Kotaku 
Enter your username and password.
Denver, 6:41 PM
Sat Nov 14
36 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip us: tips@kotaku.com
Editor-In-Chief:
Brian Crecente
Email | AIM | Twitter
Deputy Editor:
Stephen Totilo
Email | AIM | Twitter
Senior Editor:
Michael McWhertor
Email | AIM | Twitter
Senior Contributing Editor, Japan:
Brian Ashcraft
Email | AIM | Twitter
Contributing Editor, East Coast:
Michael Fahey
Email | AIM | Twitter
Contributing Editor, Oceania:
Luke Plunkett
Email | AIM | Twitter
Contributing Editor, Weekends:
Owen Good
Email | AIM | Twitter
Correspondent, San Francisco:
AJ Glasser
Email | AIM | Twitter
Columnist:
Leigh Alexander
Columnist:
Tim Rogers
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
07/30/09
If not, what are your initial impressions?
07/30/09
07/30/09
07/30/09
They also have a forums where a bunch of people from the beta are posting to while the official beta forums are down between events.
07/30/09
I've been playing for awhile on a Korean server and it tapers off around level 35+.
It literally starts like Vanguard--->LOTRO up to book 4---->then it is Lineage 2 with FLYFF item selling kiosks all over the fucking place. Its not as bad as AoC's launch, but won't hold your interest since it becomes monotonous like WAR.
12/19/08
Like every online game for the PS3, at launch (and in betas), voice chat slows everything down.
It's really getting kind of ridiculous.
12/18/08
What the fuck was Sony thinking?
I just got the update and now I have to download all of the areas over again. What the hell?! So is this the way it's going to be? We have to re download entire sections of Home every time there's a content change? are you fucking kidding me? I knew something was wrong when I didn't start in my Flat or my Summer House and I went straight to the plaza to have to wait for it to download...AGAIN.
Jeez, I can't believe this. I was actually digging Home but this is ridiculous. Why did I have to download the bowling alley again when there's nothing new in it? Granted the downloads aren't that long but there has to be a better why to update the content in Home without requiring constant downloads of areas you've already grabbed the week prior.
What is wrong with you Sony? Why can't you use some common sense instead of going through this generation with Born to Lose tattooed on your ass? Put some damn content in the stores instead trying to use Nintendo's bullshit trickle in effect for DLC. For all of the options in creating an avatar, why can't we edit hair styles? At least give us more variety. Only one style for Locks, only one afro that looks terrible? Come on!
Why are there no leaderboards or scorecards for the bowling alleys, pool tables, arcade games or chess boards? Why can't I get a television for my house that allows me to watch content on my harddrive or a stereo system in the my flat that allows me to listen to my music in Home? Where's my trophy room in Home? Why can't we earn Trophies in Home?
Dammit Sony, you are really starting to piss me off!
12/19/08
12/18/08
There were a few instances that raised my eyebrows, but had me laughing at the same time. For instance, there is a movie theater that lets you sit down and watch repetitive trailers promoting Sony Motion Picture trailers (Twilight). Well someone realized that if you do the /sit command in front of a movie relaxing in his theater seat, it looks as if they are on the receiving end of oral sex. Like the Spanish Flu the illicit activity spread across every row of the movie theater and suddenly I felt as if I was stuck in pre-Mayor Bloomberg Times Square. I left with a tall Caucasian individual dancing with the "Rave" animation and his microphone stuck in the "On" position, who would yell out statements randomly like "Yeah! That's right, feel the beat". I am sure he will be petitioning Sony for Glowstick accessories in the near future.
As for the voice chat, the way it worked from my understanding was that if you were in the proximity of someone speaking you could hear what they were saying, unfiltered. The feature was not over used, perhaps because of the lack of headsets used by PS3 owners, who knows. However, it was very difficult to see exactly who was speaking in crowded areas. Take the bowling alley for example, which I would like to point out was very cool by the way.
During my few competitive bowling games, there was an anonymous individual that was yelling obscenities. He either had Tourette's syndrome or had cleverly figured out just what I had mentioned earlier, it is nearly impossible to identify who is talking. The most amusing thing about this Barking John Doe was that he had a very thick Brooklyn accent and any time someone would speak, a witty use of foul language would emerge from crowd. Tears of laughter streamed down my face and it did effect my bowling as the poor victim kept yelling out, "WHO IS DOING THAT!? THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" Well it sure was funny to me.
The voice chat was definitely used in more ways to confuse and annoy rather than enhance the interaction experience. There is a neat little cove where Home participants can vote for a music track at a public console and the track most voted plays next. This area quickly resembled an outdoor dance party. There is nothing more.... amusing than seeing two dozen male 3D avatars dancing around a single woman in a school girl outfit, except of course when the worshiped female, once silent, speaks out in a voice reminiscent of James Earl Jones after attended a Cigar party, "Hey guys, how's it going!?"
I have never seen people run so fast in a 3D environment.
All in all a great idea Sony, just needs a few tweaks. For a free service, not bad at all. Just tone down the use of voice chat and I think it will be a safe and fun place to venture, although next time I take a date bowling, I think Ill head up the street instead of back Home.
12/18/08
12/18/08
Seriously? Really?
12/18/08
I am getting really p*ssed off having to wade through numerous comments on here from people slagging off a brand new app (some of which have never even played on a ps3 let alone tried Home). I am so sick of the "I want it ALL now" commenters. It would be great if their was an automatic filter on Kotaku to filter all the bollocky comments.
12/18/08
I won't go into all of my issues but for Home to be in development for years and to be in closed beta for months if not a full year it should be a more fleshed out more robust product. Of all of the Sony first party games available we only get TWO themed spaces and one I don't give a shit about in Farcry2. Where's the LBP Space? Where's the MGS4 Space? Where's the Warhawk Space? Where's the Wipeout HD space?
Talk about a totally failed opportunity for Sony to truly impress with a product.
Sony needed to release Home with extensive inventory in the shops, better servers and bandwidth, the option to run movies or music from the HDD in Home from a Television or stereo in your house or flat, the ability to stream your content to the PS3 of any friends that are in your flat or house. The ability to change the color of your clothes, the ability to use images on your HDD for your wallpaper...there's just so much that Home should have done at launch but isn't doing...
For the love of gaming, if we have to re-download every single area over AGAIN after every damn update then Home should have launched with a full set of working features and items and updates should be limited to once every month. Either that or find a way to have content sent to your PS3 while in standby mode similar to what Nintendo does with Nintendo Wifi...who thought redownloading spaces was a good idea? Fire that jerk off.
"sigh" Sorry for the rant but this is really pissing me off.
12/18/08
12/18/08
12/18/08
Yeah, I wanted so much more out of Home, and it's hard to imagine they spent so long working on it since it feels like a thrown together proof of concept demo.
The PS3 is a very good system - and it has a fine selection of good games, some exclusive, many not. I do find it very lonely on PSN - people on my friends list are rarely online; I've never used it for networked gaming so far. I work with a bunch of guys with 360s, and it would be sweet playing with them, but I absolutely cannot justify the risk of such a flaky system.
IMO all three current consoles are pretty sad so far. Ah, to have the online of the 360, the reliablity of the PS3, and the install base of the Wii...
12/18/08
However, stating Home as a reason for not getting the PS3 is silly in more ways than three. You don't have to excess it anymore than you need to view the bonus features on a DVD.
It's there, but if you think that social interaction is such a bad thing, then don't use it. It's a fancy chat, it's just that no-one seems to realize it.
@heimbachae: I feel a bit sad for you.
Not only are you an uber-biased Microsoft-supporter, but you also feel the need of going in on a post about PS3 so that you can spew your nonsense.
Warranty is a way for Microsoft to fix their faulty engineering. I personally don't feel any desire to ship my consol on a regular basis just because Microsoft cut corners.
And no, Microsoft taking payments for Live is their way of screwing you over. All companies dealing with anything online have people hired to take care of their servers.
12/18/08
12/18/08
12/18/08
12/18/08
Win!
12/18/08
"I don't have a keyboard."
"****o"
"****o"
"****o"
"where are you from"
"****o"
12/18/08
12/18/08
It was as ever annoying anyhow.
12/18/08
12/18/08
At least I got to keep my "Summer House" that I had from the Closed Beta. Can't imagine somebody who would pay money for that kind of thing though.
Also, removing features from HOME is certainly not a good idea, Sony.
12/18/08
I like home, not because of what it is, but what it can become.
And thank god they turned off voice chat. IMHO i don't think it's ready yet, i hate listening to polish guys in the bowling alley talking loudly, or spanish peeps at the pool table screaming out about whatever..needs to be an easier mute-him button than what's available atm.
Mute-him because we all know all the girls are boys.
12/18/08
12/18/08
Meet my buddies in home to go play a game together ? No, I just need to call him: "Hey wanna play LBP ?"
Launching games through Home ? Why would I start home, than go to the game space, than boot the game when I can simply boot the game ?
Meet hot chicks ? No, half of them are dudes.
Everything Home could possibly do, can be done easier and faster through the PS menue.
12/18/08
But that's exactly what it is.
12/18/08
12/18/08
12/18/08
But as it is, I can't even play my own goddamn music when I'm in HOME :/
12/18/08