Ps3 Next-generation 3d Online-user Community

[Innes]

07/03/2007 18:30

SCEI ANNOUNCES GROUND-BREAKING, NEXT-GENERATION 3D ONLINE-USER COMMUNITY - 'Home'

Free Download to Allow Broad User Interaction in Highly Detailed Community Environment; Opens Door to User-Created Content, Collaboration and Commerce

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 (PS3T) 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 XMBT (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.


.:: SCREENS ::.

Home Central Lounge
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeCentralLounge.jpg

Home Central Lounge 2
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeCentralLounge2.jpg

Home Central Lounge 3
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeCentralLounge3.jpg

Home Character Customisation
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeCharacterCustomization.jpg

Home Games Space
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeGamesSpace.jpg

Home Games Space 2
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeGamesSpace2.jpg

Home Games Space 3
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeGamesSpace3.jpg

Home Hall of Fame
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeHallofFame.jpg

Home Hall of Fame 2
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeHallofFame2.jpg

Home Hall of Fame 3
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeHallofFame3.jpg

Home Space - Basic Apartment
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeSpace-BasicApartment.jpg

Home Space - Basic Apartment 2
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeSpace-BasicApartment2.jpg

Home Space - Luxury Apartment
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeSpace-LuxuryApartment.jpg

Home Space - Luxury Apartment 2
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeSpace-LuxuryApartment2.jpg

Home Space - Luxury Apartment 3
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeSpace-LuxuryApartment3.jpg

Home Sports Lobby
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeSportsLobby.jpg

Home Sports Lobby 2
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeSportsLobby2.jpg

Home Sports Lobby 3
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeSportsLobby3.jpg

Home Theatre
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeTheatre.jpg

Home Theatre 2
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeTheatre2.jpg

Home Theatre 3
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/kieran_innes/Sony%20Online/HomeTheatre3.jpg

[Liam]

Reminds me of Habbo Hotel. PlayStation online will never compete with xbox live.

[Spindryer]

Why do u say that ?

[Liam]

Mainly due to so many people who are completely obsessed with Halo. If Halo went to PS3, which it wont, it would probably be in with a shout.

[carocat]

What about Resistence: Fall of Man? That's got quite a few people playing it.

[Liam]

It does, yeah. Not as many as Halo though is it?

[Pirate Balloon]

Reminds me of Habbo Hotel. PlayStation online will never compete with xbox live.Sure it will compete, and it has done, is doing so and always will. Maybe PS3 will get a game for their fanboys... Who knows? We dont know!

[Liam]

Does anyone know roughly how many members each one has? Due to the PlayStation selling more consoles (I'm guessing) there overall number may be higher. A better measure would be percent of console owners with online or something... :|

[Pirate Balloon]

I think that would be kinda hard to measure.. you have to pay for a whole year with Xbox Live dont ya? With PS it's like, plug it in whenever you want and play.. so i dont know if they could work that out. For example, i tried out PS2 online, i played a little bit of SOCOM 2 and that Hardware game, it was aight, but i still prefer PC for internet play.

[Tugsy]

Those images remind me of Phantasy Star Online - I don't like the look of that at all too be honest. Just a simple interface will suffice for me.

[Menace Red3]

socom 4 (ps3) that could compete with halo 2 (xbox 360) for players. im on the psp FTB2 and there 7000 people online :S its unreal. Socom 4 will hopefully be better than shitty socom 3 so most people will play it .

[Pirate Balloon]

Socom 4 will hopefully be better than shitty socom 3 so most people will play it .What's wrong with #3? After loving the first two i was gonna get #3.

[DinnyHoon]

For this announcement, I now dislike Phill Harrison less. After the shambles at E306, everything went from bad to worse at the Sony camp. Xbox fanboys were on cloud 9, chortling at 'the enemy' for its flaws. Now that Home is here, the fanboys on both sides have grown silent, holding their collective breath. The ball's in Sony's court now. The entire console war now depends on how well Ken Kutaragi can pull off Home.

[Pirate Balloon]

DinnyHoon, official console war commentator.

[DinnyHoon]

With sheer emotive power!

[quickshot89]

socom 4 (ps3) that could compete with halo 2 (xbox 360) for players. im on the psp FTB2 and there 7000 people online :S its unreal. Socom 4 will hopefully be better than shitty socom 3 so most people will play it .

hang on, halo2 is an xbox game, dont say it is a 360 game, when its not really, anyway, that kinda embarrassing if thats the case for sony, a next gen game having to compete with a last gen game