Following on from the report this morning, Sony (or at least, SCEA) have gone all out and produced a fancy press release about the upcoming changes to PlayStation Home. I remember the Beta, it was hugely exciting to finally get access all those moons ago, and although my attention drifted elsewhere quickly I’ve been in and out a few times since it launched to see what’s new.
[drop2]Well, it looks like Home is going to get all fancied up, with lots of new areas and a completely new approach to gamers at the centre of it all. The new hub will integrate games, quests and events (and user-generated content, apparently) which also adding better navigation, entertainment and shopping options.There’ll be teleports to genre-based districts from there, which will be aimed at specific types of games and styled to match, such as the Action District which caters for the “hardcore” demographic, and sports a “gritty, urban feel reminiscent of a first person shooter” which will lead to action and horror games. Other areas include the Sportswalk, Adventure District and Pier Park, which is aimed at puzzle and arcade games.
Quests are what really makes Home what it is (who can forget the brilliant Xi which TSA exclusively teased) and there’ll be a central focus on quests for those that like to get really involved, and judging by the numbers Sony have sent over, there’s lots of you doing just that. 23 million users have tried Home, the average time per session is 70 minutes and there are over 230 games, 9,000 virtual items, 65 spaces, 600 community events and the support of over 35 partners.
Oh, and that Home Trophy room that was first shown off when Home was but a prefab? Not happening. “This… evolved into ‘Total Game Integration'” said Jack Buser over on the US Blog, “where your activity in Home can unlock exclusive content in your favorite games, including special weapons, experience points, and much more. Examples include Killzone 3, Dead Island, and more to be announced soon.”
Bilbo_bobbins
DOn’t like Home, its slow and I dont have time to search for stupid games to get additional content to a game. Its good they are updating it, but I would rather they spent there time on doing something else.
Smallville2106
None of this will make me go into Home though.