Well here it comes... we'll know in a few hours if it lives up to the hype or not, or if it was worth the (breif) blackballing of Kotaku.

*crosses fingers* Please don't be lame please don't be lame.

THEY KNOW YOUR NAME!!!

Unrelenting JOY!

The momment we've been waiting for. I really want to see Phil's face when Crecente asks something, since he knows almost everything about PlayStation Home Already. :P

If they come up with something nice, I will probably put in a pre-order pretty soon

what does this have to do with making babies in Fable?

If it's not out till fall it better be good. But then again, they don't have much of an argument against all the people that will claim they simply jammed MS and Nintendo's ideas together. Which is likely true.

So.. is it more a rip off of xbox live, or of wii? 'Cause initial reports show it's kind of a blend of the two.

Leave it to sony to do nothing original, and then claim they did something great.

They won't announce it now cause they are still waiting for Nintendo to release more stuff so they can "take" it and call it their own! But don't forget to water it down so they can claim it isn't the same and they have been working on it for YEARS!

@ThatGuyOverThere: That's Sony's MO!

@ThatGuyOverThere:

Amen. Much like Apple

So does this mean The New York Times is going to get black balled too? I mean, they did just reveal the name, and couldn't get further comments on it.

And? Our industry is made of everyone copying each other and trying to be better. People bitch that Sony's online is not like LIVE, then when sony decides to change their service to have more LIVE like functionality, "OH MY GOD THEY COPIED"

Can't ever please

It was already worth it for Kotaku to mention the home service earlier last week. They got their name in the NY Times.

"So.. is it more a rip off of xbox live, or of wii? 'Cause initial reports show it's kind of a blend of the two."

How is it a rip-off of the Wii at all, is what I'm trying to figure out.

Yes, you have an avatar... Just like in Second Life, Phantasy Star Universe, or practically any other online game where you create your own character.

If anything, this sounds like a mix between Xbox Live achievements, "Your Room" in Phantasy Star Universe and Second Life.

If Nintendo has to be mentioned, I'd say it has more in common with Animal Crossing (making your own clothes, wallpaper, etc).

How many people are seriously interested in walking around their virtual room. Also visiting others as well?

That totally won't get boring in an hour i'm sure of it.

Competition is good and the new edition will make things a bit more interesting in the Battle of the Consoles. Although MS Live has been doing well pushing themselves I think if Sony can do something innovative it will give MS a incentive to remove the fee or give us something more like a larger friends list(my own personal gripe).

Congrats on getting your name in the big papers.

@WantedCreative:

Ask all the people who STILL play Word of Warcraft and Second Life. I'm sure they all quit after an hour.

You guys need to get past your childhood Nintendo fanboyism. You guys treat Nintendo like the retarded child who graduated high school, and Sony like the younger sibling in the older sibling's shadow (Microsoft), who is being completely ignored. Even though the younger sibling is actually doing better than the retarded child and nearly as good as the older sibling.

Last time I checked, Nintendo wasn't the innovator since the N64, they are now just an outlet for mainstream rehashed ideas. I'm not going to even list off every "innovation" Nintendo has made in the past 6 years and list of their predecessor ideas (*cough*Sega Pocket Brain Trainer*cough*).

@ThatGuyOverThere: It's a rip-off of both. Typical Sony. Never coming up with something original.

If it's some web based garbage I will be so damn pissed. Sony, PLEASE give me the goods!

@V1L3:

How is it a rip-off of the Wii at all, is what I'm trying to figure out.

Yes, you have an avatar... Just like in Second Life, Phantasy Star Universe, or practically any other online game where you create your own character.

You're comparing apples to oranges. Almost all games have an avatar with varying degrees of customization. Even with no customizing, someone or something is representing you in the game world.

Only one console, until now, allowed you to create a representative avatar: the Wii. So when a second console allows you to do the same, people are apt to make comparisons.

Nintendo certainly didn't invent avatars, but they did put their twist on it. That twist is what people are accusing Sony of ripping off.

@Ixero:

Check the vid. They seem pretty happy:

http://www.threespeech.com/

Yea another rip off from sony and their stupid deparment of design, waiting that nintendo make a move to copy it since the PS1...

Even though I'm probably not going to buy a PS3 any time soon, if ever *cough*price*cough*, I'm rooting for this to not be utter crap. Unfortunately I have this feeling (maybe from that home icon with the trap door at the bottom) it will be something they just threw together at the last minute to entice people to buy their system.

@BlindsidesDork, that could be why Nintendo don't want to announce anything at this GDC. They don't want their ideas stolen by Sony LOL

I'll tell you what, Sony, release some good games, knock 50% off the price and I'm totally sold!

That logo... is that a trap door in there? Does it symbolize anything?

@V1L3:

Maybe, just maybe if you had compared it to animal crossing you would have gotten away with it.

How in any way is home going to be like those two games? Totally different situation why don't you get back to not playing your PS3 now.

Way to go Kotaku! You'll have to tell us how much readership soars.

Also: It's cute the way you guys will turn anything into a console war.

@Karttikeya: "You guys need to get past your childhood Nintendo fetish. You guys treat Nintendo like the retarded child who graduated high school"

LMFAO!!!!

Couldn't agree more! Oh and I changed one word for you, hope you don't mind :)

Haha... last year was about hardware- namely copying hardware (motion controls) and now it's software copying time. They really have no shame.

I don't think it'd bother anyone so much if they'd just be honest and say that they knew their competitors were on the right track or something, but usually they just claim they invented it despite being years late to the table.

Well this is quite nice, I wonder if they will threaten NYT.

@doubtful:" Nintendo certainly didn't invent avatars, but they did put their twist on it. "

But Sony isn't putting their twist on it? Only when Nintendo does something, it's putting a "twist" on it, but for Sony it's copying??!!??

Pathetic.

Everyone copies everyone, that's the way business works. As long as your don't infringe on patents or copyrights it doesn't matter.

MS has borrowed ideas from Apple forever and dominanted the web browser market by borrowing from Netscape early on and now Firefox and Opera. That and they bundled it with their OS.

Is everyone here going to stop using Windows cause it a ripoff of Mac OS? I don't think so. Just like most people won't care that Sony is stealing ideas to save itself.

Sony positioned itself as a First Mover in the next-gen console market but was unable to deliver due to various reasons. Microsoft and Nintendo eventually became First Movers in the next-gen era with their products (ex: Downloadable Content, Live! Anywhere; Mii's, Wiimote).

As any business major would tell you, being first to market does not guarantee you anything, just that you will spend money on R&D while your competitors, IF they are capable enough, will use your "research" to better their own products. Notice the emphasis on IF. The Second Mover still needs to create a product that is "better" than the First Mover or the Second Mover will lose. Better can mean anything from better user experience to cheaper prices. The Second Mover still needs to have a solid plan in order to exploit their advantage.

Now that Kotaku has been mentioned in the NY Times does that mean Bigoted Bill is going to start calling you "Secular Progressives"?

@Karttikeya

Nintendo's done loads since the N64: There's been the... er no. Or the... No that's been done before. How about the... Hmm. I'll get back to you.

longhornlump, get your facts straight. You're just pulling facts out of your ass on the web browser. IE7 has features that Opera, FireFox, and Netscape don't have, vice versa for each of the other applications. And you are letting Apple off the hook for their "innovations". (There's a huge difference between being first to market and creating original ideas.)

By the way, Apple TV is a handicap Windows Media Center Extender. But nobody critisizes Apple over that...because they are the "underdog".

Give me a break. You could at least rely on fair judgement and facts. Than stereotypes of the industry.

Sony, that isn't a game. You need games. Focus.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/sony-looks-social-ga...

"The main component of the company's new push is a service called Home. Accessed through the PlayStation3 console, Home allows users to build identities known in the online world as avatars. Users can move through the 3D online Home world to interact with other users. As in "Second Life," users can also purchase items such as apartments, clothing and decorations."

3D world like Second life!

"In a demonstration to media outlets on Tuesday night, Harrison also unveiled a new title, "LittleBigPlanet," which allows users to create their own games using materials found in the virtual world."

LittleBigPlanet!

@ nintendo fanboys.

"OMGROFL sony is totally copying nintendo, hurr"

Who cares, seriously. I hope sony calls their avatars "Me's," just because it will piss you whiners off.

Nothing's original anymore, it all borrows from what exist and tries to improve. Plain and simple.

And the PShome logo is a d-button with a door on it.

Karttikeya, I think you missed my point... When IE first came along it wasn't innvoative at all. Everything was borrowed from Netscape i.e. Favorites vs Bookmarks...I only played around with IE 7 briefly, but you can't tell me they thought of tabs before Opera and FF.

Like any good company they borrowed ideas from the competition to improve their products. Vista and it's 3D tabbing is also a crippled version of OS X and Expose.

MS's success is predicated on their ability to improve upon the ideas of others, I don't fault them for that but just wanted to show to a few other that they shouldn't bash Sony for something everyone else does.

got a tense problem there.

"...and then kissED and made up."

@Lachoy:

But Sony isn't putting their twist on it? Only when Nintendo does something, it's putting a "twist" on it, but for Sony it's copying??!!??

I never said Sony didn't put a twist on it. My post was about how V1L3's comparison between consoles and games was less apt than the comparison of consoles directly to other consoles and I was answering his question about why people thought Sony was copying.

Frankly, I don't appreciate being called "pathetic" for it. C'mon, man, elevate the discourse.

This is actually a feature I'm anticipating, and frankly I don't mind a little corporate borrowing, anyway. It's how good ideas stick.

This is the stupidest addition to a console ever. Does Sony really think that achievements are the entire basis of what makes the 360 popular? Do they think that an avatar is that big of a deal to us?

I don't know how any one, especially consumers, would actually pat them on the back for this idea. They have everything running against them. They have an overpriced system, bad overhyped games, no developers, inferior graphics to 360, inferior online system, and they've basically pissed off half of the hardcore gamers in America through their stupidity.

I'm not alone when I say I would never buy a PS3. I have a few friends who have completely boycotted Sony. What are you going to do to get us to buy your stuff Sony? Maybe you should start working on some of the things I mentioned and worry less about "competition". If you aren't even trying to beat 360 or Wii, you aren't competition. You're just a loser, copying ideas. I'm starting to think PS3 should be thrown into the same junk pile as Virtual Boy.

Karttikeya, I think you missed my point...

I'm pretty sure IE7 borrowed tabs from Opera and FF and Favorties is a direct rip off of bookmarks from Netscape, but that doesn't matter cause without these features, IE and any other browser would pretty much suck. I could go on about what ideas have been borrowed by MS but I'm not concerned about that cause I like MS products as well.

I just wanted to point out that borrowing ideas is common practice committed by all that benefits that hurts no one and helps those missing out on features.

Opps double post... Didn't think my first one made it in.

@Karttikeya: You really underestimate Nintendo. While Sony and Microsoft have been taking immense risks with their loss leader systems, Nintendo's consistently profited on their hardware. And while this may not propel them to the heights Sony's seen with the PlayStation 2, it's kept them far away from Microsoft's multi-billion dollar losses. The whole point of a company is to make money, not engage in some installed base dick measuring contest; and Nintendo's one of the most consistently profitable companies in the world. Having only one quarterly loss in over 100 years of operation is PHENOMENAL, far from the minor thing you'd make it out to be.

Furthermore, Nintendo has proven itself to still be very much relevant to the industry. They've pioneered an entirely new business model with the DS and the Wii, and been met with tremendous success. After having already shipped 4 million units worldwide, they're still having shortage issues with the Wii; that's a level of demand which blows every previous console out of the water. And the DS-- people in Japan are still lining up when a new shipment arrives. Nintendo's also invented several unique features that the rest of the industry is scrambling to duplicate. If you need proof, just take a look at the story above. Additionally, they've developed and maintained the strongest stable of properties the industry has ever seen. Yes, they use them a lot. But that's the point of creating a brand or property: using it to sell products.

Nintendo has an extraordinarily strong position in the market. The attention they've gained as of late is entirely deserved, and far from the "retard who graduated high school" effect you've outlined.

Do they think that an avatar is that big of a deal to us?

YES!!! I like the idea.