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The Archives
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03.17.10Sony Home Crosses 12 Million User Plateau: Largest Bowling League in the World?Sony's Home - a 'community-based service' built for the Playstation 3 - recently passed the 12 million worldwide user mark, according to Jack Buser, Home director, who revealed this stat at the Game Developer's Conference. A year ago, Home boasted five million users, which means the figure has increased an impressive 140%. On top of this, user stats indicate that more than 80% of those who log in once return for a second visit, and stayed for at least 60 minutes during the first visit. Buser did NOT reveal any Home-specific sales figures. According to Kotaku, the continued success of the 3D ...
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12.30.08Sex at Home: Sony Gets a Little LivelySony is fending off press reports of sex and harassment in its newly launched virtual environment, Home. Much as Google faced similar issues with the soon-to-be-departed Lively, Sony is trying to keep things PG, while at the same time faced with the reality that its key demographic is primarily teenage boys. I wonder if it's really a world if there's no sex. Sounds more like an amusement park, really. I suppose gratuitous violence makes up the difference. I don't blame Sony for trying to police, filter, and otherwise keep people focused on bowling (bowling?), but there's always a sort of baffled ...
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12.15.08Sony Home: A User ReviewsMore on Sony Home later in the week, but to kick things off following is one of the better (and perhaps more enthusiastic) reviews of the platform: Clearly, Home is a visually rich environment. I'm particularly impressed with the avatar customization. The environments are richly rendered, although the importance of this is always a debatable point: it's the 'eye candy' that can get you to stay past the first few minutes, but richly rendered does not necessarily mean rich experiences. Continue Reading...
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12.13.08Home is Where the Heart Is: Sex in Sony’s Virtual WorldUm, what did you expect from a virtual world aimed mostly at teens? I mean look, it happened in Google's Lively where at least you had a bit more control over your avatar's animations, and certainly it happens in Second Life which seems to gives brands the shivers. Can't wait to see this one on the front page of the UK tabloids. Ah for the good old days of Lively.
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06.27.08Sony Home: Will the Delay be Worth It? UnlikelyI've covered Sony's Home previously, and commented that the delay in its launch sounded primarily cosmetic. Once feared as a possible competitor to virtual worlds like Second Life, by the sounds of it all it has going for it are nicely rendered rooms. Kotaku reports that a peek at the current beta version of the platform "wasn't packing any pleasant surprises". Source: Kotaku The review highlights frustrating loading times and what sounds like a bland (although beautifully rendered) world: I went from an outdoor area to the movie theater lobby to an amusement area containing a bowling alley and an arcade. If that ...
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