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PlayStation Home opens for all tomorrow

Posted by Al Warmington on Wed 10 Dec 2008

PS3's virtual community given the green light

 

Sony has ended months of speculation this morning by officially announcing the start of the PlayStation Home open beta. From tomorrow, a download will be available that will install Home on your PS3 and add a new icon on to the XMB.

 

Home has been a long time in the making and subjected to numerous delays. However, much has changed since the concept was first announced. Now the virtual space isn’t simply a place for players to wander aimlessly about talking to complete strangers, it’s a full-blown interactive world sporting numerous activities and environments to explore.

 

Furthermore, what’ll be on offer from tomorrow is merely the start of an extensive list of updates that Sony has planned. Red Bull will be kicking off SCE’s partnership with other mainstream brands. A Red Bull Island is offering up a range of activities, including a virtual Red Bull Air Race.

 

Sony also has fashion designer Diesel and furniture brand Ligne Roset on board to provide virtual clothing and furniture to customise your Home avatar and apartment space. If that sounds a bit like a PlayStation Mall, you’d be right – these brands will also be charging as much as €1.50 (about £1.30) for some of their more exclusive designs. Fortunately, Sony also intends for there to be a lot of freebies on offer as well, and will be making various promotional items, like Watchmen T-Shirts, available in the New Year. Sounds a bit more engaging than putting crazy hair on your Xbox 360 Avatar, at least.

 

Sony’s dedicated game spaces will be following on later, where players will be able to discuss the games, soak in the themed environment and discuss strategies for multiplayer bouts. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Warhawk, Motorstorm and SOCOM are set to showcase inside Home shortly, and similar efforts from other major publishers are expected soon.

 

Admittedly, this does sound like the best is still yet to come – a story that’s been heard about PS3 and Home itself many times over the past couple of years. Bear in mind that Home is still at beta stage and won’t be ready for a full public launch until God know when. However, while we wait for more brands to get on board, players will still be able to enjoy the various mini-games that are already in place, create their own Home environments and invite their friends along, and start their own communities with e Club feature. You have to pay for this service though.

 

The download starts tomorrow, and about ten minutes after that we expect everything to come a juddering halt, lagging out, crashing and booting players at random – at least, we think that’s the normal proceedings for open beta’s isn’t it?

 

 

 

Link: PlayStation 3