Ben-DutkaHow cool will PlayStation Home be? Well, if Phil Harrison's presentation at Sony's E3 conference yesterday, the answer is simple- very cool.
Harrison opened by saying the fall Home betas were going very well, and they appreciated all the feedback they were receiving. He also confirmed that the unique online service is still on track for launch this fall, and then he started in on the good stuff- first of all, it was revealed that PlayStation Home will run – in limited capacity – on mobile phones. He then moved to take a picture of the audience, which later appeared on his Home space…that's right, you'll be able to take pictures with your phone and transfer them for use into your personal PlayStation Home web space.
He then went on to say the standard lounge we've seen in trailers will be expanded to an "open-air field," which was shown in a brief preview. In other words, we can wander around the out-of-doors, seeking out other Homes, which really opens things up. Furthermore, additional Home spaces will be available via download after the roll-out of the service. Some shown in the preview video included a city apartment, Homes in modern, rural, and even remote environmental areas, and even Harrison's own space, a ski lodge in the Norwegian mountainside. Here is where he showed off the pic of the audience, which appeared in a picture frame about the fireplace mantle. Nice!
The Home service will be enhanced through "live media blogging," with a social networking site for Home. You'll be able to do all kinds of things from the networking site, and that includes full customization of your own Home space. Lastly, Harrison revealed that all PS3 games – including both Blu-Ray discs and downloadable games stored on the hard drive – can be launched from inside the Home service. From Home, Harrison jumped online to play a quick round of Motorstorm ; the transition was extremely fast.
So Home is shaping up better than even we expected, and we had pretty high hopes for it. We can't wait to get involved when it rolls out this fall!
