Playstation Home
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=17559" width="480" height="409"/]
The video speaks for itself. Playstation Home, everyone! Full press release after the jump.
TOKYO and SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 7, 2007 – Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) today announced the unveiling of a first-of-its-kind 3D online user community service for the PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system. The service, known as “Home,” will enable users to create their own avatar and explore a real-time virtual community, as if they are playing a detailed 3D game for PS3. The service will become available globally beginning in fall 2007.
Home will be demonstrated at the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, California on March 7 as a key element of SCEI Worldwide Studios’ President Phil Harrison’s keynote presentation titled “Game 3.0: Developing and Creating for the 3rd Age of Videogames.”
Home is a real-time online 3D, networked community available on the PLAYSTATION®Network. It allows PS3 users to interact, communicate, join online games, shop, share private content and even build and show off their own personal spaces to others in real time. Home will be available as a free download from the PLAYSTATION®Store and will launch directly from XMB™ (XrossMediaBar) on PS3.
With an avatar uniquely customized according to each user’s preference, users can explore the 3D community that is Home – a sleek, modern environment featuring spacious common areas; custom spaces dedicated to specific games; and personal apartments. Each user is assigned an apartment in Home where they can invite others to join them as they show off their own style in an area they can personalize themselves with furniture, art and other items – even a different view from their windows. They can also show their personal video, pictures and other digital media content found on their PS3 hard drives in their apartments. Very rich interactive communication with others is achieved through built in text, audio and video chat, along with sophisticated emotional animations for each character.
Sharing continues in the “Hall of Fame,” where users can display new 3D trophies that will be unlocked through in-game milestones for the games they own as well viewing the trophies of other users across the PLAYSTATION Network and for other games they’ve yet to purchase.
“This is a significant step forward in the area of user community services and emergent entertainment experiences,” said Izumi Kawanishi, Corporate Executive and CTO Software, SCEI. “While the 3D graphics demonstrate the power of PS3 and the PLAYSTATION Network, the most impressive feature in Home is the variety of ways in which multiple consumers, as well as our third-party partners, can experience the next generation of communication by interacting and sharing among each other. I feel strongly that this unique blend of community, user-generated content, collaboration and commerce will expand the future of computer entertainment.”
Home will go into a closed beta test this spring with a full launch targeted for later this year. By having a broad range of business partners participate in Home – from 3rd party publishers and developers to brands outside traditional gaming categories – along with a powerful selection of upcoming game software titles for PS3, SCEI will continue to expand the horizons of networked entertainment and vigorously promote PS3 as the next generation computer entertainment platform.
March 7th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Sounds cool I hope most of the extra Downloads are Free. I’ll be hosting all my music and videos at my house, Will send the “Friends code” as soon as I get it
March 8th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
I saw it on t.v and this is going to help Sony pick up alot of sales pluss the settlement with immersion . I knew they had a ace up their sleeve but nope haters kept bashing Lol and a Ps3 Sims world equals crack because those games alway get you hooked . Now we might get rumble back and maybe both it and sixaxis together ,which would be pretty cool . Now who said Sony dont listen to there fans . Everyone Bi*ched about how they miss rumble and now it may be back . Now maybe all the Bi*chin and hatin on the price will make them drop it . we can dream
March 8th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Its not going to be well recieved…
It doesnt matter that its better than Nintendo’s Mii Channel… the fact that its not made by Nintendo, means it will be hated. Even Nintendo’s Mii Channel is nothing more than a gimmick, but no one called it that… The Playstation HOME does it better, but now people are considering calling it a gimmick. The power of the Nintendo name puts glory onto gimmicks.
March 9th, 2007 at 9:36 am
Actually I can see this taking off very well. Some people will spend hours at “home” and just hang out talking or whatever, you have to remember how diverse some groups can be and this will go over well. I know I could spend hours just getting my living space right, with the chairs, tables, misc. stuff. Should be fun-
March 11th, 2007 at 10:04 am
hey the Mii channel will go down!!
March 14th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
The most terrifyng person in the world is ourselves
March 14th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
tun chi tun tun chi