I’ve been reading a bit about Playstation Home, with a new PS3 in the house and me not exactly being a huge fan of the typical console game this looks like something I may be interested in. Although I’m not interested in paying even more money to obtain ‘cool’ items, so that will be out for me. Here’s a brief overview from wikipedia:
Photographs and video released by Sony show Home users meeting in a plaza/town square type of area. They also show users in their own apartments with their own choice of decor and furnishings. Users can also invite other users to their apartments.
In the world outside of the player houses, players can meet and chat with other community-members. One can invite their friends, hang out and communicate via voice chat, or normal text chat, listen to music, play a game or exchange content. People who enter each other’s “home” (called a “HomeSpace”) can stream the host’s music and videos from their HDD. Videos are viewed via virtual Sony TVs, such as the BRAVIA. Photographs can be viewed via a virtual picture frame.
Every user has a private apartment space that they 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, Sony will provide tools that will enable users to have an even greater ability to create their own Home spaces and content.
At time of release, the user’s “home” will be streamed from their own PlayStation 3, meaning that if the user logs out of Home, then access to this user’s apartment no longer exists until the user logs on again. According to Sony, they are looking for new ways to get around this issue.
The world of PlayStation Home will not only consist of players’ houses, but there will also be arcade-games that can be played, as well as games like pool billiards and bowling.
Of course it’s not a video game, per say. But it’s enough to interest me. I’ve always been a huge fan of any sim-like game. Unfortunately I don’t own any of them any more since my baby brother swiped my Sims2 CD’s .. or whatever the 3D game was called when it came out. I love decorating and building homes (dur, that’s fairly obvious based on my obsession with Mmo housing). I’m so oblivious when it comes to games in general that I don’t even know of any (free) sim-like based games. I’m sure I’ve read of a few and just blocked it from my mind.
In any case, I’m looking forward to it being released. Things like this that don’t require groups for anything, where I can dress an avatar up and make a home and decorate it. No smushing of mobs, no running around half a world. I may not be into car racing games, or fps (first person shooter) or well, anything really. But I’ll always love the sims and anything that emulates that sort of game. I wonder if it’s a girl thing..
Home definately looks cool. It basically seems like Sims3, myspace, facebook all rolled into one.
If i had a PS3, and if I had time to console game (I will, when my son is old enough to play!) then I would definately get Home.
Well, there’s quite a bit more to it then just the furnishing (it’s just what I focus on) such as arcade games, a trophy hall to present your gaming accomplishments (since a lot of PS3 games are online these days) restaurants and museums to hang out where your screen shots become your ‘pictures’ on the walls that others can view. It’s not really a ‘game’ in my eyes, so much as it is a social network for people to hang out in / meet other gamers. The other half is already talking about how a few of his guild mates own a PS3 and have added him to their friends list. This way they can all meet up some place before playing whatever game it is they’re all going to be playing, and have an online avatar to do so with.
Plus being able to watch someone else’ HDD through this means just seems cool to me.
The thing I don’t like about console games is that they require my complete attention. Sometimes I bang virtual skins on Rock Band and it has my undivided attention (or I lose), but most of the time, I like having a lot of things going on at once. Console games just want too much out of me. While I like decorating stuff as much as anyone — I like my home in Gorowyn — just having a game where all you do is furnish your home with Sony appliances doesn’t sound all that compelling.
Console games haven’t yet figured out how to fit themselves into my lifestyle. I wish they would. I liked them back in the day.
http://www.herecomeseverybody.org/2008/04/looking-for-the-mouse.html
The link sends you to a talk this guy gave about how modern life is becoming ever more full, and we’re beginning to learn how to live life now that network television has lost its power over us.