Sony Giving PlayStation Home A Facelift This Fall With Social Gaming Focus

by Mike Bendel on August 23, 2011 @ 2:04 pm


The launch of PlayStation Home has been something of a double-edge sword for Sony. While it’s resonated well with many loyal enthusiasts, it hasn’t exactly caught on with the average PS3 gamer. Come this fall, Sony is making strides to change that, with a renewed focus on social gaming.

Home is getting a extensive makeover, with games as the central focus. Rather than starting in a lone apartment, visitors to Home will soon see themselves in a bustling Hub — wrapping up quests, community events and user-generated content in one central location. The existing plaza is being scrapped entirely, in favor of a modern aesthetic. From the new Hub, users can form groups and teleport to genre-themed areas, separated by districts. For instance, the Action district is set in a “gritty, urban” locale designed to carry a look and feel of many first-person shooter titles.

“This is a giant leap in the evolution of the platform,” Home boss Jack Buser told VentureBeat. “We are going to ‘up level’ games as the heart of PlayStation Home. This means that Home itself is going to become a game. The first things you see when you get into Home are games.”

This sounds more like what Sony envisioned Home as from the very beginning. Here’s hoping the streamlined approach makes it a bigger attraction.

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Read more: PlayStation Home 1.35 Launches Tomorrow,  PlayStation Home Gets Major Update,  Journey Dev: Sony Has a More Adult, Artistic Audience,  SCEA: PlayStation Home Bustling With Activity, Still A Top Priority,  Reeves: Home Delayed Due To Non Gaming Focus

Comments
eldiablov says:

When I make my half yearly visit to home I noticed a little space game on there and was half interested. But it was shit. They definitely need to focus on QUALITY social gaming to get more people interested.

August 23, 2011, 9:15 pm
Robby says:

I logged onto it when it first came out, then never looked at it again. It's just not interesting.

August 24, 2011, 5:01 am
Craig Fairfax says:

My friend and I logged in late last year to see if anybody still uses it. Apparently everybody hangs out at the bowling alley trying to get girls to text them naked pictures.

August 24, 2011, 7:16 am
january39 says:

I logged in for about 5 mins, logged out and never went back. Although, if i can get pictures of naked girls i might think again.

August 24, 2011, 2:12 pm
hush404 says:

Ehh, Home has it's place. I think, a lot of core gamers aren't the audience that appreciates it and thus we bitch about it, but there's obviously someone spending money there because Sony spends quite the amount of resources improving it.

August 24, 2011, 2:46 pm
slicer4ever says:

I thought home was pretty awesome, when i got the ps3 it was the one thing at the time that really stood out imo, i enjoyed it for about a week, and haven't checked back since.

While i think it's awesome, it's just not something i really care to go out of my way to use, particularly when i only use the ps3 for movies, or games.
August 24, 2011, 4:32 pm
Robby says:

I remember when Uno came out for the xbox and you could find a girl giving a free show to guys.

August 24, 2011, 11:46 pm
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