Comments on: PlayStation 'Home' open beta launches

Sony's long-delayed PlayStation Home opens its doors to the public.

[robvme]

blah blah blah......you like what you like...spend your money the way you want and be happy. There is room for all 3 consoles and the competition is good - forces Sony, MS, and Nintendo to fight for your business, so be glad.

[karthikveeramani]

I tried out the closed beta. I did like the sophistication part - you can interact with almost everything in the world. I could play chess, pool with others, watch game trailers on the screen etc. But I'm just not sure how compelling this feature is. It is certainly a nice to have, and would amuse me and keep me occupied now and then, but I certainly can live without it.. just like I can live without the other beta I was trying out - Playstation Life.

[ScaryMonkey69]

My 3 cents, since I dont own a 360 OR PS3: It looks nice. Where's the user-generated content? How much real world $$ is stuff worth if you made it? Can I create my own avatars & skins? Can I create my own content? Can I add scripts to this content? Will I be stuck in a console chat room with pretty graphics and a bunch of whiny teenagers or are there areas separated by age? Will there be any "adult" content or am I stuck just playing games? Can I make another $500-$1000 a month by selling stuff I've made and own the rights to? Or am I just stuck with whatever Sony decides?

[Microgates]

Gee, let me think. Do I want to hook up the 360 camera and actually see the person I'm talking to, or do I want Home where I see a graphical representation of someone? I'll go with the far superior Live ;)

[kewell82]

I think you can do the exact same thing on the PS3. The only difference is that it is free on the PS3.

[sk8ordie44]

I made a correction for you: It's "least" not lest...
So before making corrections for someone else, learn to make your own. Wow. Karma's a Bi*** huh.

[sludog]

I am not an english major ( I do speak 3 languages) but I do know that lest is a word and I think it was used properly in the comment.

[poo-on-yo-chest]

i am having problems with my ps home open beta, every time i start the beta it starts to sign in and then it stops and says initializing and freezes, about 10 of my friends on the ps network said that the same thing was happening to them that they couldent get it started either, can anyone help

[poo-on-yo-chest]

i am having problems with my ps home open beta, every time i start the beta it starts to sign in and then it stops and says initializing and freezes, about 10 of my friends on the ps network said that the same thing was happening to them that they couldent get it started either, can anyone help

[ace10134]

closed beta was sweet. Open beta is sick!!!!!!

i think we all gotta ask ourselves, "why did we buy our consoles?", I believe this Home thing is just crap, playing cards with friends online...c'mon, I believe u all bought consoles to do more than just that. I own both the ps3 and xbox360 and am gettin tired of ma ps3, its just gathering dust cuz there's nothin to play, instead giving pple crap like home, give'em games, let the console be used for the reason it was bought cuz if i wanted a blu-ray player, wud have bought one.

[sludog]

I have owned just about every game system and my first was an Atari 2600. The only current systems I have never owned are Game Cube and Xbox 360. I knew the game cube would die so that was an easy choice. The reason for not getting a 360 was availability. When then first came out I wanted one like crazy but were impossible to find. Then after all the problems after launch made me have second thoughts. Then 2 years ago I was in Best Buy store and i got lucky and saw an employee putting six 60 gb ps3's on the shelve. Within 10 seconds me and 5 other people had one in our hands.(this was when they were selling for $1200 or more on ebay) Leaving the store with a $750 hole in my pocket (controller and Resistance game) While playing an Xbox for the last few years, I was blown away by the power of the PS3 games and system. A couple weeks later to get the $99 extended warranty because I heard rumors about the systems overheating but I never had one problem with my unit in two years of gaming and blu-ray/dvd movies. I have been extremely happy with my PS3 ever since. Yes there are a few games i love on the 360 but I feel that Sony is a better company for gaming and seems to be more prepared for the future of entertainment. Microsoft and Nintendo are the kings of add-ons when it comes to video games. I like PS3"s ready to go right out the box unit. Just plug in, sign up and play on-line for free. My 2 year product replacement warranty was just about to expire so I just sent back my ps3 (still working perfectly) and once I get my Best Buy gift card for $650, I will get another PS3 and probably a Wii system as well. In my opinion, The PS3 is a better value then the 360 and the few games that I like on the Xbox are not enough to for me to sway over to the "Dark Side of the Bill Gates Empire". I really miss the old days of Nintendo verses Sega, 16 bit and 32 bit game systems were the best.

[Walo00]

I own both the 360 and the PS3. last year I was using the 360 90% of the time and had the PS3 picking dust. This year had changed a lot, now i use my PS3 about 80% of the time and my 360 is the one picking the dust. Since most games are multiplatform I can play them on my PS3 and the only game this year that attracted me to the 360 was Fable 2, I wasn't even moved by GoW2, don't get me wrong GoW may certainly be a good game but to me is just more of the same. On my PS3 I play GTA4, GT5P, MGS4, LBP, COD4, Fallout 3, Wipeout HD, R2, Naruto UNS, Warhawk, Burnout Paradise, soon COD5, etc...

I must say that those people out there calling Halo 3 the end all be all of the 360 and the gaming world must really get a life. I'm tired of those "I suck Halo's ..... because that's the best thing I can play". And all they do is jump around like frogs and shoot like maniacs. I prefer COD4 over Halo 3 any day. (yes flame me all you want halo frogs)

I'm now on my second 360 since my lauch unit RROD'd on me. And I even had to pay the shipping since they didn't have any shipping labels. if it wasn't because of Fable 2 I would had surely sold it. So it doesn't matter if PS3 fanboys don't like Fable, because I do like it. Although I hate Microsoft practice of "buying exclusives" because that shows that MS has no confidence on their hardware and their fanbase(aka fanboys) and has more confidence on their money(maybe thats why they charge for Live).

About the online games, I was laughing at the guy who said that Xbox Live was superior to Home and PSN because he was able to play UNO online, seriously dude was that comment for real? lol. If you haven't noticed both Xbox Live and PSN have game stores so i don't think that's an advantage. What's an advantage is that the PSN is free and Xbox Live is not(good thing they failed to impose it on the PC, as PC gamers are smarter than that) So I ditched my 360 copy of COD4 and got a PS3 copy, and now I don't have to worry about Live. About Live being superior to PSN, that's not true at all, sure it may have some features that PSN doesn't but where it matters which is online gaming PSN is every bit as reliable as Live, sure it wasn't always like that but Sony has done an excellent job at improving the PSN service and leaving it free.

Anyway to the matter at hand. Home can be a game changer if they make it far more than a mere IM with graphics, i saw the Red Bull plane race island and it seems like a step in the right direction. I know Sony will make Home a great place. At least far better than those simplistic Mii's out there or their partying 360 Avatar counterparts.

One last thing, Sony for God's sake change that freaking XMB already. It is good for the PSP because it is a handheld and a minimalistic design is a must, but the PS3 is a full blown console. You like to say it's the most powerful console out there, if that's true then make an interface true to such power, and don't torture me making it look like a giant PSP. Kudos to the 360 for the new interface it looks far more professional than the old dashboard and the XMB for that matter.

[NickH]

It is of course the Playstation 3 that makes you buy the wifi adapter, not the XBox 360. If you doubt that, please show me the SKU of the PS3 that comes without one.

Not everyone needs WiFi (the Xbox has an ethernet port), and so why make everyone pay for it?

[kewell82]

If I'm not mistaken, the PS3 also has an ethernet port. So why not have both?

[mmorgan217]

What are you talking about here? Are you in the 21st century with the rest of us? Wifi is what most of us want since we have multiple outlets to use it for, i.e. computers/laptops, game consoles, cell phones, do I need to continue listing? It is again as I explained before, more future compatible than the 360. If you unfortunately have to plug up into the internet via ethernet only I feel more sorry for you than me since I don't have to have a 25' cord running from the modem to my tv somewhere else in the house. Did this really even need to be said? For some reason I thought I was stuck in the stone age here...what was the price of that wifi adapter by the way? Do you think Sony charged you $99.00 plus tax for it???

[haphilli]

Home is useless, I don't understand why Sony felt compelled to put this out, they should have used their resources elsewhere.

[kewell82]

Wouldn't that make avatars on the XBOX 360 also useless? MS just copied the Wii and learned about Home during a previous E3, so they owe their new dashboard idea from Sony and Nintendo.

[imotionsrt4]

Home was a PUNK yesterday and it did nothing but aggrevate me. I was able to log on and set up my avatar, and I got to start walking around and then I got disconnected (about 3pm or so). I tried off and on throughout the rest of the night and kept getting errors. I thought there were problems with something on my end and I checked the ps3 forum and found out I wasn't the only one.

I eventually was able to get back in (about 10pm) and walk around for a while and then I tried to walk through a door annnnnnnddd, I got stuck. I mean literally I got stuck in a door. I tried to walk through and it told me there was a download error but it wouldn't let me leave. I could dance, I could talk, I could spin in circles, but I couldn't get out of the spot. The funny thing was, I wasn't the only one. The only way to get out was to exit home.

I called it a night after that and I won't go back at least until sometime next week. I just find it rediculous that HOME was in "closed" beta for like 2 years and this crap can't seem to get figured out before it was turned into an "open" beta program.

But in the small amount of time playing around, I found things I like and dislike about home. But only time will tell how much use I will get out of it.

I don't like how I have to download places when I want to enter them. Now of course this is a one time thing, but I don't see why it couldn't be included in the HOME download. I don't like how it reminds me every time I pull up HOME that I need to have so much space on my hard drive..........I got it the first time.

I think you should have to have a microphone or headset to be able to participate. It sucks having somebody try to talk to you and you have to wait for them to type, and the only way you can talk to then is to type back. It's annoying to try and hold a converstaion. Now I know it will get a little faster with a keyboard, but it's not the same as actually talking.

But like I said, time will see how much I use it and how well it works. So far things aren't off to a good start.

[USeekYoda]

While Home sounds great, it seems a little too ambitious of a first step - especially for a Sony. Nintendo and Microsoft - both of which unquestionably know software better than Sony - have elected to take baby steps towards achieving their Home world equivalent. My money is on the more prudent approach of the latter.

Secondly, Sony's free service - while great for consumers - really hinders, in my opinion, what can be achieved here. Without money backing this project, it is going to become a steeper and steeper cost to justify and advance as something this amibitious requires. It just doesn't make sense - or cents.

[imotionsrt4]

Well I think there will eventually be add-ons that can be purchased. Like a different "room" or different clothes, etc.

But with it in it's infancy and acting up here and there, we will just have to wait and see.

[Dan7637]

this new service is pretty good for a beta, PS3 > XBOX 360 , XBOX 360 has nothing on the ps3

[HMetal68]

"XBOX 360 has nothing on the ps3" except for maybe more than double the sales in just the last month (and previous months), extensive support from 3rd partty developers (even the PS3 exclusives are jumping ship), TONS more games, better on line service (even if you have to pay about $4 a month), NetFlix streaming, better updates (30 seconds instead of 30 minutes, that is if the PS3 update is even successful), better support, better exclusives, and the list goes on and on. How about support for universal remotes?

And yes, I have both systems. PS3 is a great movie player for Blu-Ray which obviously Xbox doesn't have, but for just about everything else, I'll take the 360.

Also, from the sound of things, it doesn't really sound like the beta is "pretty good". Sounds like there are a ton of issues, not to mention it has already been hacked. Don't believe me? Do a search for PS3 Home Hacked.

[marcaz123]

Blu-Ray will no longer matter when all media is transferred over the internet. Downloading games and movies to a very large hard drive is the next step in entertainment consoles. The need for a an input drive will only reside for convenience but will not be the main way of using the console. No longer will people go to stores to buy games and movies. Also movie theaters are taking a huge hit because they are not HD. So next gen consoles will have higher prices for new to market movies and lower prices until the date it becomes free and streamed on the console. TV will also be streamed to the console and the consoles will be the DVR. Its important to look towards the future because then it is possible to see not only the irrelevance of the current technologies but also to refrain from the debate.

[ArsenicSteel]

It is hard to make concrete comments on Home since it is still technically in beta.
The base clothing selection is limited, but may be expanded later.
There is also clothing you can buy with real world cash, this to may be expanded later.
There is a possibility of watching your movies or buy movies to watch in a Home theatre, in Flash format.
To the people that state after buying all extra accessories for the 360 will set you in the same range as the PS3, they are wrong.
Try factoring in what the total cost for a PS3 would be combined with its extra accessories.
The 360 is cheaper. Who else but a GameS**p employee would recommend a person buy a wireless adapter instead of just getting some CAT-5.
What about the players that just want to play games all they want are games, the system, and an extra controller.
Just getting the basics, 360 is still cheaper.
Home isn't innovative or industry changing since it has been done before and Sony is just copying, it is a very weak copy of Second Life. I can think of better thinks to do with 3gb of space on my HD.
Check the sales of 360, Wii, and Sony. Sony is down about 20% in sales from last year, while those others are above.
Now that bluRays players are getting cheaper no longer will non-gamers exaggerate PS3 sales.

[zunyo1]

Wow, "their" sure are "allot" of good "spellurs" on this "fourum".

Oh, btw, who cares if you have a 360, a PS3, a Wii or a PC.....
just shut up and play already.

[schlefsteinj]

To ArsenicSteel
It is hard to make concrete comments on Home since it is still technically in beta.
(Agree 100 percent)

The base clothing selection is limited, but may be expanded later.
(Not that serious)

There is also clothing you can buy with real world cash, this to may be expanded later.
(Who Cares, I will spend my money on real clothes).

There is a possibility of watching your movies or buy movies to watch in a Home theatre, in Flash format.
(Great! But I still rather watch Blu-Ray!)

To the people that state after buying all extra accessories for the 360 will set you in the same range as the PS3, they are wrong.
(Due the math friend it is true, especially if you go wireless and factor in live cost). ($50.00 bucks a year to play online! How old is your 360 again? Exactly! )

Try factoring in what the total cost for a PS3 would be combined with its extra accessories. (Other than an extra controller what do you consider necessary accessories, Get a life).

The 360 is cheaper. Who else but a GameS**p employee would recommend a person buy a wireless adapter instead of just getting some CAT-5. (Ummm, some people have weird network outlets in their house therefore wireless is a necessity unless you want to run a 30 foot cable across three rooms).