. AND PETS FORGET ABOUT IT THIS BLOWS XBOX 360 OUT OF THE WATER AND WITH MGS4 I DON’T DOUT IT.