PlayStation Blog » Jack Buser

PlayStation Home Redesign Video Tour – New Games, Genre-Based Districts, and More

Jack Buser — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:01:38 +0000

Hello again, PlayStation community! As you might recall from my previous post, I revealed the big plans we had in store for a complete redesign of PlayStation Home—including a brand new Hub, genre-based districts, Total Game Integration, and a new questing system that turns Home itself into a game. Now that we’re getting close to launch, I thought the best way to show off all the new features we’ve packed into the upcoming new core experience would be to give you a tour of the redesign. Check out the below video for a rundown on some of the most exciting new features you’ll be experiencing soon in PlayStation Home:

As you can see, PlayStation Home’s new genre-based districts include a number of diverse and exclusive games that cater to players’ different interests and styles. For example, in the Action District, you’ll be able to enjoy the free and exclusive first-person shooter game that runs inside Home itself, Bootleggers ’29. We’ll also be bringing back some of your favorite Total Game Integration events here such as Dead Island and Killzone 3, as well as feature teleporters to popular games such as Sodium.

If sports are more up your alley, you’ll definitely find yourself at home in the Sportswalk, where players will have access to games like Home Hold’em (a full-featured Texas Hold’em poker game), live sports scores and video highlights, as well as a game of PlayStation Home Sports Trivia where you can reap plenty of rewards. And in Pier Park, you can race your own remote controlled car against friends in RC Rally, or relax with friends and take a ride on the Ferris Wheel. All of this is tied together with a new quest system that turns PlayStation Home itself into a game. All you’ll have to do is check out the Activity Board in the Hub when you’re ready to get started, and you’ll be ready to start racking up the rewards!

I can’t wait for you to jump in and see for yourself all the exciting new things we have in store for you with the PlayStation Home redesign. Stay tuned…it won’t be long now!

The Next Evolution for PlayStation Home Coming Fall 2011

Jack Buser — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:04:03 +0000

Hi everyone. I’ve got some huge news for you.

As you know, we’ve been working hard to fill PlayStation Home with hundreds of games – everything from pool tables and dart boards to full-on space shooters like Novus Prime: Escalation, zombie slashers like Dead Island Zombie Survivor, and massive online racing games like Sodium 2: Project Velocity. Today we are excited to announce a complete redesign of the heart of PlayStation Home to reinforce our evolution into the ultimate social game platform on consoles today. This redesign will connect you with the world of hundreds of games in Home faster and better than ever before.

Coming in Fall 2011, this new core experience for PlayStation Home features a “hub and districts” design that will help you find games, people and places that fit your favorite game genres. The design features a new Hub that integrates games, quests, community events, and user-generated content, while providing you with additional navigation, shopping, socialization and entertainment options.

The new, futuristic Hub (shown below) brings an ever changing roster of games right to the center of Home, including Cogs from Codename: Lazy 8 Studios which will be featured front and center on day one. The Hub will also feature a new Activity Board filled with games to play, rewards to be won, a new UGC events system, and cool stuff to discover.

Powering this Activity Board is a massive new questing system that literally transforms Home itself into a game if you so choose. From frequently updated community activities to huge, branching narrative adventures, this questing system will provide game play options delivered to you in ways never before imagined.

Additionally, surrounding the Hub will be districts based on game genres to suit your mood. Whether you want an intense, in-your-face experience, or a more chill, laid-back environment, these districts will be packed with games and navigation points leading you to content that suits your style.

With a gritty, urban aesthetic reminiscent of a first-person shooter level, the Action District (shown above) is the perfect destination for gamers looking for action, shooter and horror games.
Come experience the outside-the-stadium feel of Sportswalk, which features up-to-the-minute major league sports scores, headlines and highlights, and sports-themed games.
Enter a lush beachfront jungle full of sights to see and adventure-themed games to discover in the Adventure District.

Pier Park (shown above) is your destination for carnival, puzzle, outdoor and arcade games, featuring a waterfront boardwalk, Ferris wheel and a fun party zone that is linked to dedicated indie and arcade game spaces.

On top of all this great news, I’m excited to announce that we are going to upgrade Home’s core client to provide a streamlined initial user experience, getting you in and playing games faster than ever before. This upgrade will be deployed as a separate release from the redesign, and together they will underscore PlayStation Home’s evolution into a world filled with hundreds of games ready for you to play, making Home the ultimate social game platform on consoles.

We hope you’re as excited about PlayStation Home’s new core experience as we are!

PlayStation Home Turns Two, New Games Incoming

Jack Buser — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:01:57 +0000

It’s amazing to look at the evolution of PlayStation Home and see how much it has changed since we launched in December two years ago. From our humble beginnings in 2008, we’ve become a world filled with hundreds of games enjoyed by 17 million users worldwide and given PlayStation Network users a unique and dynamic gaming experience that can only be found on our platform.

The idea of what games mean in PS Home has also changed. In contrast to the handful of simple mini-games offered at launch, we now see a huge variety of games, including massive full-length games developed by some of the most prominent and innovative indie developers in our industry. The experience of PS Home itself has radically improved over the years as well, with faster load times, zero-wait game access, intuitive navigation, and the addition of features such as group-based voice chat and robust inventory management.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so check out the infographic below to see how PlayStation Home has evolved over the last two years into an industry leading social game platform:

Also, as part of our second anniversary celebration, I’d like to discuss some new games for PlayStation Home. These games clearly show PS Home as a platform for the most exciting indie and social games today. Some of these titles are sequels to hugely popular games in Home, demonstrating the business success of our partners. From Novus Prime which launched last week, to Sodium 2 coming next year, I hope you are as excited about these games as I am!

Novus Prime – Now Available

Created by Hellfire Games, Novus Prime brings a multiplayer space shooter to PlayStation Home. Players can band together to protect their space station. Along with the ability to customize ships and embark on space battles of epic proportions, players can also jump out into zero G and defend the space station from parasitic insects. See the game trailer here.

Midway 2 – Now Available

The folks over at Mass Media have seen a great amount of success with the first Midway game released on PlayStation Home in 2010. They’ve been so happy with how their title has preformed that they are back again! Mass Media has expanded their offerings of popular Midway games with Midway 2. Midway 2 brings nine new games plus the timeless classic, Miz Fortune, to the already robust set of games in Midway. Along with the new games comes 100 new game prizes, a new meta-prize for winning all 20 Midway games and a Scramble Puzzle game as the meta-prize for getting 5,000 points. For those of you that were fond of Darla, we’re bringing in Karla – Darla’s sister – in the game “Wet and Wild,” where you can dunk her in the water tank and get a snapshot of her giving you a kiss! Check out the official trailer from Wednesday’s update.

Conspiracy – Available January 2011

There is a mystery afoot! Jet Set Games is getting ready to release its first ever PlayStation Home game and is ready to take players into a secret world filled with covert infiltration and espionage with their new action/puzzle game, Conspiracy. Conspiracy will have players join different factions as they work to steal goods from enemy corporations. As the rival corporations battle it out, they will uncover the mysteries of the ultimate Conspiracy. Be prepared to learn the secrets of the Conspiracy world in early 2011.

Sodium 2 – Available Spring 2011

Veteran PlayStation Home developers, Outso, are back with a sequel to their highly successful PlayStation Home game, Sodium One. Sodium 2 is looking to expand on every area of the original game with heavily customizable jet racers, supersonic speeds and a pounding soundtrack. The future of Sodium is coming soon, so be on look out for Outso’s new game coming in Spring 2011 to a teleporter near you.

These four games just barely scratch the surface of what the future holds for PlayStation Home. We hope you continue to enjoy what we have to offer on our platform as much as we enjoy creating it for you.

See you in PS Home.

PlayStation Home 1.35 Launching Tomorrow

Jack Buser — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:02:37 +0000

Hello again Home Community,

I am thrilled to be back on the PlayStation.Blog to share some exciting news. Tomorrow we will be launching PlayStation Home 1.35, a new client update that will include some very significant enhancements that will make your PlayStation Home experience even better.

This update will bring several of the changes that you, the PlayStation Home community, have said are most important to you. Most notably, this update features faster load times, giving you quicker access to PlayStation Home and all the great content within. The new 1.35 update also enhances the login process. Now, once you have launched into PlayStation Home from the XMB, you will be transported directly to a new intuitive navigator, without the need to click through message screens.

Like much of PlayStation Home, the design of this new navigator is directly based on community feedback on how to improve access to the content used most in PlayStation Home. This streamlined interface features categories to help you quickly move through PlayStation Home and locate friends in just a few clicks.

Categories will include:

Favorites: Personalize your own section to make locating your favorite places quick and simple.

Personal Spaces: Your clubhouses and personal spaces are now right at your fingertips. The personal spaces you own and the clubhouses you belong to will be viewable in one convenient location.

Friends: Finding your friends in PlayStation Home has never been easier. View the current location of your friends in PlayStation Home, and then navigate there to enjoy the action together.

Explore: Browse all the spaces PlayStation Home offers. Finding a space that suites your taste and mood has never been easier.

Recommend: Keep up with what’s hot in PlayStation Home. This regularly updated category will feature the newest and most exciting additions to PlayStation Home.

Just a reminder that PlayStation Home will not be accessible for a brief period tomorrow as we work the magic on our side to bring you this update. If you have any questions or comments, as always, please drop us a note in the PlayStation Home forums.

With now 12 million users around the world playing games, attending special events, watching videos, listening to music, and meeting new friends, there has never been a better time to join the PlayStation Home community. For those of you that are already part of the party, with tomorrow’s 1.35 update, I think you’ll agree that everything you love about PlayStation Home just got that much better.

The State of PlayStation Home

Jack Buser — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:25:21 +0000

Hi Home Community,

As many of you know, 2009 was a big year for PlayStation Home. The millions of you that use PlayStation Home saw us transform from a 3D virtual world into a true social gaming platform with more than 50 spaces and over 100 games. One of the biggest highlights of the year was the launch of the popular Sodium One space, which has redefined what a social game can be by combining massive action, stunning graphics and social experiences in a way never done before. PlayStation Home has become a leader in the evolution of social games from simple 2D web games to immersive high-definition 3D experiences made possible by the tremendous horsepower of the PlayStation 3.

As we start the new year, we are not slowing down. We are adding new spaces, community events and virtual items each and every week, with many of these updates based directly on your feedback. Last week marked an important milestone in our evolution with a new iteration of the Mall, which was heavily influenced by our community’s request to have a more streamlined shopping experience. The Mall now features stores from some of our closest partners, including Loot from Sony Pictures who brought us all of the awesome Ghostbusters gear, our friends at Lockwood – creators of Sodium, and of course EA Sports, who have been among the strongest supporters of PlayStation Home since the earliest days after launch. One new face to PlayStation Home is LucasArts, who brought both Star Wars and Indiana Jones to their new store in the PlayStation Home Mall. I for one will be rocking the Imperial Stormtrooper outfit for the foreseeable future.

PlayStation Home is based on a “freemium” model, which allows you, our community to play games, meet friends, explore and discover rewards – all for free. In addition, there are opportunities to personalize your experience with virtual items that allow you to stand out from the crowd, or even play your favorite games in PlayStation Home better (thank you Stomper Boots!) Whether you buy virtual items or just play games and hang out, I would like to extend a huge “thank you” for your support from everyone on our team.

With all that said, this is just the beginning of what we have in store for you. Many of our long time community members have been asking for features, fixes and content that we have been secretly hard at work on, and will be rolling out over time. Rest assured that we hear your requests loud and clear (I personally use Home and read the forums daily), and although we can’t deliver everything we’re asked for, we will compliment all of these new features and content with a renewed focus on open dialogue and service. Our Home Community Managers, along with myself, continue to work on addressing your questions regarding our direction for the next year, so stay tuned to the PlayStation Home forums for what is sure to be a lively conversation!

We have an incredible number of new surprises ahead, so if you’re not already a member of the PlayStation Home community, there has never been a better time to jump in and experience all of the fun.

Thank you Home Community. Keep being awesome.

Best,

Jack

PlayStation Home is Now Live!

Jack Buser — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:37:37 +0000

Hi PLAYSTATION 3 community,

I am so very happy to announce that PlayStation Home has now officially entered into Open Beta. Restart your PLAYSTATION 3, and you will see the PlayStation Home icon under the PlayStation Network column of the XMB. Click on the icon, and you are in.

Getting to this point has required a tremendous amount of participation, input, care, and passion from the thousands of beta testers who helped make PlayStation Home what it is today. So to all of you that have tested, from all of us on the PlayStation Home team here at Sony: “Thank You!”

For those of you that are new to PlayStation Home, be sure to plug in a USB keyboard (or pair your Bluetooth headset) and start meeting your fellow PS3 owners. And remember, even with all the spaces, rewards, items, and activities available today, what you see now is just the beginning. Home will grow, change, and evolve very quickly – and it is all based on your feedback.

This is your community, and we are listening.

PlayStation Home Open Beta Launches Tomorrow

Jack Buser — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:32:33 +0000

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.

PlayStation Home Beta Extended Today

Jack Buser — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:47:19 +0000

If you’ve applied for the PlayStation Home closed beta, but have yet to receive an invite, you may want to check your inbox again as we’re opening PlayStation Home’s expanded closed beta again to thousands of new beta testers. The closed beta test is going quite well, so please don’t sweat if you didn’t make today’s list, as this wave of invitations will be followed by many more before our launch into open beta.

Since the initial wave of new invitations went out a few weeks ago, we’ve been having an incredible amount of fun in PlayStation Home meeting each other, launching into games together, and dancing the night away by Listen@Home! To give you an idea of what we’re up to, we gave some folks in the media a sneak peak of PlayStation Home. Check out their tour recaps:

Can’t wait to see everyone in PlayStation Home – I’m always down for a game of pool or rocking the robot lock!

See you in there.

Want into the PlayStation Home Closed Beta Test? Here’s How to Apply

Jack Buser — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:18:40 +0000

Today we’re announcing the expansion of our closed beta test for PlayStation Home to begin at the end of the month.

Later today, the PLAYSTATION Store will be updated with a PlayStation Home theme. By downloading the theme, users are submitting an application to join the PlayStation Home Beta test community. We will be using a variety of criteria including activity on the PLAYSTATION Network to determine eligibility for the Beta community. Existing beta testers have automatically qualified to be part of the expanded beta.

We’re really excited about this milestone and want our most loyal fans to be a part of the evolution of PlayStation Home.

In Europe, SCEE is also beginning their expanded closed beta, directly targeting consumers who have been most active on PLAYSTATION Network and PLAYSTATION Store. SCEE will be in email contact with their PSN audience very shortly.

Let us know what you think.