If you're in Japan, Sony's PlayStation Home social-gaming network is chiefly about attending live events modeled after anime shows and the like. If you're in the US, it's mainly about creating an avatar and finding/purchasing dumb stuff (above) to equip it with -- something that hasn't really changed since the 2008 launch, despite the addition of features like voice chat, in-network game launching, and original titles likeSodium One.
The service has over two million registered accounts in Japan alone, but Masami Kando, head of the Home project for Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, isn't satisfied."The number of users is continually increasing every week, so two million is really just a milestone,"he told Japan'sFamitsumagazine in an interview published this week."I think it'll be a while still before we reach a fully-mature peak level, so to me, it doesn't say anything more besides 'Yep, we've sure broken two million users.' I don't think we've explained the attractions of PS Home to all the users yet, and I think we've got ample room to make the experience more fun."
Version 1.50 of PS Home,first announcedat the Game Developers Conference earlier this month, seeks to help the platform shed its"light time-killer"rap and become a more serious tool for gaming."Version 1.50 makes possible the sort of real gameplay that people would be willing to pay for, I think,"Kando said."I'd like to see publishers think of PS Home not just as a promotional platform, but one they can conduct their business more directly on as well -- we're thinking about ways we can support this. They could distribute demo versions of games for free, for example, then charge for the full version or for extra items. If you released it on PS Home worldwide, that allows you more opportunity for business. I want to build a new business model that isn't just about selling clothing and furniture."
Several projects along these lines are in the works, according to Kando, although he didn't give any specifics.
In the interview, Kando also noted that there are no plans to make a full-on port of PS Home to either the PSP or the upcoming NGP portable, although he'd like to see some sort of link-up functionality available for both systems. Kando's focus is more on the experience than the platform."On the short term, version 1.50 will hopefully allow PS Home to be better focused on gaming and attracting users via games,"he said."The next step is to ramp up the community aspect, establishing stronger links between gamers, game makers, and ourselves at SCE. PS Home has evolved as a community for SCE, and I'd like to feed the experience we've gained into new community projects for the NGP as well."
The first game titles to take advantage of version 1.50's new features will hit Home this summer, starting with free-to-play racerSodium Two. If Kando's vision turns out, PS Home will become a lot more exciting -- but still, he emphasized, a fundamentally free one for gamers."Certain items like furniture and clothing cost money,"he said,"but our stance is to keep the core experience free, and that won't change. However, we also want to respect the direction that other companies go {with Home}. There's the possibility of having more pay-based services in the future -- for example, the right to watch or participate in special events. Of course, this doesn't mean we will be removing any features of PS Home that contribute to the fun that users have."
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