Home away from home

Sony have gone and done something I never thought possible. They have made me take an interest in their PS3 console!

At the recent Games Developers Conference, Sony announced the upcoming format of its PS3 online community, simply called “Home”. Sony have learned from Microsoft’s hugely successful “Xbox Live” approach, and decided to take a quantum leap forward. Reminiscent of the website “Secondlife.com”, “Home” is an online virtual world, created by Sony and populated by its PS3 gamers. Each gamer is represented by a detailed and fully customisable 3D person (or avatar). The look of each avatar can be modified to such an extent that the end result will be a fairly good approximation of the gamer themselves.

Gamers (using their avatars) can interact with each other through a wide variety of ways. There is straightforward chatting using Bluetooth headsets. Text can be entered through a USB keyboard, virtual onscreen keyboard or via onscreen “QuickText” (pre-prepared short messages), or simply by user-friendly emoticons.

Sony have created a number of areas and rooms for gamers to congregate in. The largest of these is The “Central Lounge”. The “Games Space” is an area choc full of free mini-games. There is also a “Hall of Fame” where gamers keep and display (publically or privately) 3D trophies representing their gaming achievements. The list of these will no doubt expand as the service itself gains in momentum. Sony has also stated that the graphical quality of its virtual world will increase over time.

Each gamer has their very own private residence called “Apartment Space”. Other gamers can only enter when invited. Like the game “The Sims”, a persons home can be modified to suit your own style and taste and furniture can even be purchased to make your home your own :D

Gamers can upload their own music, pictures and movies to their virtual home from their PS3 hard drive or memory stick. If you were to invite other gamers into your virtual house, they can then enjoy your music being played through your virtual stereo or your videos played through your virtual TV. The extent of your virtual existence is really quite terrifying!

The service will be rolled out in a Beta version over the next month and the final product will be released later in the year. For more information on “Home”, visit:

PS3.ign.com

With the introduction of “Home”, I really do believe we are making the next tentative steps towards online communities as seen in shows like “Ghost in the Shell”. And the nerd in me welcomes such a move :D