PlayStation Home was a virtual 3D social gaming platform developed by Sony Computer Entertainment's London Studio for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) on the PlayStation Network (PSN). It was accessible from the PS3's XrossMediaBar (XMB). Membership was free but required a PSN account. Upon installation, users could choose how much hard disk space they wished to reserve for Home. Development of the service began in early 2005 and it launched as an open beta on 11 December 2008. Home remained as a perpetual beta until its closure on 31 March 2015.
Home allowed users to create a custom avatar, which could be groomed realistically. Each avatar was given a personal apartment that users could decorate with free, bought, or won items. Users could travel throughout the Home world, which was frequently updated by Sony and its partners. Public spaces were made for display, entertainment, advertising, and networking. Home's primary forms of advertising included spaces themselves, video screens, posters, and mini-games. Home also featured many single and multiplayer mini-games, and hosted a variety of special events, some of which provided prizes to players. Users could use items won to further customise their avatar or apartments.
History
PlayStation Home[2] was originally named "Hub",[3] and started as a 2D online lobby for the PlayStation 2 game The Getaway: Black Monday. However, the online userbase for the PlayStation 2 was too narrow and the project was soon ported to the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3. Phil Harrison, then president of SCE Worldwide Studios at the time, liked the idea of having a virtual 3D community hub for PlayStation gamers, and transferred the project to what would become PlayStation Home.[4] In a 2007 keynote speech, Phil Harrison used the term "Game 3.0" to describe the service.[5]
Home had been speculated since the launch of PSN, when Sony expressed interest in such a service, specifically trophies (known at the time as "entitlements") for first-party titles.[6] PlayStation Home, as a feature, was first publicly mentioned in an interview with NG-Gamer.[7] This was later detailed by Kotaku[8] and finally confirmed by NG-Gamer.[9] It was officially announced by Phil Harrison on 7 March 2007, during his keynote speech at the 2007 Game Developers Conference[10] where it was originally scheduled for a global public release in October 2007.[11]
Home was delayed and expanded[12] multiple times before initially releasing.[13][14] Invitations to the closed beta were offered to winners of a weekly Warhawk online gaming event.[15] In August 2008, Sony sent additional invitations to select users who downloaded a new Home XMB theme in Japan and North America.[16][17] Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) and Sony Computer Entertainment Hong Kong (SCEHK) also sent out invitations to select users for a closed beta.[18] Users who purchased more than HK$60 or SG$12 worth of content in a single transaction over the
Home's open beta test began on 11 December 2008. In March 2009, an alternate reality game involving puzzle and intrigue called Xi proved popular after it was released by nDreams for Home. In June 2009, Peter Edwards, Director of Home for SCEE, reported that the number of users exceeded 7 million and that 80% of users were male, aged 18 to 35.[23] At TGS 2009, Kaz Hirai announced that Home had been downloaded by 8 million users.[24] Jack Buser, Director of Home for SCEA, stated that "beta" would not be removed from the name.[25] In a Eurogamer interview with Peter Edwards on 24 July 2009, Edwards commented that the service would no longer be beta when it "[represented] a kind of final quality."[26] On 14 October 2009, Jack Buser commented that "the vision of Home [had] evolved." He said that originally, they built Home as a "social network for gamers", but it developed into a "game platform, first and foremost."[27] On 17 December 2009, SCEA released its first massively multiplayer online game, produced specifically for Home, called Sodium
In February 2010, emails were sent out to a select few PlayStation Home members inviting them to participate in a private beta test for the service. This beta test was for feedback on certain changes suggested by the Home community.[29] The first global "public space" was released on 10 June 2010, allowing all users from the Asian, European, Japanese, and North American Homes to converge in one space. This space was called the FevaArena Global Pitch Area, which was dedicated to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The Arena allowed all of Home's users to participate in events and mini-games to celebrate the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[30]
In June 2010, Sony released a virtual replica of their E3 2010 booth in all versions of Home.[31] The virtual E3 booth, slightly modified, returned the following year with previews of seven different games and the PlayStation Vita, with virtual rewards for watching the videos as well as a demo of a new PlayStation Home game, "Scribble Shooter". In addition, Sony's E3 press conference was streamed live in PlayStation Home in a special virtual theatre, as well as other live interviews that occurred during the week of E3 2011.[32] The E3 virtual booth returned again for E3 2012, this time featuring previews of 12 games as well as a virtual avatar of Christina Lee (host of PSN's Pulse) hosting a special E3 Quest for all 12 games with rewards. Finishing the quest granted access to the VIP section previewing upcoming PlayStation Home games and content, including the upcoming massively multiplayer online racing game Mercia, as well as Hell Fire Games' upcoming Home Tycoon.[33] The E3 virtual booth returned the following year for E3 2013, once again featuring previews of multiple games, and a quest where players could earn a number of rewards. PlayStation Home did not feature a virtual E3 booth in 2014.
On 20 April 2011, Home released version 1.50, which dramatically improved the physics and graphics engines.[34][35] Sodium 2: Project Velocity was also released; the second and final part of Sodium to be released.
In November 2011, a new area known as the "Hub" was released, featuring a variety of games, including Cogs from Lazy 8 Studios. The Hub also featured an "Activity Board" and a "User Generated Content" events system. Surrounding the Hub were districts based on game genres to suit users' moods.[36][37] Users could also watch full-length movies for free as an effort by online video distributor Crackle via Loot Interactive. The movies were available on all Loot Entertainment on Demand (EOD) screens throughout PlayStation Home.[38][39]
In August 2014, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan announced that it was shutting down the service in Japan and other Asian territories.[40] After September, users in these regions could no longer purchase content.[40] In September, Sony Computer Entertainment America and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe announced the final closure of Home in their respective regions. New content ceased to be published after 12 November, and users were given until 3 December to purchase content, after which, users could no longer purchase content. The official closure of Home occurred on 31 March 2015, worldwide.[41][42]
PlayStation Home's logo was featured as a collectible 'artifact' in the 2020 video game Astro's Playroom, a 3D platformer developed by Japan Studio's Team Asobi which was pre-installed on every PlayStation 5 console.
Operation
PlayStation Home's point of view was from a third-person perspective. Upon entering Home, users were greeted with the "Message of the Day" containing Home news. During loading screens, users were presented with help tips on how to use Home.
User interface
PlayStation Home had no on-screen interface during exploration; however, all of Home's features were available from the controller. Options included "Quick Chat", a gestures menu, the "Menu" and "Safe" screens, and an in-game XMB. Sony originally planned to allow users to play videos and music stored on their hard drives on virtual screens and stereos. However, these features were never implemented, as Sony was not able to resolve potential licensing issues.[43]
The "Menu Screen" (formerly referred to as the Menu Pad, and before that, a virtual PSP during the pre-open beta) was laid out similar to the PS3's XMB. There were seven categories on the menu, which were Navigator, Personal, Social, Wardrobe, Redecorate, Options, and Help. The Personal category featured an inventory, which contained a user's portable objects, as well as any companions that could follow the user around (such as a pet dog). The Personal category also let users see their purchased items, rewards, downloads, and their PSN profile. The Social category let users see their friends' locations, group activities, game launching events, the message of the day, and news.
Avatar and personal spaces
Users were given an avatar and an apartment which they could personalize with their own choice of decor and furnishings. The user's avatar was the means of travel and communication, while personal spaces and clubs were means of expressing themselves and meeting new people and friends.
Avatar
Users could create their own avatar or use one of several preset avatars available.[60] Users could customise a variety of their avatar's features, which included gender, skin tone, hair, body shape, and facial structure. They could also customise their avatar's clothing and accessories using a set of standard items that could be obtained from a variety of places, including the clothing shops in Home's shopping complex, items won from Home's mini-games, or PS3 games that supported Home rewards.
Users could access their wardrobe from the Menu Screen at any time and location, except when in another user's personal apartment. The wardrobe contained two sections: one was the main wardrobe for frequently used items (capacity of 500), and the other was a storage section for less frequently used items. New items were marked accordingly. Users could also filter the wardrobe view to only display favourite, purchased, rewards, or recently acquired items.
Personal spaces
Each user had a personal space which they could modify and change suitably.
Public Spaces
Home consisted of various locations for players to interact and participate in activities, which were produced by both Sony Computer Entertainment and various third parties. Spaces on the Navigator were broken up into categories based on each space's publisher and/or purpose. Spaces' names and availability varied based on the user's location.
There were four different versions of Home, which were based on four regions: Asia, Europe, Japan, and North America. Countries joined whichever Sony Computer Entertainment division they were under. Japan was the only country with its own version of Home. SCEHK operated the Asian Home, SCEE operated the European Home, SCEJ operated the Japanese Home, and SCEA operated the North American Home. The different regions' Home environments had similar and different features between each other.
Core Spaces
The Core Spaces were the spaces made by Sony Computer Entertainment specifically for the Home environment, and served as the central meeting point for users. These were the main spaces of Home and were updated the most. They were also where most events occur. These spaces included a central meeting point; a bowling alley and gaming arcade; a shopping complex; a café; various game, developer, and company spaces; the PlayStation Events spaces; and the districts.
The Home Square (Europe,[79]
Game launching
Game launching was a feature in Home which allowed users to launch PS3 games while in Home. There were two types of game launching: full and simplified. Full game launching support allowed users to organize and start multi-player games with other Home users, who may or may not be on their friends lists. Users could set up a full game launching session by going into their menu screen, selecting "Game Launching", and setting up a session with advanced options. They could also join an existing session. When users had set up a game that was ready to launch, the name of the game and how many players had joined the session was shown under the users' names above their avatar's head. By using the game launching feature, users were entered directly into the game, bypassing the normal title screen. After the match ended, users could either quit the game and be returned to their XMB, or they could quit the game and be returned to Home.
Simplified game launching, also known as universal game launching, was implemented with Core Client update v1.30 and allowed any PS3 game to be launched from Home. With simplified game launching, users could insert a game into their PS3 while in Home and follow the on-screen directions. Users had a limited number of options to select with simplified game launching. For instance, they could not choose what map or level they wanted, nor could they choose what settings for the map or level within Home. Users had to do that after the game had been launched. The name of the game and how many users had joined the session was also shown under the users' names above the avatars' heads.
User-generated content
Picture frames were the first feature to support user-generated content with photo sharing. The inFamous Game Space also supported user-generated content by allowing users to create their own unique graffiti designs in the graffiti mini-game and save it to their PS3s HDD to display for their friends. Users were also able to create their own apartments with nDreams' Blueprint: Home.[70] On 16 October 2009, Rockstar Games began having "Beaterator Parties" at the Listen@Home station in North America's former Central Plaza. Beaterator is a PSP game that allows users to mix their own music and produce their own loops. During Beaterator sessions, Rockstar Games played Beaterator tracks that users had uploaded to the Rockstar Games Social Club.[98]
Games
PlayStation Home was a host for several games, exclusive to PlayStation Home. In October 2009, Jack Buser announced that PlayStation Home had developed into a "game platform, first and foremost." From then, several PlayStation Home exclusives were released. The first game was Xi, which was released before the change in development to a gaming platform. The more prominent PlayStation Home exclusive games included:
Xi
Xi ( or ) was the world's first console-based and virtual world-based alternate reality game. The game was an adventure that took place in a series of secret areas in Home that changed frequently. The goal of the game was to help find "Jess" and the meaning of the letter Xi by collecting fragments and butterflies.[99] The game also involved the users to search for clues in the real world.[100] This game was created by nDreams who released several spaces for Xi.
The Xi Museum featured an updated Xi Alumni Hub, the three Alpha Zone 1 spaces (Game Test Area, Maximum-Tilt Lobby, and Adventure Lobby), and four Alpha Zone 3. In addition, the Xi Museum featured a Xi Museum Shop, with items such as a Maximum-Tilt bike and the robot Stapler for users’ personal spaces. Users could also purchase the public space "Party at Jess's Apartment" that was featured during Xi.
Events
Home hosted many types of events organised by Home and its affiliated content providers. Live events such as developer interviews, E3, sports, and concerts were broadcast.[120] Special events were generally held at one (or multiple) of the PlayStation Events Spaces in-game.
The first events in Home required the users to either answer questions or suggest ideas on the Official PlayStation Home Forums for a chance to win a prize. The prize was generally a US$10 product voucher for virtual items in the shopping complex. These events were organised by the PlayStation Home Managers.
Some events were used to promote and advertise upcoming films. In 2009 in Europe, there was a treasure hunt occurring in Home to promote the film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.[121]
There were some events in Home where users could win PS3 games. US users in the North American Home had the chance to win the Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – Fortune Hunter Edition by entering the Uncharted 2 space between the event times and playing the "Mask Mayhem" mini-game. The user who placed first on the leader board in the Uncharted 2 space received the Fortune Hunter Edition.[122] Users also had three chances during November 2009 to win the Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – Fortune Hunter Edition.
Security
A variety of potentially offensive words and word combinations were automatically censored in messages that were typed in any chat channel, be it public, private, group, or club chat. Users were able to report inappropriate or offensive behavior of other users to moderators by accessing the PlayStation Home Safe Screen.[126] Moderators reviewed these reports periodically, and took action against a user's account based on the type and severity of the offense. A limited number of live moderators also patrolled PlayStation Home, who had the ability to take action against users immediately. These moderators were often invisible to other users, and typically would not type in public chat. Suspensions and bans were made against a user's PSN account, and restricted their ability not only to use PlayStation Home, but any other online service on PSN. Users were also able to change their communication settings to block or mute messages from users who were not on their friends list.[127]
Updates
PlayStation Home underwent weekly maintenance on Wednesdays (formerly Thursdays), which came with weekly content updates that included new spaces, games, or items. The core updates provided bug fixes and expanded the social and gameplay aspects of Home. The beta received several updates that included giving the users the ability to access the patio of their Harbour Studio,[128] to access the 'Menu Pad', and to access the shopping complex. After location-affecting updates, the location had to be re-downloaded. Content updates did not affect the version number, while core client updates affected the version number.
Key version updates
- Version 1.03 was the first open beta version and was released on 11 December 2008.[129] The Home icon automatically appeared under the PlayStation Network category on the XMB.
- Version 1.50, released on 20 April 2011, introduced real-time multiplayer, improved physics and graphics, and greater control over collision detection as part of a suite of new technology that developers could use to create connected gaming experiences.[35]
Room for PlayStation Portable
Room for PSP, a cancelled service that was to be similar to PlayStation Home, was in development for the PlayStation Portable.[136] Officially spelled as R∞M, it was being beta-tested in Japan. It was to be added to the PSP in an update and could have been launched directly from the PlayStation Network section of the XMB. Just like in Home, PSP owners would have been able to invite other PSP owners into their rooms to "enjoy real time communication."[137] A closed beta test began in Q4 2009 in Japan.[138] Development of Room halted on 15 April 2010.[139]
PlayStation Home Arcade
PlayStation Home Arcade is an application for the PlayStation Vita featuring games that were previously only available as arcade cabinets inside PS Home. Once purchased, games can be used on either platform at no additional cost. Icebreaker, WipEout 2D, and a demo of Scribble Shooter are included with the application for free.[140]
Games
Restoration project
Following the closure of PlayStation Home back in 2015,[141] fans began the preservation project of reverse engineering old home data in an effort to bring the closed platform back online with full functionality. On 28 March 2021 IGN released an article about one such project, "Destination Home", and then a follow up two years later.[142][143]
See also
- Metaverse
- Second Life
- SAPARi
- IMVU
- OLIVE
- Active Worlds
- There
- Tower Unite
External links
References
- PlayStation Home Page GamePro, retrieved 2008-06-10^
- Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Announces Ground-Breaking, Next-Generation 3D Online-User Community Sony Computer Entertainment America, 7 March 2007, retrieved 2008-04-15^
- Sony: PlayStation Home Was Originally 'Hub' Kotaku.com, 5 November 2008