The day we’ve been waiting for is here! And this is just the beginning…
Today we announced that PlayStation Home will enter into open beta, and will be available to everyone tomorrow. This milestone represents the very beginning of a long journey together, as PlayStation Home is an ever evolving, always changing, organic experience — full of new friends to meet, new events to enjoy, and new content to explore.
If this will be your first time in PlayStation Home, be sure to talk to folks that have been around for a while, as they can show you the ropes. We also have a tutorial built in that will get you started with the controls, as well as help menus for you to reference in the Menu Pad. If you don’t have a USB keyboard or Bluetooth headset paired with your PlayStation 3, now is the time to do so – either option will allow you to easily talk and meet everyone.
One of the first things that you’ll notice that there are always things going on – parties, tournaments, events – some of which will be announced, and some of which that will just happen. You’ve got to be there to be a part of the party, so make sure to log in often to see what is going on.
If you want to know what’s coming up, check out the PlayStation Home forums, as we will be announcing events, tournaments, content updates, and feature revisions there, and by actively participating, you will be the first to know. You’ll also find that the PlayStation Home forums are alive with conversation from the PlayStation Home community discussing everything from feature requests to new clubs to join.
Many of you will have already seen the news regarding participation in PlayStation Home from your favorite game publishers and brands, including Activision, Disney, Eidos, Electronic Arts, Lucas Arts, THQ and UBISOFT as well as Sony Pictures, Paramount, Red Bull, Ligne Roset, and Diesel. As you can imagine, with this many partners already on board, PlayStation Home will grow rapidly, so you’ll need to check back often to see what is new. We’ll do our best to keep you informed on what is going on, but with so much happening in PlayStation Home, there will always be new surprises and secrets to discover. If we simply told you about everything, then it just wouldn’t be as fun for you to discover…
For those of you that have been in PlayStation Home for a while, I wanted to take a moment to discuss something very cool that you will notice right away. Once you get in, you’ll see that a redesigned Central Plaza is there to greet you – we’ve made major upgrades as a result of your community feedback. Thank you!
First of all, the Central Plaza now features a new 4 player mini-game called “Saucer Pop,” where each player launches a flying saucer from a take-off pad and flies around popping bubbles. These bubbles contain stars that have points attached, but watch out for the bubbles with bombs which will take you out if you’re not careful. You also must keep an eye on your saucer’s fuel gauge and collect bubbles with fuel cells or else you will quickly meet a watery fate. Success is all about the high scores, so good luck out there! I’ve been playing for a while now while we’ve been developing the game, so I’m getting pretty good…for those of you that know me, prepare to pop!
Secondly, you will also see some changes to Listen@Home. Now, you’ll be able to select from a number of songs and vote on your favorites. Which ever song gets the most votes plays for everyone, so be sure to get your voice heard and get down on the dance floor.
I could go on and on about all the cool new things you are going see and find in PlayStation Home, both on day one of open beta and beyond. The important thing to remember is that PlayStation Home will continue to evolve and change overtime, so be sure to get in often so you don’t miss out…
See you in PlayStation Home.
yesssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’ve been trying the BETA for a few weeks now and I like it. It’s quite good, actually, though I had trouble with the voice-chat and call function and not many gamers set-up game-sessions or joined mine (WarHawk). Perhaps these things will be fixed tommorow.
Also, I do hope all future multiplayer-games will be supporting HOME-functionality, because it’s so much more fun to have a platform where you can join friends in online sessions at ANY GIVEN MOMENT. Perhaps I’m spoiled with, dare I say it, my Xbox Live-account, but the PSN feels like an empty shell right now.
This, however, brings me to the following:
To make me and every other online gamer with a PS3 console VERY, VERY happy, I’d like to suggest that some of the functions of HOME should be in the XMB, like (for instance):
– Call a friend (so you can ALWAYS voicechat with a friend or multiple friends to discuss or ask things, without first having to quit your game etc, or if you just don’t want to hear the rest of the players in a running game, or you don’t want them to hear you)
– Show game-sessions (not EVERY session, but only sessions in which your friends are at the moment)
– Create a game-session
This way, we can all happily jump in and out different multiplayer- or cooperative gamesessions WITHOUT first starting up HOME and sit out the loading screens and matchmaking (which can take up to 5 or more minutes, if not longer, and this is FRUSTRATING and unnecessary)
This IS going to be a big day of judgement…… wish everyone the best * and really Home is great!
Looking forward to it.
Good News!
Caemgen: “Perhaps I’m spoiled with, dare I say it, my Xbox Live-account”
LOL!
Being forced to pay 50 bucks a year for laggy P2P low player count online gaming and a Nintendo Mii ripoff!
Yeah, retard, you’re ‘spoiled’…
FINALLY! Ive been waiting since the start. I am very impressed with Sony’s suprise tactics. I did not excpect to see this whatsoever at this time. This is why I choose nothing but Sony.
It hasn’t even opened yet and they have so many partners!
See you all in Home!!!
See You There All
@NathanJ
LMFAO!
XBOX SUCKS!!!
PS3 OWNS ALL!!!
ITS ABOUT FREAKING TIME!
Dear NathanJ:
You made me laugh. Thank you.
Everything works well with Xbox Live, and I’m happy to pay for it because of that.
If there was some sort of ‘premium’ service that actually works (you know: without crappy voice-quality and lag) for the PSN, I’d pay for it.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the PS3 and the games, and I’ve been playing much less on my Xbox lately because of Little Big Planet, but in terms of ‘online gaming’ and communication with friends Sony still has a lot to learn and improve. =)
Best news i heard in months…. :O Wawww!
@104 i dont know how you can say that comment and how you spoiled when you paying for it? plus this is all about sony and home let give them there congratulation and dont dem there shine this is there time not ms,xbox or anyone.
@ 115: Spoiled in terms of quality, performance and community-feeling. I don’t care that it’s 50 euro’s a year. It works like a charm =)
But you’re right. Congratulations are in order!
Sony, congratulations. I’m looking forward to the release! Thank you for all the hard work.
This is the first post I’ve made on any blog, so bear with me. Just wanted to say I’ve always had faith in you SONY, glad to be a PS3 owner, keep up the excellent work.
Finally great job guys, I hope all goes well and the improvements roll out at a steady pace.
I’m already in home but its cool that it is finally coming out :) That gives a chance to everyone to try it out
I cant wait to see what home will offer us in a near future
Good job!
Even if it was officially announced here…I will only believe it when I see it xD
@116 ok but i guess you miss that christmas crash or you never had the 3 ring of death ah? hey am not being a d bag to you but i just dont see your point to the spoiled comment but am gald to see you understand the stay on topic part.
sweet!!!!!!
My biggest problem during the beta was the fact that the peoples profiles consisted of so little when it came to game purchases. 6 months trophies have been out and you don’t have even one? I don’t even go for them in games. I grab what’s out in the open and move on to the next game, but zero? most of these people that get into these test are from forums that mostly just talk a good game. Every beta that passes goes through these peoples hands and leaves the players out in the cold. I want to meet people that play games and not have to profile for hours. 95% of the people in Uncharted didn’t even have the game. If you could separate the talkers from the players this thing will be unbelievable. I want to walk up look at what they have in common game wise. Ask how a game on there list is that maybe I passed on. I don’t feel the need to talk about the weather and where they are from. That’s like going strait to second base to me.
Thank You… lets Hope for great reviews from the New Comers… and also Hope all is well with the Update.. I hear a Heavy Downloading of HOME coming ON.
@121 (Chris):
Yeah, I did. And no, I haven’t had any hardware-problems whatsoever.
Fact of the matter simply is: I miss a lot of futures and I am a little bugged about players being forced into HOME before they can join/create gamesessions, which takes a lot of time. And I really miss the in-game voicechat.
Anyway, I also posted this on the forums. =)
Sony needs to keep Home as a beta and refine it overtime. There is no doubt that tomorrow servers might be crashing. Being in beta stage will help Sony show that “Home beta” is an ongoing ever-growing environment. I just hope there will be avatar selections from games like LBP, MGS4 and or Patapon. It would be cool also if we got the freedom to use the sixaxis to actually control the avatars body movements for e.g dancing or waving. There is too much menu control try to make it similar to LBP. Anyway i am excited that tomorrow you all get to enjoy what i and others have been since last year.
PSN ID:stennex.
Uncharted space ftw.
I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again… HOME is nothing without content.
So far so good. Keep the content coming Sony!!!
Although I liked the Closed Beta, I don’t see myself getting into the public beta. Its fun for a bit but not for long.
I is very excited about this. This makes me happy, unlike the Sackboy $6 skins.
Better late than never, I say. Looking forward to getting a look at this, Jack. And don’t worry about some of these goons about how long it took… they’ll complain about anything if you give them the podium to do so.
After being in the beta for a few weeks, I’m looking forward to the changes and additions.
yay im using ny new key board now. i can finally start folding at home
Ok so tomorrow how will I be able to download this will i get a notification same as the software updates?
I got in a couple weeks ago. Thanks
I was definitely oooohing and aaaahing today when I heard this!
Yay! Finally, the day has come. I can’t wait, everything looks great! :)
I don’t know which I’m more happy about, the release of Home or the end of the Home Rumors.
This is terribly, terribly exciting. Can’t wait to boot it up tonight. How will it be distributed?
Awesome..I can’t wait
question: can we add some goatee to the facial hair selection for men?
I have an avatar that is so close to me, but no goatee selection. It is a facial hair that actually exists. :)
Caemgen.
Sony may have to ‘catch up’ on a few things like in game chatting, but at least we don’t have to deal with all those Red light issues that the 360 has.
@ 142: True.
But that’s not even a realistic or legitimate comparison in terms of online gaming and communication-features.
Or is it?
Wait let me get this straight. I was pormised a Home Beta code 5 weeks ago, and it took me 3 weeks of disgracefully bad email customer service hell to get Sony to finally send me the Home Beta Code I was promised 2 days before Home goes Public?
This Isn’t over Sony, I’m not gonna let you get away with treating your Annual Qore subscribers like that.
If I can display my photos in my Home space listen to my music and watch my videos with Home appliances I will come Home otherwise I am running away … again!
@49 and 47
Did you try the Home map? That is how I got to those spaces.
Exciting!! Just in time for people to familiarise themselves with Home before launching the games get for Christmas. For the first time in a long time, I must say Sony have timed this perfectly.
We can stop whining now!
Man I can’t wait
@143
you are correct in that, but at least in my experience, XBL isn’t that much better than PSN except for voice chat. (which I assume will be coming at some point in the future) Considering that PSN is 5 years younger than XBL, MS is a SW-focused company, and PSN is free, I’d say Sony’s done pretty well in the last few years…
OT: Awesome. It’s finally time to go Home. Now just add cross-game voice chat and PSN will at least equal XBL in every area relating to online gaming. Video chat in-game would be awesome too if you could pull it off somehow. (like a small picture in picture box somewhere onscreen; now that would be amazing…)
“but at least we don’t have to deal with all those Red light issues that the 360 has”
Or:
50 dollar a year online fees
No dedicated servers
Tiny online game players counts
Disc scratching/destroying drives
Jet engine loud console operation
Non-standard overpriced WiFi addons
No keyboard/mouse support
Mod support/free addon content hostility
Double priced proprietary harddrive upgrades
7GB smaller than last gen disc storage format
No HD movie playback – only sub 720p movies you have to download
Retarded Nintendo Mii ripoffs
And of course the weak and crappy 360 graphics hardware
A long time coming, But it’s worth it!