PlayStation Home (OFFICIAL TOPIC)

Harwood Butcher · March 18, 2007

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.

[Mar. 7, 2007](Original Source)

Screenshots (Click Images to enlarge)

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 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, along with an expansive catalog of upcoming game software titles for PS3, SCEI will continue to enhance the new world of entertainment and vigorously promote PS3 as the next generation computer entertainment platform.

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 achievements, as well as real time score rankings in PS3 games.

(Original Source)

Making your own personalized 3D character or avatar. These realistic human characters are highly customizable with different body types, skin tones, ages, clothing and accessories, creating a unique personality for each user.
Exploring the 3D community that is Home – a sleek, modern indoor space featuring spacious common areas, retail shops, game lobbies and extensible, customizable personal apartments.
Communicating with others through text, audio and video chat, along with sophisticated emotional animations for each character.
Being assigned an apartment in Home where others can be invited to join you as you show off your own style in an area you can personalize yourself with furniture, art and other items. You can even show your video, pictures and music content stored on your PS3 hard drive.
“Hall of Fame,” where you can display new 3D trophies that will be unlocked through in-game milestones in PS3 games.
Players craft their own individual experience. There’s not just one way to play.
Unlimited possibilities for user-created content – players can customize everything: their characters, the landscape around them and their own “patch” on LittleBigPlanet.
Players discover and win new skills and items to aid them on their creative journey.
Online and offline multiplayer modes – work as a team or get competitive.

[Mar. 12, 2007](Original Source)

Beta Details: BETA UNDERWAY

Home Information:

The Home closed beta is scheduled to kick off in April with 15,000 users. This first stage of the beta will run through August, at which point it will enter the open beta phase and open up to approximately 50,000 users. The free service, which Sony is trying to get under 500MB in size, is scheduled to go live in October.

The Central Lounge, which is a starting point for virtual meet-and-greets, will have a cap of 64 concurrent users. Like online chat rooms, there will be several active Central Lounges on the network to accommodate users.

Though currently PS3-only, Sony is hoping to expand Home to be accessed by the PlayStation Portable and mobile phones, but admits it will be limited access. Sony did not say what features will be accessible or when other devices could connect to Home.

Currently, meeting someone in Home and then playing a multiplayer game with them requires both parties to exit Home and enter the game manually, but Sony says that eventually, everything will be seamless. Likewise, Home will eventually become accessible directly through a game that is being played.

At the present time, Home is not a persistent world. Gamers can not visit their friends' apartments unless their friends are logged in. "We are working on the persistent aspect of Home, and expect to implement it in the long term," says the note.

Among the other tidbits of information: users will be able to make money through online user-to-user auctions, there will be no child avatars, and lobbies will likely be localized and divided by region.

Screenshot Gallary (Click on images to enlarge)

NOTE: Videos may be processing

MORE INFO, PICS AND VIDEOS COMING SOON!!!

Home Q&A (PDF Format) Download/View	NOTE: The entire document can be viewed below. The official document is still up for downloading at right for those that still want the offical document


Home™ Development Q&A Wed 7th March 2007

General Features

Q: What is Home™?

Home™ is a real-time 3D, networked community that serves as a meeting

place for PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) users from around the world, where they

can interact, communicate, join online games, shop, share content and even

build and show off their own personal spaces. Home will be available as a

free download from the PLAYSTATION®Store and will launch directly from

the PS3 XMB™ (XrossMediaBar).

Q: What is the target demographic of Home users?

Home is for everybody. It is a global platform and the aim is to populate it with

a broad and rich content experience, the diversity of which will create a broad

and diverse community of users.

Q: How do consumers use it?

For the user, Home is a new experience in social networking. It’s a way to

meet new friends online, or hang out with old friends and family. It’s also a

rich media experience outside of the fundamental game-based activities on

PS3. It will reside on the XMB between Game and Network.

Q: What features does it have?

Communication between users, creation and customisation of your own

personal avatar, creation and customisation of your own personal space.

Ability to share media with friends, and to experience media from publishers.

Users will be able to benefit from game matchmaking, search facilities,

seamless transition between game and Home.

Q: What is the timeline for rollout?

Closed Beta (appx. 15,000 users): April - August

Open Beta (appx. 50,000 users): August - October

Service Live (50,000+): October

Q: What is the function of the Central Lounge?

The lobby is the central meeting place where you can meet new friends or

arrange to meet old friends, before transferring to a private meeting place.

The current maximum of concurrent users in a lobby is 64. But a multitude of

lobbies can be active at any time to accommodate all users.

Q: What other lobbies will exist within Home?

Over time Home will expand to include many different locations. It is our

intention that ultimately anyone can create a Home Space, be they a

publisher, a developer or a Non-game Company.

Q: What is the Hall of Fame?

The trophy room is a Home Space where users are able to display their

gaming accomplishments.

Q: How do I win Trophies?

Players will be able to win Home Trophies when they play games that support

the Home Trophy system. publishers and developers will be able to support

Trophies by building them into their games' architecture. Further information

on how to develop trophies within games will be available soon.

Q: What content will users be able to purchase from within Home?

Over time the range of content available to users will expand dramatically. If

you consider Home to be a simulacra of the real world then most goods and

services found within the real world could theoretically be replicated within

Home. Initially all commercial transaction will be via the

PLAYSTATION®Network (PSN) Store. Eventually users will be able to

transact within the Home environment.

Q: Will I be able to attend ticketed (paid-for) special events?

Yes, in time Home will play host to many types of event. Bespoke events such

as exclusive game previews and developer interviews will be organised by

Home and its affiliated content providers. Live events such as sports and

concerts may also be broadcast within Home.

Q: Can Home users win non-purchased prizes and items?

Yes, it will be possible to give prizes to users.

Q: Will all billing have to be via Sony Wallet?

Yes, all transactions will use the Sony Wallet system within the PSN Store,

although ultimately transactions will be possible without leaving Home.

Q: Can users share their favourite bookmarked Home Spaces with one

another?

Currently there isn't a way to do this, but this is a feature that we'd like to

implement in the future.

Q: When can users have / manage their own spaces?

Every user has a private apartment space that users can modify and change

over time. The basic apartment is free and will offer users lots of options for

customization and personalization. In the future we will provide tools that will

enable users to have an even greater ability to create their own Home spaces

and content.

Commerce & Partnerships

Q: Is Home a commercial environment?

Home is primarily a platform for social interaction and the intention is not to

create a space for purely conducting ecommerce. Home prioritises community

and entertainment over ecommerce. That said, we believe that there will be

ample opportunities for businesses and individuals alike to generate

significant revenues from the Home platform.

Q: When can I start to develop for Home?

You can register your interest to develop for the Home platform immediately

at http://home.scedev.net

Q: Who should I contact about developing for Home?

If you are an existing licence holder you should channel requests for

information through your existing 3rd Party Account Manager. If you do not

have a license agreement, please visit http://home.scedev.net where you will

find more information and an application to register your interest.

Q: I don’t have an existing PlayStation® licence agreement – how can

get involved in developing content for Home?

See above.

Q: I’m an IP / content holder / aggregator – how can I get involved in

Home?

See above.

Q: How soon can publishers and developers have and manage their own

spaces?

We would like to engage with interested publishers and developers

immediately. If you an existing licence holder you should channel requests for

information through your existing 3rd Party Account Manager. If you do not

have a licence agreement, please visit http://home.scedev.net where you will

find more information and an application to register your interest.

Q: When can IP holders have / manage their own Home Spaces?

We would like to engage with interested IP and content rights holders

immediately. If you are an interested non-games company or IP holder,

please register your interest with us at http://home.scedev.net . An

appropriate representative will follow up your enquiry.

Q: What support will SCE give to 3rd Parties?

Support to publishers and developers with existing licence agreements will be

provided by the Third Party Relations groups within each region. If you are a

non-game content provider or do not have a license agreement, please visit

http://home.scedev.net where you will find more information and an

application to register your interest.

Q: Who should our developers call for support?

Registered developers should request information through their existing

support relationships. Information will be available on http://home.scedev.net

Q: Who will run Home?

SCE has created a Home Platform Group that will provide the technology,

strategic direction and support to each of the SCE regional headquarters.

Q: Home looks so great – how do publishers ensure that users continue

to play their games rather than spending all their time in Home?

There is a huge scope for publishers and developers to promote their current

and future IPs - as well as exploiting their back-catalogue. For example, it will

be possible to develop small demo-areas within Home that promote new titles,

or to re-publish an old IP as mini-game within their Home Space.

Q: Is Home just a platform for SCE-published games?

Absolutely not. Home will not be a success without broad support and

adoption by our Publishing and Development partners and indeed from nongame

companies and services.

Q: Is Home a PS3 specific service? Will users be able to access Home

through other devices?

Initially Home will only be accessible via that PLAYSTATION®3, although

over time our intention is to enable users to interface certain Home features

and services via other networked devices such as PlayStation®Portable

(PSP®) and mobile phones.

Q: Can I launch and watch a BD movie from within Home?

Launch, yes. Watch, no. (This means you would leave Home to watch the

BD™.)

Q: What is the business model?

The proposed business model for Home is still under review and we'll

announce the details in due course.

Q: How will publishers make money from it?

Initially we predict that the primary areas for generating revenues will come

from the following areas:

- Content purchases (e.g. avatar clothing and accessories)

- Advertising

- Content Auctions

Q: What will be the upfront investment and development costs be for me

as a Home content provider?

The tools and technology required to build and maintain a presence on the

Home Platform are being designed to enable fast and efficient development,

and use industry-standard processes and techniques. The resources required

are surprisingly low and entirely scaleable.

Q: How will businesses be able to promote their products?

The possibilities for promotion and advertising of products and services within

Home Spaces are virtually limitless. Given the initial broad set of functions

and features the possibilities are limited only by creative vision. As the native

features of Home will be continually growing, the creative possibilities will

grow also. The Home Platform Team will also take feature requests to support

our partners in their creative endeavours.

Q: Will we be able to sell products (other than Home assets) online?

Eventually Home will not only support the merchandising of virtual assets, but

also will provide cross-promotional opportunities for selling physical goods

online.

Q: Could publishers sell tutorials to their games through Home?

Yes, the commercial services and features that publishers and developers will

be able to support is extremely broad. Further discussion of specific content

ideas that you may have, please consult with your 3rd Party Account Manager

or register your interest in the Home platform at http://home.scedev.net

Q: What tools will be available for creating content, and when will they

be available?

The Home Platform Group will be providing a roadmap for the deployment

and content of Home Tools. Over time the Tools package will develop into a

comprehensive set of enabling technologies that we can provide to our

partners to assist them with their Home Platform content creation.

Q: Can we reserve a number of seats for the closed & open betas?

Yes, please liaise with your 3rd Party Account Manager and request the

number of seats that your company requires. If you do not have a TMLA,

please register your interest at http://home.scedev.net and an appropriate

Home Platform representative will contact you shortly.

Q: Will it be possible to have territory based promotions for regional

content?

Yes, although Home is a global platform there are regional Home Spaces that

users within each regional area will access by default (based upon their

registration details). There is no restriction on where a user can go from their

default starting location (other than any content age restrictions). Because

there are regional Home spaces, each region will operate its own promotional

events and activities.

Technical & Extended Features

Q: How large is the download?

We're aiming for the initial download to be under 500MB. Subsequent

downloads will hopefully integrate a streaming method that makes them

negligible.

Q: How do users find friends and spaces within Home?

There is an integrated PSN Friends list, and search functionality for spaces.

Q: How many friends can I have?

As many as the PSN friends list allows, which is currently 50.

Q: Will I be able to trade items that I have bought or won with other

Home users?

Ultimately, an auction service will be implemented that will allow users to sell

their Home assets and user-created content to other users.

Q: How often will the content in Home change?

Ultimately content in Home will be updated weekly. All the participants in

Home (the service itself, 1st Party and 3rd Party publishers, non-game brands

and ultimately users themselves) will be creating new content, so the flow of

new features will be will on a weekly basis.

Q: Can I create new items and content for Home myself?

This functionality is in the works for future release. We see user created

content as a very important element of Home's ongoing success.

Q: How will users transact within Home?

During the Beta period, there will be no purchases within Home.

Subsequently, commercial transactions will take place within Home.

Q: Can you enter, say, MotorStorm™ quickly through Home without

having to travel to the specific MotorStorm™ lobby?

Currently, users can find each other in Home, and then arrange to go off and

play MotorStorm™ at the same time. Eventually, users will be able to meet in

Home and seamlessly launch into a game of MotorStorm™. Similarly, users

will be able to exit to Home directly from the game.

Q: How often is incremental content being created for Home?

Content for Home will be developed continually. In addition to an ever

increasing variety of items to customize avatars and Home Spaces, there will

be special events such as Halloween and Christmas where special content

will be available for a limited time.

Q: Will consumers be bombarded with advertising?

Advertising is a core revenue source for the publishers who will have to put a

lot of resource and money into making the Home experience as fulfilling as it

will be. As an offset to having to pay for the basic online service, and being

able to enjoy the fundamental Home experience for free, some advertising is

entirely reasonable. Advertising will be kept to palatable levels however. It is

in no-one's interests to cause users to leave Home through excessive

advertising.

Q: How will I protect my kids from seeing things they shouldn’t?

Parental controls are available through PS3 and the PLAYSTATION Network.

We encourage parents to take an active role in participating any time a child

has access to an open communication network, such as the internet.

Q: How will age restrictions be applied?

Home employs the same age restriction policies as the PS3 system software

and the PLAYSTATION Network.

Q: What’s the development overhead?

Minimal. In the extreme, an application (say a mini-game) could be written in

C++ as normal, and then a thin Home layer added to implement that

application within Home.

Q: How quick and easy will it be to develop for?

Home will allow developers to use their own assets and code for applications,

and export those assets into a Home wrapper, which will allow the minimum

of bespoke work. The tools that will be available serve to provide that

wrapper, they do not require developers to work to particular specifications or

packages.

Q: Will developers be able to run existing code applications within

Home?

Given that any application would have to fit within the available resources

while running Home, and certain TRCs will need to be satisfied, yes.

Q: Will there be additional TRCs for games plugging into Home? When

will these TRCs be released?

There will have to be base TRCs for Trophies and Matchmaking before the

service hits the XMB™. Others will come online as they are needed.

Q: Will there be additional TRCs for Home game trophies? When will

these TRCs be released?

See above.

Q: In terms of user's names are they exclusive and different from their

network ID. E.g. PSN account = PeterE / Home name = Tarzan123?

Your Home user name will be the same as your PSN account ID.

Q: Can I log on to Home in addition to someone else from one PS3? E.g.

at my friends and I want to log on...

This is technically quite an advanced problem. It effectively means logging in

to two PSN accounts at the same time from one machine, which makes it

unlikely.

Q: How will I navigate between spaces?

Within Home you can travel instantly (i.e. through the world map), or at your

own pace on foot.

Q: How will the age restrictions work? Will I be able to see different

content in the generic lobby depending on my age?

Home employs the same age restriction policies as the PS3 system software

and the PLAYSTATION Network. These age restrictions will apply to both the

areas that users are admitted to and the content that they are able to view.

Q: When I jump back from a game into Home, will I return with the same

people next to me? Will I return to a default location?

Upon returning to Home, you will land in the same place which was your last

position before you left (for instance, if you left Home from your apartment,

that is where you will return to.) However, given that Home is an online world,

other users will doubtless have moved on while you are off doing something

else (unless you've specifically asked them to wait for you.) Currently Home

is not a persistent world, so when you leave Home, all of your possessions go

with you. For instance, it is not currently possible for other users to visit your

apartment while you're not there. We are working on the persistent aspect of

Home, and expect to implement it in the long term.

Q: Can I get media for my apartment from other devices such as PC?

Not yet; we are working on enabling this feature which is contingent upon

firmware functionality.

Q: Would we be able to showcase bespoke events such a live broadcast

of a multiplayer game?

Absolutely - it would even be possible to replicate a game that is being played

by two players together on one PS3, replicating their avatars and movements

on the "world stage". This could be an invitational match, with users paying to

view the event live.

Q: How will the DRM of purchased items work?

Home 's DRM system is based on the entitlements system which will be

offered by the PSN.

Q: Will I be able to give a purchased / earned item to another user?

Not yet; however it is a feature which is planned.

Q. How will sharing media work within the private space? Will users be

able to distribute content?

Users will not be able to broadcast their media to people outside their private

space, but they will be able to show their own media to invited guests. We

have deliberately chosen not to allow users to 'give' media to other users as

this opens up serious risks of piracy and sharing of illegal content.

Q: How many lobby instances can be run?

This is down to the server infrastructure, and in theory is entirely scalable.

Q: How will the lobbies be regionalised? Would it be possible to have

bespoke, selectable backgrounds for each regional lobby, e.g. Paris /

London / Rome etc?

It is highly likely that the European, US and Japanese lobbies will be

localised, but it is undecided as to whether individual lobbies within Europe

will be.

Q: Could the global Hall of Fame be filtered by region?

This is possible, and also it is possible to have different levels of Halls of

Fame - Junior league, Newbie league etc

Policy

Q: What is the policy on acceptable behaviour?

Within our public spaces, Home follows the same rules and guidelines as the

PLAYSTATION Network with regard to age stipulations and acceptable

behaviour. Home uses all the same age controls as the PS3 system software.

Within users' own private spaces, we take the view that what people get up to

in their own apartment is their own business, within reason.

Q: Will there be a restriction to the age you’ll be able to give your

avatar?

Yes. We will not have avatars which resemble children. The avatars are

adult in appearance.

Q: Will users be able to make complaints about other users?

Of course. We will operate a system of logging complaints with our

moderators, which will then be investigated. If necessary we are able to take

away a user's login rights and ban them from the service.

Q: How much control will we have over what people get up to in their

private spaces?

As stated before, our policy is that what people get up to in their own private

spaces is up to them, and a user cannot be invited to another user's private

space until they have accepted an invitation to be on their buddy list.

However, the complaints process will still operate in these private spaces, so

if people feel that they have been subjected to inappropriate behaviour while

in someone's private space, they will be able to lodge a complaint by the

usual process.

Q: What moderation is used in the system for vulgar / abusive

language?

We will have a basic text profanity filter.

Q: Will users be able to sell things to each other?

Ultimately, an auction service will be implemented that will allow users to sell

their Home assets and user-created content to other users.

Q: Can I earn money in Home?

As noted above, there will be eventually opportunities for user-to-user

auctions.

Q: Will retailers (e.g. GAME) be able to have a presence in Home?

Yes. Retailers can create their own lobbies and deploy these for commercial

operations.

Q: Can we use advertising within it?

Advertising will be a big part of Home. At first adverts will be fed through the

Home advertising servers, but ultimately we may allow 3rd parties to integrate

their own advertising engines into the service. Dynamic advertising will also

be implemented, allowing us to direct specific targeted ads at particular users.

Q: Are all games required to have trophies available for Home?

No, it's up to each game to do what they want. But we see a huge consumer

appeal for games that support the trophy system.

Q: If a game does offer trophies, what is the maximum / minimum

number of trophies required?

This is undecided, currently. We would like to feel this out during the beta

period. Our inclination is to encourage a relatively small number of high value

trophies.

Please note that the specifications of Home are subject to change

without notice. Please keep updated on these changes by checking with

your SCE PR or Third Party Relations contact on a regular basis. SCEI

accepts no liability for third party reliance on previous versions of the

Home specifications or FAQ's.

About SCEI

Recognized as the global leader and company responsible for the progression

of consumer-based computer entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment

Inc. (SCEI) manufacturers, distributes and markets the PlayStation® game

console, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the PSP®

(PlayStation®Portable) handheld entertainment system and the upcoming,

much-anticipated PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) system. PlayStation® has

revolutionized Home entertainment by introducing advanced 3D graphic

processing, and PlayStation®2 further enhances the PlayStation® legacy as

the core of Home networked entertainment. PSP® is a new handheld

entertainment system that allows users to enjoy 3D games, with high-quality

full-motion video, and high-fidelity stereo audio. PS3™ is an advanced

computer system, incorporating the state-of-the-art Cell processor with super

computer like power. SCEI, along with its subsidiary divisions Sony Computer

Entertainment America Inc., Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd., and

Sony Computer Entertainment Korea Inc. develops, publishes, markets and

distributes software, and manages the third party licensing programs for these

platforms in the respective markets worldwide. Headquartered in Tokyo,

Japan, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. is an independent business unit of

the Sony Group.

“PlayStation”, “PLAYSTATION”, “PSP”, “PS3” and “XMB” are trademarks or registered trademarks of

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “MotorStorm” and the “Home icons” are trademarks of Sony

Edited April 10, 2007 by Original GTA Master

K9 Krew · March 18, 2007

Wow, It's like a MMORPG and the graphics are amazing

Jared · March 18, 2007

Good idea, makes it easier to read up on it, thanks for the effort OGTAM.

Harwood Butcher · March 18, 2007

Yeah, I'll add more to it very soon. I needed to post what I had so far and I needed a little break. Took me about 30-60 minutes to get all that. I had to get the pics and resize them to the smaller versions which link to the large ones along with pick out official info. The thing that took so long was the video because I had to upload and wait for it. Anyways, yeah, I'll get more info, pics and videos up soon.

Anthony. · March 18, 2007

Wow this is just giving me more reasons to buy a PS3 those graphics look amazing im so hyped. Thanks for that OGTAM i didnt even hear about that before.

Ciaran · March 18, 2007

Brilliant Topic OGTAM (Do I hear a Pinning). That is a lot of info you got on the 'Home'.

Red_91 · March 18, 2007

X Box live seems crap compared to this. This is class. The graphics are unbelievable and it s free of charge but I am still uncertain about some things. If some things. Do you create a home or a whole place?

Good work OGTAM.

Pandora · March 18, 2007

Although in general I don't really like the ps3, this does look great.

Good work. Just have to hope no n00bs will spoil the whole home thing.

Ciaran · March 18, 2007

Will there be like different servers? Or could one server hold over 2 million people :S But PS3Player, you build your own home, then you can invite people over and stuff.

Red_91 · March 18, 2007

Will there be like different servers? Or could one server hold over 2 million people :S But PS3Player, you build your own home, then you can invite people over and stuff.

So does that mean that outside the home Sony create everything?

Ciaran · March 18, 2007

Yep, I think that you will get your own piece of Land on this massive world.

Red_91 · March 18, 2007

Yep, I think that you will get your own piece of Land on this massive world.

Oh Ciran asnswering to you rquestion I think they will have about a couple of servetrs on each continent, it would be difficult to try to meet people around the world because of timing zones.

Harwood Butcher · March 18, 2007

Wow this is just giving me more reasons to buy a PS3 those graphics look amazing im so hyped. Thanks for that OGTAM i didnt even hear about that before.

If you thought the graphics were good seeing them through Youtube, you should see the actual videos. The funny thing is, the Demonstration videos were on a big screen, which was filmed with a camera, and then I had to split them up and put them in WMM that made the quality even worse and then on top of that, put it on Youtube. So imagine how great the graphics really are. I think the pictures are the best to go by at the moment...but I resized them a bit.

Brilliant Topic OGTAM (Do I hear a Pinning). That is a lot of info you got on the 'Home'.

Much more to come too. That was just the stuff released the first day.

X Box live seems crap compared to this. This is class. The graphics are unbelievable and it s free of charge but I am still uncertain about some things. If some things. Do you create a home or a whole place?
Good work OGTAM.

All I know about this as of now is that you get 1 of 3 types of house or should I say Homes. You could get either small (apartment), medium (regular house) and large (mansion). These types could be bought with money you earn in the service. The money will most likely be earned through achievements. You get to decorate the living spaces to the way you want it. Check out the demonstration videos if you haven’t, it'll explain it all.

Will there be like different servers? Or could one server hold over 2 million people :S But PS3Player, you build your own home, then you can invite people over and stuff.

They said that there will be different servers, but you have to remember there are time zones and each person will have their very own living space where they might be most of the time and on top of that...people do have lives. So I think it's very possible to have only 1-3 servers that could hold everyone.

Harwood Butcher · March 19, 2007

Sorry for the double post, but I got some more information on "Home". I'll also give my view and opinions on the new info. :thumbsup:

[Mar. 12, 2007](Original Source)

Beta Details:

The Home closed beta is scheduled to kick off in April with 15,000 users. This first stage of the beta will run through August, at which point it will enter the open beta phase and open up to approximately 50,000 users. The free service, which Sony is trying to get under 500MB in size, is scheduled to go live in October.

Original GTA Master: 500MB is not much at all whether you have a 20GB HDD for the PS3 or a 60GB. There is a high possibility that you will be the server for your apartment/house in "Home", which would take up more space than the so far 500MB required for the service.

Home Information:

The Central Lounge, which is a starting point for virtual meet-and-greets, will have a cap of 64 concurrent users. Like online chat rooms, there will be several active Central Lounges on the network to accommodate users.

Original GTA Master: Yes, 64 users is a pretty small amount to have in one "lounge", but the lounges are simply there so you could meet other users. As said above, they're just the starting point into the virtual world. From there you could head over to the arcade area, the theater and much more. This world will continuously expand leaving the users with many more places to go.

Though currently PS3-only, Sony is hoping to expand Home to be accessed by the PlayStation Portable and mobile phones, but admits it will be limited access. Sony did not say what features will be accessible or when other devices could connect to Home.

Original GTA Master: Limited access, yes, but it is deffinetly better than nothing. Bringing an addition like this to portable devices is going to be an amazing accomplishment.

Currently, meeting someone in Home and then playing a multiplayer game with them requires both parties to exit Home and enter the game manually, but Sony says that eventually, everything will be seamless. Likewise, Home will eventually become accessible directly through a game that is being played.

Original GTA Master: This very minor downside will be easy to get over, but will soon become part of the "Home" service. I think it will actually be better this way since we wont know much about using this service at first. This will give us time to get familiar with it before we start getting other things such as this.

At the present time, Home is not a persistent world. Gamers can not visit their friends' apartments unless their friends are logged in. "We are working on the persistent aspect of Home, and expect to implement it in the long term,".

Original GTA Master: Again, just a little downside, but would you want strangers walking in your house in real life? I wouldn't think so. So this isn't that big of a downside at the moment. This will give us time to get groups or as some gamers call them, clans, together. After which, we will be able to have our groups visit the group hang out with out the owners having to be there.

Among the other tidbits of information: users will be able to make money through online user-to-user auctions, there will be no child avatars, and lobbies will likely be localized and divided by region.

Original GTA Master: This seems very interesting, but I'm just wondering how we'll make the money in the first place "to make money through online user-to-user". I'm guessing this is where games come in, where you could win money by accomplishing milestones and what not.

Please give feedback.

Ciaran · March 19, 2007

Great Report OGTAM, I like your views alot. You focus more on the good bits and call the other bits just little downsides. You should become a reporter

Overall brilliant.

Harwood Butcher · March 19, 2007

Great Report OGTAM, I like your views alot. You focus more on the good bits and call the other bits just little downsides. You should become a reporter
Overall brilliant.

Well I downloaded this Q&A that's in PDF format and I'll post it up here soon. I'll post some of the key things in a post and leave the rest in the main post for those that are interested. Most people wont read the post if there is a lot of stuff so that's why I'll do it that way...it's a very long read, but has a lot of good info on PlayStation Home. Thanks for the compliment by the way. :thumbsup:

Ciaran · March 20, 2007

Nice, I like the updates on the topic alot. The table tags do come in handy. *Thanks for the heads up*

Harwood Butcher · March 20, 2007

I have posted the entire Q&A in the main post so that everyone could view it. Here are the General Features for those that don't like reading long post.