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.

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.

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:

• PS3 Fanboy: http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2008/09/17/preview-playstation-home/
• Joystiq: http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/a-guided-tour-of-the-playstation-home-beta/

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.

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.