What he's thinking: "Holy crap that's a good idea! *makes a mental note*"

:P

Kaoru

I'm as psyched as anyone should be about the prospect of paying real money for cosmetic virtual items and then paying real money for a larger virtual placre to put it in, all the while being assaulted by in game ads, but Sony does realize that the PS3 is for games, right?"

You do realize that Sony's entire campaign has been about the PS3 being more than a gamimg machine right?

XeroTrinity

skobar

I'm sure by that time Nintendo, and Microsoft will also have some pretty damn interesting things to offer as well. It's like an arms race and all sides are trying to be the first with a nuke.

WantedCreative

Not that I'm not craving some more games, mind you. I desperately want something new, and wish LittleBigPlanet was coming out this month, but I am not disappointed in my purchase so far.

PapaBear

noneother

I'm not praising it outside of saying that it looks like Sony is finally doing something different and interesting to a lot of people. It's a net positive for them.

I already said I probably won't be doing to much inside Home, but I am certainly going to try my damnedest to get into the beta anyway, just to see what they have going for themselves.

PapaBear

[SKO]DraftD

Don't try to tell people not to harshly judge something that isn't released yet in the same breath you use to praise said eventual product.

That is all.

Donner, party of 4... er...3?

FoxHoundADAM

Schu

Seriously though I don't see what all the fuss is about how fun can hanging out in a room be?

grimdeath

Agies

BenHobbs

What the fuck? FREE INTERNET??!??!?!?! No one said anything about that!

Ahh, best laugh today.

TakeoNinja

That is a Great idea!, does it get delivered to your virtual apartment as well as your "real" pad?

slayaz

Dude you do know that Nintendo WONT let 3rd paty publishers use your Miis in there games?

Sonys_Bitch

"achievements didnt sell 360s"

That might be, but they are selling games, lots of them.

Pixelantes Anonymous

Beats me. It's the same way for Nintendo for years. I guess it depends on the vibe. Some people are just more resistant to things they don't normally accept and therefore are more skeptical. Like again with Nintendo, people argue as if the Wii isn't capable of having great games and constantly hound others about it being so weak (that it couldn't possibly get the same great games... as the PS2 managed to have). Go figure. And it's not as if third-parties responsible for the great PS2 library are even pulling the same great effort on the Wii thus far which is why IMO they have a lot to answer for and not just Nintendo, who at least have recently show Mario Galaxy which I think shows quite an effort in more a more next-gen-ish quality in graphics.

Anyway, I think Home's a pretty good idea much like Xbox Live. I just hope I don't have to pay to use it (i.e. micro transactions or monthly fees). It's not a dig mind you I just don't find the concept of paying for software at the mercy of an online infrastructure that may or may not survive in the early years and most likely will be terminated in the far future making it worthless (for games like MMORPGs mind you, not Home, which isn't actually a game).

questworld

NoBullet

Fett Fetterson

"Online" play is just as susceptible to limiting a game's potential as say the input system. The more dynamic and flexible the means of meeting people to play with online, the more options there are to expand all other aspects of the game.

Take for instance Joe Shmo BF2/Counterstrike FPS. Most of these games simply have a list of servers of which you can "Join" and play with others. Your choice is contingent usually on what server has the lowest ping. Not on choosing to play with people that live in your area, share your intrests or someone you spotted sporting a virtual Q2 Rocket Arena T-shirt in a lobby.

With something like Sony's "Home" it is possible to actually "Hang out" and meet people that share those interests and go from there. This is groundbreaking, as is the whole Mii concept.

World Of Warcraft has a completely different "Feel" to it because of the simple fact that they removed a Server wide chat channel. Where as Anarchy Online and Phantasy Star Online are still kicking because of their awesome communication and guild systems that promote you to "Hang out" with others.

MMOs with Lobby-esque "Hang out" spaces seem to last longer than ones that do not. Well that's my personal observation at least.

Excuse the whimsical rant.

Patient

schtum

They flip-flopped and now Praise Sony.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/03/09

moonfirelol

- Can friends in another game can see me online in Home ?

- Can i send messages only to people logged into Home....or also "outside" of it ?

RodmanSan

"Just stop judging the stuff months away from release."

Who is judging? I said that Home will not turn out like Sony is projecting it to the public. Everything they did this gen was either a flat out lie (KillZone 2) or horribly exaggerated (PS3 capabilities). If you don't think they will milk HOME users with microtransaction hell, then you are delusional.

moonfirelol

The point is, it's nice to promise things. But for free, and pay-per-download, I'm going to really set the bar low on this one.

Scuba Steve

As a matter of fact, I own a Wii, though I have let me little cousin borrow it indefinatly until his father can find him one of his own. Nintendo has created some good games in the past, but it doesn't have anything that particularly interests me now.

No, my answer would not change. I don't plan on using Home a whole lot, honestly, but I can recognize it's potential as a time sink for those so inclined. Look at the sucess of "The Sims" and tell me that there isn't a lot of people out there who are going to be wholly consumed by this "FREE" program they are offering.

Nobody is forcing you to use it, nor are they forcing you to pay the for a fancy new chair. Some people will likely take full advantage of this, however. If they find it entertaining, more power to them.

Just stop judging the stuff months away from release.

PapaBear

This isn't a bash on Sony. I'm a grownup, and realize that things cost money. Putting up with voluntary microtransactions and involuntary ads is a legitimate way to pay for a very expensive service.

I haven't had much good to say about Sony, but I do hope they pull this off. And from the sounds of the posters, I'm not the only Sony critic who is welcoming some good news about the PS3.

FlapjacksAreTasty

I love it! I'll let you Nintendork/360 fanboys know when I get accepted into the beta ;-)

Ixero

SO TRUE!

its funny to hear people make comments about how certain things dont work well, when they arent even out yet.

the sony-hate must end!

joelface

Thomaticus

jackal888

PA didn't flip flop over Home, they went nuts over LittleBigPlanet, like any self-respecting gamer ought to.

JibbyJam

Answer me something; would you be so defensive, if this was Nintendo announcing it? Because your answer shouldn't change,unless you are biased towards Sony.

moonfirelol

This buildup of Home is very similar to the buildup for the PS3. The main difference is instead of saying there will be features in the final product that weren't there, they're saying they're looking into/exploring/seeing if they can have features in the final product.

Not only am I betting on most of the investigatory features never making it, I'm also betting that at least one of the solid features mentioned will not be implemented. At the very least, one of them will be toned down or just not work as expected.

Fool me once (PS2's emotion engine bullshit), shame on me. Fool me twice (PS3 features being cut and scaled down), shame on you. Fool me three times (Home possibly coming up short) and I consider myself mentally retarded for allowing you to do that to me.

DaveKap

It is gonna be full of ads.

They are gonna charge for all kinds of perks (pimp your "home").

Home is gonna be filled with the kind of people you would never hang out with in real life.

As long as it has lots of shortcuts, it won't be too annoying to use but the people will still make it annoying.

Cynicism aside, there is potential here for a lot of people to waste a lot of time.

Remember (as someone said above me) they lost money selling you the console, they are paying for the server you are using and you didn't pay up front for home. You will be hosed for addons and bombarded with ads all the while listening to screaming twelve year olds with ADHD.

kNZA

fallingdove

but after seeing that it was 'entertainment machine.' that it costs $1000 (I'm in Australia) and that it wouldnt just 'insert and play,' and that there werent going to be any interesting games for at least a year out from release (the Australian release mind you)

I went and bought a ds lite.

best $200 I ever spent.

it's like i'm a kid again and plugged in my NES for the first time.
Eventually I might get a ps3... but at the moment they are definitely not providing $1000 of value.

you know that $1000 in Australia can buy you like ... a kangaroo farm!?

nornicle

Luke Plunkett

Anyone who says that no one is going to waste their time in a virtual world talking about games while wasting their time posting on a message board while talking about games is clearly missing the point.

Same song, different dance folks It's not like they are going to force you to use Home to use the friends list. It's just going to be another section on the XMB if you decide to use it.

PapaBear

MikeA

Err, the virtual PSP was put in precisely to prevent that situation from happening,

mikemil828

This GDC was a solid win for Sony in a sea of missteps. If you have some personal grudge against Sony or not is irrelevant. At least give them credit for the fact that they are actually trying to do something different, and save the judgments for the actual product.

Because right now, all I am seeing is judgments based on assumed features and imagined transgressions that have yet to be.

PapaBear

Doomstalk

withaneight

pseudo.hero

Replace Sony with Nintendo. And PS3 with Wii. And now the circle of whining is complete.

K-OSS

Barbara

"Why didn't they create a buzz before?"

They are working on this since PS2 (end of console cycle, maybe 2 years max). We were all talking about the PS3 as a lifeless console and they let us do it.

Why haven't they just say something about it. I don't know, like a pub were you see Home with the PS3 logo. Create somekind of hype. Instead, they bull**** us with the BlueRay argument.

This news is amazing but at the same time, it also looks like a unpolished product to help the PS3 popularity. Because we all know that it was going nowhere. I wish that the product is great however because it looks really great and full of potential.

slimky

Also, I'd be very (VERY) surprised if the only way to play a game with someone via PlayStation Home would be to walk all the way up to that person. Very surprised. I'm PRETTY SURE there's a friends' list function.

Call it a hunch!

Also, as for the "the PS3 is for GAMES" comments. God. Hell. Duh. Don't assume that just because one division of a company is working on one thing doesn't mean that every other division has stopped to stand in place and stare.

108

Cartman86

seriously, this is not going to sway me to buy a ps3. i've been sitting on the sidelines of this round of consoles, waiting to see what the better bang for the buck (i.e. who has the games i want to play...and not just one or two, 8 or 9 must haves).

and while this home, miis, whatever are cute. i don't play games for cute. i play games to rob someone of the coins and the steal their car while i blast aliens who've stolen my girlfriend. i don't buy a system to stock an online 'apartment'...i already have one of those in real life.

and the lobby will be nice. you can wave at me and I do yet another stupid dance while we wait for your two friends to show up so we can all go kill stuff. i mean, if i'm going have to wait around for you two friends to show up, i might as well have long blue pointy ears and obsessive jumping disorder (at least in that world we get to kill things...instead of argue over where to put your new couch).

i miss insert game play.

erbal

So, you can invite people into your virtual, then what? I mean, isn't this the virtual equivalent of having the guys over, sitting around and going, "So, umm ... what do you wanna do?"

"Umm ... I dunno, you?"

"I dunno."

Get some damn gaming going on, this isn't Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

jayntampa

deadHonk

i just keep asking myself why would i need to virtually walk up to you and talk to you when i can just message you? or why would i want to watch a movie or tv show on a fake screen on my screen or play a game on a fake arcade cabinet...?

just seems unnecessary and lame to me.
they are adding a layer of interactivity that is mundane and redundant.

let me go into my living room so i can turn on my PS3 & tv...then i can enter my virtual living room and turn on my virtual tv and play my virtual dvd player... and invite some virtual friends over to virtually sit and pretend to watch a movie

i should be able to do this with less interaction...like turn on system play movie & stream to other systems...no silly second life bullshit needed

i'm no fan boy but dammit i think this is getting way too much applause.

crobar

What do you expect. Sony knows that they will not meet their promises (at least not initially), and just saying all this to bait us in. Many people will be heartbroken when this service finally launches, and many of the features are not either there, or parts of it cut

And I feel sorry for those that do fall for this. I smell one of the greatest microtransaction scam of this generation. There is no way all of this is free, when they are dealing with no only 200-300 dollar lost per system, but a "free" online system.

moonfirelol

If I wanted to be a sad case talking to virtual friends and spending virtual money bought with real money on virtually useless polygonal meshes and texture maps, I'd play Second Life.

If I had no friends and a very disposable income, I'd buy a PS3. Home is just lipstick on a pig.

humilitybecomeshim

captainscurvy

Also am I the only one that finds it creepy that this PS3 feature shares its name with the most disturbing and unsettling X-Files episode?

Agies

Jaimz11785

I'm not usually this cynical but I found it funny that every time the interviewer asked a question about a certain type of service or function, Phil says, "Sure we can do that!"

Although, it does seem like they are really starting simple and letting the market/users/developers, give their input into what they want out of the service and go from there....and that's a breath of fresh air from Sony....and I'm talking the brisk mountain kind!

BlindEagle

Funny that many people are treating this as the savior to the PS3, even PA flip-flopped after seeing this.

moonfirelol

androvsky

alibi

subject117

PapaBear

Phil "Why not!"

Interviewer 'If I suggest something that Home might feature will you say 'why not'?"

Phil "Why not?"

Interviewer " Why arn't I asking any questions regarding important issues? Microtransactions, copyright issues with displaying media with 15 other people etc.

Phil " Because we're paying YOU for this TV slot, and why not?"

SmokeyTab

MindKiller317

superatt

Supersonic

SkaOreo

hmmm sounds familiar. Oh well, at least PS3 might use them more than better than in the Wii.

basketballboyajo

ok, but im on the other side of town can you wait till i get there, it'll take me about 20mins

.........um, maby next round

ok.........

it's starting to seem like a halfway decent concept for people who dont dwell too much in sims or second life, so long as it is well executed and there are online games worth gathering online for.

achievements didnt sell 360s
miis didnt sell wiis

content(exclusive helps), originality, and listening to the gamers sells systems

VenoMuS

NickSoapdish

Cam/ron

As cool as Miis are ... Nintendo needs to get the anti-social networking stick out of the ass and give us a "I'm fucking over 18 so stop treating me like a child" checkbox.

Mind you I Hate Sony and Love Nintendo, so it's hard for me to say anything nice about them.

Trendy . Ideology

I don't have a PS3 yet, but this is the kind of thing that would make me more likely to purchase one in the future.

Fvash

I'm as psyched as anyone should be about the prospect of paying real money for cosmetic virtual items and then paying real money for a larger virtual placre to put it in, all the while being assaulted by in game ads, but Sony does realize that the PS3 is for games, right?

Marasai

Islandkiwi

Wait until the graphical masterpiece that is PS3 "popping down to the shops" arrives. Somebody has to get sued over that little doozy.

Bumble

Karttikeya