Audi's electric e-tron gets digital in PlayStation Home.
(Credit: Audi)Automakers are like forum trolls. Every time you turn around another one of them is yelling, "First!"
This time it's Audi claiming to be the first carmaker to develop its own virtual area in Sony's PlayStation Home. Audi Space, as it will be known, will come on line in late 2009. Audi Space will at first feature an Audi TV channel delivering video content relating to the German automaker.
In December of '09, Audi Space will be expanded to include Vertical Run, a futuristic racing game featuring Audi's e-tron concept. Players will collect electrical energy that will presumably be untamed by the e-tron as they race for the highest possible speed. Be the fastest and you could earn a place for your Home avatar in the virtual Audi apartments, located in a large tower in the center of Audi Space.
Audi Space will be a 3D area where players can explore the Audi brand.
(Credit: Audi)"Most young people gain their first driving experience from video games," explains Kai Mensing, who is responsible for video games and virtual worlds in Online Marketing at Audi. "With the Audi Space, we can bring this target group into contact with our brand in a highly emotion-packed and interactive environment, and demonstrate our 'Vorsprung durch Technik' with the virtual e-tron race."
"It was important to us to create an environment with Audi Space that differed from a classic showroom at an Audi dealership," Mensing said. "To achieve that, we got together with the architects at Allmann Sattler Wappner and developed an interactive concept where the focus is on selected Audi models, making it possible to experience the brand in a selective, interactive way."
The company has stated that additional Audi content will be added to Audi Space in 2010.
Home alone: The Ligne Roset collection you can afford.
(Credit: Sony)In an interview with GameDaily, Sony's senior marketing vice president Peter Dille has revealed some stats on PlayStation Home, Sony's online virtual community, which was greeted with a rather lukewarm reception when it launched late last year. Word is 4 million people have come into Home and those who do stick around stick around for 55 minutes on average.
Sony doesn't differentiate between active and idle users (by idle, I mean you've gone in once, checked it out, and never gone back), so it's hard to say how many folks are really hard-core Home dwellers. However, what's clear is that now that it's had an opportunity to mature a bit, the company is making a push to publicize the virtual world that Sony officials have admitted has been a challenge to build and maintain.
The biggest gripe that critics have had about PlayStation Home is that it's long on Sony marketing and short on fun. But Dille says Sony is learning and will "nurture" and "develop" Home.
He says that while micro-transactions are a big part of what Home is all about, users aren't just spending money on the cheap stuff. "Surprisingly, some of the more popular items aren't the cheapest things," he says. "They're things that cost a little bit more, like an apartment upgrade."
Anybody out there a fan of Home? Or did you just check it out and never come back?
(Source: GameDaily via Kotaku)
With Kelly and Lindsey both out Friday, we recruit Brian Tong to help us with the show. You know what that means, right? For the first time in Gadgettes history, the guys outnumber the ladies!
Listen now:
Download today's podcast
 |
EPISODE 117 |
PS3 Home - played it more last night…SUCKS
Excessive cuteness, meet excessive violence (circa 1996)
Project Aiko: The sexy virgin robot built to serve man
The bracelet that can help you swing across a canyon
HTX Helmet lets you feel headshots while you play video games
Shots Gun Drink Dispenser, for trigger-happy barkeeps
... Read more
(Credit:
SCEA)
If all goes according to plan, PlayStation Home will be opening its doors to the public later Thursday. The PlayStation 3-exclusive allows gamers to interact with one another using avatars in a virtual environment via text or voice chat (think Second Life, but on the PS3). The free service is still in beta, but should be available to PS3 users worldwide by the end of the day.
Nintendo's Wii launched with support for player avatars that can be used in many of its games, and the Xbox 360 added avatar and enhanced community features with its November 2008 New Xbox Experience makeover. But PlayStation Home looks to be the most sophisticated virtual world to date available on a game console, with realistic graphical renderings of people and environments. The Home world features minigames, in-world music options, trophy rooms, and--of course--advertiser-supported destinations and stores.
What do you think: Is Home a game changer for the PS3? Or is it yet another environment to sell you "virtual junk" you don't need? Share your comments below.
(Via: Official PlayStation Blog)
Earlier coverage:
PS3 'Home' a second life away from home
Sony delays launch of PlayStation 'Home' service
- prev
- 1
- next
