back to article Sony delays PS3 virtual world Home - again

Sony has pushed back the release of Home, the PlayStation 3's answer to Second Life, yet again, pending 'refinements' it believes it needs to make to the service. Gamers have been patiently awaiting Home’s arrival since May 2007, when Sony said a public beta testing programme would be launched in the summer of that year. In …

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  1. Goat Jam
    Joke

    Hopefully

    they will get it working before the PS4 launches

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Heart

    Boring and Useless

    Just like the PS3 itself HOME is only going to provide another complicated way of doing something that other consoles do perfectly well without all this trash.

    I'd just give up now and concentrate on trying to implement some decent online interaction. Even the Wii has a better online system than the PS3!!!

    Does anyone here actually have Beta access? If so enlighten us please.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Gates Horns

    More games orientation.

    The delays apprantly, are due to SCEJ wanting to tweak it so it's more game orientated, which I feel is a good thing.

    I still think this will be well worth waiting for.. I think since Phil Harrisson left, SCEJ have been steering things on a different course, wether that is a good thing or a bad thing, only time will tell...

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Catch 22?

    If it's not finished and they release it = pissed off gamers

    If they delay to finish it properly = pissed off gamers

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Delays, delays and further delays, but why the hate?

    I hate products delays as much as the next guy, but why do console fanboys hate each other so much?

    Are you in it for the games, or for the sake of bashing other companies products in favor of the one you have choosen?

  6. George

    If it was redesigned the standard menus would do the job...

    ...they could that as a while-u-wait service.

    This is really disappointing for PS3 owners, and to be blunt its going to have to be bloomin' great to make up for the waiting.

    And yes I am curious about the beta too, anyone in it?

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    Have I Purchased a Lemon?

    Who else is fed up with the PS3? The introduction of the long-awaited 3rd generation playstation has been f*cked up in just about every way by Sony, leaving the few people like myself stupid enough to buy one, regretting the decision. The release itself was delayed by years meaning Sony missed the boat on the "next" generation consoles. Game after game after game release is delayed (of which "home" is just one example), and when they do come out, they aren't even in high definition!! 720p is the best the vast majority of games can manage! Yes, Sony continually tout the PS3's superior hardware as the reason to buy one, but who's actually seen a game the Xbox 360 can't render at least as well if not better?!

  8. Stu

    Oh this is shit

    Typical Sony manoeuvre - piss gamers off by making them wait months or years, then they STILL release a half completed pile of poo.

    I would at least wager that this is partly to do with the games developers not providing good support for integration or game launch from within Home in their titles.

    I WANT HOME NOW!!! In more ways than one!

  9. Andy Turner

    Why do we need Home?

    Can't we all just meet up with our avatars in Liberty City?

  10. paul
    Flame

    @AC

    Lets start the flames....

    "Even the Wii has a better online system than the PS3!!!"

    PS3 has the best online system as its the only HD console with a web browser.

    Yes you can read digg and el reg v easy on the ps3 with a nice Full HD telly.

    The 360 may have live , but I want the internet. The wii opera browser is very nice - but not HD. When your reading a lot of text - this is important.

    Also, PS3 has demos , video trailers etc etc from PSN. The wii has jack like this.

    Guitar hero is crap online for the wii. Thankfully mario kart isn't so bad. 2 player online on one machine is pretty neat. But COD4 on ps3 is the best online gaming experience. - It loads faster than live and is a wii bit more solid ;)

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Paul Paul Paul!!!

    What a load of drivel!!!

    "PS3 has the best online system as its the only HD console with a web browser."

    Thats the funniest thing i've read in a long time!!! Lets not even attempt to defend the dreadful matchmaking / friend system / voice chat online system that Sony has attempted with the PS3! No no!! Lets hit em where it hurts!!! THE WEB BROWSER!!

    Wow i never saw that coming. HD web browsing? Yes that exists doesnt it? Obviously you haven't tried the brilliant Opera brower in the Wii. Fluid, simple and very easy to use, vastly superior to the PS3 browser, on ANY tv!!! Tell me something... did you post to this article using your PS3?

    Besides the point anyway. COD4 on the 360 is a much better online experience, and it is not slower than the PS3. Lord knows where you got that from! Still waiting for those maps on the PS3? Forshame.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Anyone with the Beta?

    I'm not convinced Home actually exists!

    Vaporware anyone?

    I'm still to be sold on the whole thing, I need someone to tell me why this is worth waiting for?

  13. James
    Flame

    @AC

    Not so sure what's wrong with the Match Making side of the PS3 stuff. From my experience, it's actually not so bad and you act like the ONLY way you can play is via Match Making. There are plenty of games out there on the PS3 that let you create matches yourself for people to play.

    Match Making seems to be only used when on-line play lets you earn bonuses in the game itself (GT Prologue is a good example of this).

    The friends list still has some missing features, like inviting them to a game etc. but that's all that's missing when I come to think of it.

    It's nowhere near as bad as you make out, and I seriously doubt you've tried on-line play on a PS3 at all. From what you're describing, you're telling us the bad points of what used to be the old PS2 based network, which was awful.

    As for Home....well....I was never really interested in it anyhow. I guess it shows that they're comitted to providing a good experience with it, if they're delaying it.

    The flames because this has been a flame war between console nerds thus far, who might want to think about dealing with their personal hygene issues so a woman might allow them to mate (given enough money having sold your precious consoles and games)

  14. Mark Ashworth
    Happy

    I don't mind waiting

    as in most cases the developers are improving the software.

    I'd rather have late software than buggy software. I'm quite prepared to wait another 12 months for GT5, as I know it will be better than any other racing game out on the market. I'm also quite sure that when Home is released everyone will be praising the results.

    @AC COD4 map packs for PS3 are released on Thursday 24th April, since you seem to be so interested, and can I ask when are you getting Unreal III for the XBox, it's been out quite a while for the PS3.

    Queue the fanboy backlash.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    bloody gamers!!!

    What is it with people! An unnamed company releases a console a year before Sony that is blatently under cooled so that when I play Gears of War, I manage to kill 2 of the consoles while averaging under 20 minutes gameplay PER DAY!!

    Everyone on this site is always complaining about software released early and unfinished or bugs or hardware with incomplete drivers, etc, etc.

    Sony come along and actually do something right, which is don't release the hardware until it is stable, dont release the software until it provides a good experience and you guys STILL arent happy! Whats wrong with you people!!

    I look at it this way the first 11 months of xbox 360 ownership saw me taking the damned thing back to Dixons TWICE! I bought a PS2 on the day that it was first released and had no problems with it, even now it's working. If the PS3 is as reliable I am happy. Am I upset that I had to wait a year for it? not really! Am I upset that Home is taking ages? Not really if it means that it will work and be stable!

    Paris - because even she knows the importance of good testing

  16. Kevin Flame
    Happy

    Fanboys

    I wish they'd get over it...

    <Quote>Even the Wii has a better online system than the PS3!!!<endQuote>

    Owning a Wii, 360, and a PS3 I'd have to disagree. The revamped PSN store and the browser on the PS3 are both excellent (and free). The 360 doesn't offer a web experience, but their store has more content than the PS one. The Wii does well in both departments too, and it's free too.

    <Quote>game after game release is delayed (of which "home" is just one example), and when they do come out, they aren't even in high definition!! 720p is the best the vast majority of games can manage!<endQuote>

    Not true. Us PS3 owners are all playing CoD4 in 1080p. We don't play anything else... :)

    <Quote>the dreadful matchmaking / friend system / voice chat online system that Sony has attempted with the PS3<endQuote>

    As I said, we all only play CoD4 which has tidy enough match-making. A few seconds to find a game. I am only comparing this to Halo 3 though (which I thought took ages to find a game - it may be better on other titles).

    The friends system on a PS3 is fine. It's pretty much the same across the 360, Wii and PS3. Send an invite, then accept or reject. That's about it. What more do you want from it?

    And voice chat is fine too! I love abusing people in CoD4 (again, the only game us PS3 users play!).

    There's always going to be a number of people who slag off the consoles, always was, always will be. Some of us just buy them all to enjoy the benefits each has over the other! :)

  17. Thomas Glover

    Flaming idiots

    "What a load of drivel!!!

    "PS3 has the best online system as its the only HD console with a web browser."

    Thats the funniest thing i've read in a long time!!! Lets not even attempt to defend the dreadful matchmaking / friend system / voice chat online system that Sony has attempted with the PS3! No no!! Lets hit em where it hurts!!! THE WEB BROWSER!!

    Wow i never saw that coming. HD web browsing? Yes that exists doesnt it? Obviously you haven't tried the brilliant Opera brower in the Wii. Fluid, simple and very easy to use, vastly superior to the PS3 browser, on ANY tv!!! Tell me something... did you post to this article using your PS3?

    Besides the point anyway. COD4 on the 360 is a much better online experience, and it is not slower than the PS3. Lord knows where you got that from! Still waiting for those maps on the PS3? Forshame."

    At least his arguments have something to them. Your argument about the web browser for the Wii is that it's "fluid, simple to use and vastly superior" - well guess what, the PS3 web browser is fluid and easy to use (if anything more so than the Wii - I was at a friend's flat recently and watching him trying to input characters using the Wiimote was painful - it took him about five minutes for him to enter a URL). Whereas the PS3 - enter a couple of characters, select the word from predictive text - all done with no arm bobbing.

    "Vastly superior on any tv" just isn't an argument - there's no reasoning behind it.

    I for one couldn't care less what console people own and I think all three have their strengths - it just pisses me off when people feel the need to bash other consoles, presumably in some attempt to justify their spending decision.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Home - don't get your hopes up

    Well, I'm a beta trialist of 'Home'. So, I'm not allowed to say too much about it.

    But, I will say this - It's not all that. I can't see me using it day in, day out.

    At the moment, it's quite nice playing PS3 online and only finding the occasionaly 'numpty' that upsets your play. When 'Home' comes along, they will be very much in your face. Wasting comms bandwidth, streaming their terrible music, typin msgs tht mak kno cense.

  19. paul

    @AC

    You didn't read my comments very much did you.

    Yes the wii has a great browser in opera - but its not HD as I mentioned. You do know what that means? HD equals more text that is clearer and readable. Text at SD on an interlaced video mode is nasty.

    If both ps3 and wii were using old skool telly then yes the wii is better due to wii mote and operas nice interface. That wasn't my point.

    I stand by my comments that having a web browser makes a better online 'experience' overall. How you going to order you supplies from Tesco / Asda / Amazon without??

    COD4 is faster on ps3 online. That is connecting to games. Otherwise they are identical. Maps , well yes you got me on that one.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Alert

    Tightly wound aren't we all?

    Can we all just calm it?

    Its a shame that everyone gets so easily steered off track - is anyone here talking about Home? No its the same people everytime arguing about their console of choice.

    GET OVER IT SADDOS!

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hehehe

    "Not true. Us PS3 owners are all playing CoD4 in 1080p. We don't play anything else... :)"

    Wonder why that is, nothing to do with the fact the PS3 has no other game worth playing or anything is it :p ?

    Even then the 360 has sold millions more units of CoD4 than the PS3 has, sucks to be Sony or a Sony fanboy right now :p

  22. Steve Barnes
    Flame

    Re: Hehehe

    "Not true. Us PS3 owners are all playing CoD4 in 1080p. We don't play anything else... :)"

    Wonder why that is, nothing to do with the fact the PS3 has no other game worth playing or anything is it :p ?

    Even then the 360 has sold millions more units of CoD4 than the PS3 has, sucks to be Sony or a Sony fanboy right now :p

    ==========================

    Uncharted is one of the best games I've ever played. GT5 Prologue (and of course GT5 next year), Ratchet & Clank, Army of Two, COD4, Warhawk, Resistance, GTAIV (next week yay!), PixelJunk Monsters (What a game - £3.50!!!), Super Stardust HD, and soon enough Haze, FFXIII, Resistance 2, Killzone 2, Mercenaries 2, and of course, the ace of spades: MGS4.

    Mocking the PS3 for it's game library simply doesn't work anymore - just makes you look like a pratt. When Haze & MGS 4 are out by June, there will have been much more quality titles for PS3 in it's first 15 MONTHS than the 360 had. I'm not into 360 bashing, as I'll be getting one for my birthday this year, but if you're gonna flame, you're gonna be flamed too!

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Mine is bigger than yours

    Quote: "...its the same people everytime arguing about their console of choice.

    GET OVER IT SADDOS!"

    Well said that man/woman.

    No matter what the topic, it always comes down to childish 'my console's bigger than yours' rubbish.

    Get a life.

  24. Iain

    COD4 @1080p

    When forced into 1080p mode, Call Of Duty 4 on the PS3 runs at a resolution of 600x1080. There's a reason that leaving 720p as an option makes the game choose that - it's the way the game is designed to be played on both PS3 and 360; the game does not run at a higher res on Sony's console.

    The PS3's internal scaler can only scale horizontally, not vertically like the 360's. The mode exists to satisfy owners of screens that won't take 720p signals, not just so PS3 owners can make up in smug what they lack in critical thinking skills.

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Alert

    Focus, people!

    Yep, good to see this set of comments staying on topic.

    For me, the worst part of this news is that the forums will continue their steady stream of 'So when's Home being released?' threads. Which, since no-one knows the answer (perhaps not even Sony) and this situation is unlikely to change for the foreseeable future, is irritating.

    So, I find this news irritating but wish Sony luck in debugging and/or creeping the scope of the work.

    Ooh, maybe it's adding a video download store to coincide with the upcoming video downloads in the summer. Don't care; I'll wait and see.

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