PlayStation Home Releases v1.60 + Weekly Update

This Thursday, December 8th, we will release the latest update to the PlayStation Home client. PlayStation Home version 1.60 delivers a wealth of improvements and updates to the core client, not the least of which is a doubling of the item placement limit in personal spaces! Here’s a look at what’s coming to you as part of PlayStation Home v1.60:

How to Apply the v1.60 Patch
If you are upgrading from an old version of Home (v1.40 or earlier) then when you attempt to apply the v1.60 patch please wait for the orange “hard drive activity” light to stop flashing on your PS3 before commencing the patching process.

NEW FEATURES

Furniture Placement Limit
• We have doubled the furniture placement limit in personal spaces and clubhouses from 50 to 100 items.
• Standard and active furniture limits have been merged into the same system. Currently all actives take up 22 furniture slots in the new system. Thus you can now place a variety of different combinations:
• 100 standard furniture items or…
• 78 standard furniture items and 1 active or…
• 56 standard furniture items and 2 actives or…
• 34 standard furniture items and 3 actives or…
• 12 standard furniture items and 4 actives.

GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS

Targeting in Personal Spaces
• Targeting in personal spaces has been improved.
• This means you shouldn’t accidentally target furniture items through floors or ceilings any more.
• Although we have made exceptions for wall hangings and lights as these tend to be placed quite high up.
• If you find any items of furniture in places you can’t reach then you can always remove them through the furniture browser and place them somewhere else.

Portable Items and Companions
• We have changed the way that companion portables work so they will now automatically re-activate after you enter and leave a game or relocate between spaces. No more having to put your companion away and take them out again when you do this!

Help System
• There is a new help system to aid new users as they explore PlayStation Home for the first time.

Arcade Games
• Arcade games are no longer subject to the 3 minute inactivity timeout when placed as furniture in Personal Spaces or Clubhouses.

CHANGES

Menu Pad
• We have removed the “Community” section of the Menu Pad. The information that used to be contained in here is now communicated via the Message of the Day pop-up at login and the new loading screens.

Of course, there are plenty more bug fixes and enhancements that are part of v1.60 as well which will help improve your day-to-day experience in the wide world of PlayStation Home. There are also additional tools for developers that will enable them to make better games than ever before possible on the platform are coming as part of this massive update. We’re excited to bring you a bigger, better PlayStation Home just in time for the holidays. Log in this Thursday to check out this upgrade and, as always, please give us your feedback at the official PlayStation Home forums.

In other news, it appears that ol’ Granny Lockwood’s been hard at work again, and this time she’s taken her inspiration from the chilly extremes of the planet the North and South Poles! Pumpkin Pie the Polar Bear and Popsicle the Penguin can’t wait to play with you. They both love to do tricks – be patient and they’re sure to show you what they can do (Granny Lockwood also knitted them some cousins just for the Gift Machine – look out for them – they’re only available for a limited time!)

Midwinter Angel or Burning Desire? This Winter Medusa line brings you the latest hairstyles, perfect for relaxing on a frosty afternoon or heading out to a glitzy evening party. Men have the choice of a new short, mid-length, or long look. The Troy is a side-parted, clean-cut look with just enough tousling to ensure it won’t look out of place with smart or casual attire. For those with angelic tendencies, there’s the wavy mid-length Gabriel, and for those who want a more casual look, The Tropical Dreamer is a long dreadlocked style.

Ladies can opt for up, down, or somewhere in-between. Up is The Burning Desire, an exquisitely complex do incorporating pinned waves and plaits, while down is The Eve, with gloriously long waves. The Midwinter Angel offers the best of both worlds, with pinned back sides and long loose locks. If you’re not sure which look to go for, the Medusa’s Winter Hairstyles Packs are available for both Male and Female – mix it up for each party!

Those of you that visit the new PlayStation Home Mall this week will also find awesome new items like VEEMEE’s “Devilrobots” companions and “Smug” furniture line alongside Mass Media’s latest additions to their Weird Wear series and various other items including new animated emoticons, companions (who doesn’t want a peacock?), new items in Threads (such as the Hollywood Celebrity line) and furniture (like the Star Projector)! Log in this Thursday to add these items to your collections! I hear there are going to be some freebies scattered throughout many of the shelves in the Mall this week as well…

The PlayStation Home Community Theater is updated this week with new content from Gamer Indepth—ShoutOuts, episode 20 and Luge Control, episode 3. In ShoutOuts, the team covers recent holiday community events, and showcases some of the spooky content releases, and Luge returns covering her first experiences in Home’s newest game RC Rally.

Lastly, our friends over at nDreams are excited to give you a sneak peek of their new War Room Clubhouse, coming soon to PlayStation Home. Check out this early screen shot from nDreams:

For those who may not know, PlayStation Home Clubhouses are unique private spaces where users can invite dozens of their friends to be members of the club, and anyone on the members list can come and go from the space, even when the owner is not present. These are excellent for building and sustaining gaming groups, clans, brotherhoods, sisterhoods, etc. because of this very flexibility and access as an invite-only space.

In addition to all the standard features you’ve come to expect from PlayStation Home Clubhouses, the War Room has a very unique social feature that helps club owners or team leaders get their message across during club meetings or discussions. It also includes a special access point allowing users to teleport from the War Room to other set locations. We’ll have more info regarding this awesome new Clubhouse soon – keep your eyes on this Blog to stay in the loop!

See you in Home!