SCEA confirms: PlayStation Home launch coming this month in US

We know you aren't going to believe it 'til you see it, but SCEA has confirmed to our brethren at Joystiq that PlayStation Home will hit the US market before 2009 dawns. In the words of PS Home director Jack Buser: "We've been saying it will launch by the end of calendar year 2008, and that's getting very, very close." He continued by affirming that "launch is imminent," but stopped short of giving us a date to mark down in our calendars. Tick, tock.

[Bookshelf @ Dec 9th 2008 5:42AM]

It's about damn time. can't wait!

[Big GIANT Balls @ Dec 9th 2008 5:47AM]

Bookshelf, everyone knows, you are supposed to write "FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" or something along those lines if you get the first post. I smell a low rank coming.

[Kris120890 @ Dec 9th 2008 6:04AM]

You were right I just low ranked you Big giant balls.you nose must be big.

[El Taco @ Dec 9th 2008 6:59AM]

Where there is a low rank, a high rank is nearby.

[mirakutea @ Dec 9th 2008 8:48AM]

I hope something like this is made for the x360 else I'll have to buy a PS3 just for this 1 thing :/.

[Jack Bauer @ Dec 9th 2008 2:23PM]

I have the beta and it's super lame. Maybe it will be better when they launch it, but for all the hype I was expecting a lot more. It's like playing GTA except you can't do anything but walk around.

[rudefyet @ Dec 9th 2008 5:58AM]

Hmm, I still haven't received a beta code I was promised with Qore episode 6.

I subscribed before the cut off date, so I wonder if I'm the only one potentially getting screwed.

Problem now is even if I get the invite tomorrow, does it matter when the thing is coming out this month?

[John @ Dec 9th 2008 6:38AM]

Eh, I doubt you'd get anything exciting from being a beta tester anyway. Just wait it out.

[Phil @ Dec 9th 2008 6:01AM]

Cool!

Been waiting for this for this! Been in the Beta which was rather limited with content, but looking forward to the full-on experience!

:)

[Funda @ Dec 9th 2008 2:48PM]

I agree Phil. It'll be sweet to other PS3 game intergrated within home like LBP or maybe even GT5. I could envision an actual garage for GT5, and a Pod of some sort for LBP.

[SpydaKat 17 @ Dec 9th 2008 9:36PM]

It's pretty ironic that he wrote all that and was still low ranked.

[Kate @ Dec 9th 2008 6:06AM]

cool..

[Kris120890 @ Dec 9th 2008 6:08AM]

I like how you've changed you name.
www.stopspamming.com

[Muhammad-Oli @ Dec 9th 2008 6:09AM]

a) Why is that relevant?
b) Who cares, it's not as if it's a new product.

[Kris120890 @ Dec 9th 2008 6:12AM]

You site is still shit even if you change you name and stick up for yourself. He's a man posing as woman with multiple accounts. say anything against him he creates a new account and say he likes it.

[Frogboy @ Dec 9th 2008 9:51AM]

The Official Guide to Avoiding Low Rankings on Engadget

1. Use correct grammar and spelling so that people can understand your posts.
2. Do not post "First!"
3. Do not post "but will it play Crysis?"
4. Call out any and all overtly Apple favoritism engaged in by Engadget.
5. If you get a low ranking on a particular article, just walk away. Any attempts to justify your previous posts will automatically and irrevocably end up being voted down.
6. If you know that you are going to get ranked low because what you are saying is contrary to popular opinion, state something like "I feel a low rank coming on" or something of that nature. Not sure why, but it works...or at least, it used to...sorry.
7. No Spamming!!!


Did I miss anything?

[NHAnimator @ Dec 9th 2008 10:49AM]

@Frogboy:

Good guide. But will it blend?

[Frogboy @ Dec 9th 2008 1:03PM]

In the spirit of breaking rule #5:

The irony of my low ranking is hilarious. I wish Engadget wouldn't have removed Kate's spam, though. It kind of defeated the purpose of my post and I'd have liked to see which way it went had that not happened. Oh, well.

So in spirit of rule #5, let the vote down of this post commense (unless rule #6 kicks in to save the day).

[Das Gluten @ Dec 9th 2008 6:14AM]

Yay? Maybe it won't suck as much as the 360 dashboard update.

[Raheem @ Dec 9th 2008 7:48AM]

Explain or you're dumb.

[Dave Chappelle @ Dec 9th 2008 8:18AM]

no you are, you curly headed fuck.

[MastrCake @ Dec 9th 2008 9:11AM]

@Dave Chappelle,

STOP USING THAT NAME!!!

For Das Gluten's defense:

The NXE was pretty cool, but the avatars were pretty dumb. That is probably what Das Gluten was getting at... Home is better than Avatars. I'll explain (or else I am dumb).

Home is a virtual world where you can create a person and socialize. You can:

Create a person
Customize a mansion
Walk around
Play games with other while in Home
Talk to other people while in groups
And much more...

With Avatars (part of the NXE), you can:

Create a person!

[Les @ Dec 9th 2008 10:20AM]

NXE rrod'd by box.
Lasted 3 years before it died, and two other of my friends went out after NXE came out
Xbox is fixing it for free, just out a 360 for a few weeks :(
I just got back from the store with left for dead too :(

[trickards @ Dec 9th 2008 6:18AM]

What about Europe?

I'm so sick of waiting for this, it's been in the pipelines for so long.

Poor effort, Sony.

[y3k.nik @ Dec 9th 2008 7:34AM]

Hmmm, sounds like December 17th might be the date... but, what about Canada??

[phobic99 @ Dec 9th 2008 6:25AM]

I still don't see the appeal of Home. Oh well, can't be any worse than those NXE avatars I guess. *shrug*

[John @ Dec 9th 2008 6:39AM]

Unlockable sofas!

[Podaman @ Dec 9th 2008 11:44AM]

You have earned a trophy.
Did Your Laundry

[sjdurfey @ Dec 9th 2008 3:15PM]

im sure this will be a forced update which makes me a sad panda :(

[chefgon_ign @ Dec 9th 2008 6:30AM]

Is anybody honestly still interested in this thing? It has already worn out its welcome and it isn't even out yet. I'm not even sure if I'm going to bother downloading it at this point.

[Ps3fanman @ Dec 9th 2008 6:53AM]

Ya guys are really missing the point Sony is giving us a free game, what did x-brick fan boys get... Ummm nothing

[Kris120890 @ Dec 9th 2008 7:06AM]

Marketplace
More DLC
Netflix
Similar Netflix thing in Europe soon.
Video Marketplace.
Arcade games
Prices going down.
The chance you 360 breaking is equal to the PS3
PS3 prices going up because sony are still losing money on every PS3 sale.
Better Multiplayer.

Alot more than PS3 Owners .

[absinthe party @ Dec 9th 2008 7:39AM]

In my defense, along with my fellow PS3 owners, we do have that Sony video market thing. I mean, I only went there once and got lost, confused, and ended up ordering something from pay-per-view instead, but at least we have it.

[Dave Chappelle @ Dec 9th 2008 8:27AM]

Marketplace ... you pay for XBL
More DLC .... you pay for XBL
Netflix .... that goes for Sony too, and remember Sony's was superior
Video Marketplace... you pay for XBL
Arcade games... ? again Sony has these
Prices going down. ....fair call the Xbox is very cheap but PS3 prices did go down
The chance you 360 breaking is equal to the PS3... piss off.
PS3 prices going up because sony are still losing money on every PS3 sale ... this is more lie than the Cake
Better Multiplayer.... depends on your preferences, id rather use my PC headset and free WiFi than a 'nicer' interface, heck i wouldn't even mind DOS tho lol.

Alot more than PS3 Owners ... WRONG.

[Lowen SoDium @ Dec 9th 2008 9:53AM]

Already replied to, but I will reply too anyways

Marketplace - sony has this too

More DLC - More than Sony? How do you figure? Every game I have seen that has DLC has the same DLC on PSN. Not to mention that Sony's less restrictive rules for DLC means that games like Unreal Tournament can even have user mods. Also, Little Big Planet is pretty much nothing but DLC.

Netflix - I will give you this one. But you do have to pay for a gold Live account and for a Netflix account so its not really something that MS is giving you is it?

Similar Netflix thing in Europe soon.- Uh, ok

Video Marketplace. - PSN has this too

Arcade games - PSN has these too

Prices going down. - PS3 is pricer, no two ways about it. Rumored price drop early next year. Even at the higher price point, it doesn't take long to break even given that you can use standard bluetooth and usb accessories instead of proprietary accessories like MS requires. Not to mention larger harddrives and are user replaceable with off the self parts.

The chance you 360 breaking is equal to the PS3 - Not even close. The 360 has known issues and you would be lucky to find someone who has a launch system that is still running if they use it more than 2 times a week.

PS3 prices going up because sony are still losing money on every PS3 sale - The PS3 price is not going up. Sony and MS probably both sell their consoles at a lose. In fact, pretty much every console ever made except for Nintendo's have been sold at a lose.

Better Multiplayer - I beg to differ. MS's match making services are usually so dumbed down that you either can join a random game, or join a friend who is online. Few games have real browsers that let you see what game you joining and you can't see pertinent information like what the ping is. You just get those dumbed down green/yellow/red marks to show game quailty. PS3 games often will show a real server browser with real info. Also, Sony doesn't charge you $50 a year to play peer-to-peer games. For $50 a month, MS should be providing dedicated servers in every region in the world for every game on their system.

Alot more than PS3 Owners - If VGchartz.com is correct, there are 24M xbox 360 owners world wide, vs. 17M PS3 So yeah, there are more, but not what I would say is a LOT more. Also, this is the number of console sales, not the number owners. So it does not include the number of 360 owners who had to buy a second 360 (and third and fourth) because their previous unit red ringed or caught on fire or what ever.


In short, you are a fanboy tool who should either to shut the hell or learn what the hell he is talking about.

[LameDuck @ Dec 9th 2008 12:45PM]

FYI, Xbox Live Silver is free. Only thing you can't do is netflix and play online on most games. Please get informed before you start tolling.

Just because PSN is free, doesn't make it better. Anyone that has played Madden online could tell you horror stories about dropped voice, dropped games, and super-high pings. I hate sports games to begin with, but Madden on PSN adds a whole new level of rage for me. On a side note: I still haven't gotten to try out LBP. D:

Anyway, the rest of your post I don't give a flying rat about, but at least be truthful somewhere, mmmkay?

[Rob Bourne @ Dec 9th 2008 1:34PM]

Lowensodium: Don't hold your breath for that 'rumoured' price drop - have you seen the sony news today?

Price increases ftl.

[maveric101 @ Dec 9th 2008 2:23PM]

XBL silver is free and gold is less than 14 cents/day. i would say it's worth it.

[Rob @ Dec 9th 2008 7:00AM]

Got my beta code a week or so ago.

Had a quick play around, got a bit bored. I'll freely admit that I have never been into the likes of Second Life, I don't really see where the enjoyment is. But then lots of others do.

I could see it being really interesting if they integrated it tightly with any of the proper game titles. Such as viewing your Little Big Planet creations in the 'Home' world. Converging the worlds from one game to another, so to start COD you get in your battle gear and walk through the battle arena door. Basically making it a virtual world replacement for the XMB.

I think it is more of an interesting extra than something that is going to drive PS3 sales. Also a way for Sony to make more money by selling you extra items for the world, why do you think they are giving it away!

I'll use my spare time with Little Big Planet for now. Very cool building your own level to do some crazy things. Its like being a game designer without all of that hard work.

[Josh @ Dec 9th 2008 12:33PM]

same here, got the beta, which was fun to play with for a little while, but it's pretty boring, get on with play tv and i'll be happy.

[absinthe party @ Dec 9th 2008 7:30AM]

I thought that said: "In the words of PS Home director Jack Bauer..." First, I was pretty excited, and then I started to get that sick feeling in my stomach where I realize that this will drag out for 24 weeks and at the end I'll kind of wish I didn't sit through it.

[Mike Thomas @ Dec 9th 2008 7:37AM]

I subscribed to Qore at the beginning and I also still have NOT received entry to HOME, it's really b.s.

[Gorjan @ Dec 9th 2008 7:38AM]

What's the point in Home? I don't get it, and I don't have time for poking around in a virtual universe. I mean, if you have time for Home, get a job or use your time for something meaningful.

[adrian @ Dec 9th 2008 8:36AM]

I agree. I like the PS3 but I can't help feeling Sony have lost their way with this console.
I turn on the TV or walk down the street and I see a X Box commercial, I hardly ever see a PS3 advert, Not only that they are always putting release dates back.Yes they have to get things right but it just adds to the frustration. Their console cost more than the XBox so Sony needs to get their act together with the PS3 fast and provide more instead of just plodding along.

[paul @ Dec 9th 2008 5:04PM]

@Gorjan: You could say the same thing about video games. But you wouldn't, would you? When it comes to time wasters, to each their own. Whether it's watching TV, playing games, or reading books, all those activities serve the same purpose: Entertainment.

[7egend @ Dec 9th 2008 7:42AM]

I call Shenanigans.

[Kris120890 @ Dec 9th 2008 7:58AM]

What's their number.

[Kali4 @ Dec 9th 2008 12:28PM]

Captain O'Hagan: I swear to God I'm going to pistol whip the next guy who says, " Shenanigans."
Mac: Hey Farva what's the name of that restaurant you like with all the goofy shit on the walls and the mozzarella sticks?
Farva: You mean Shenanigans?
Mac: OOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Thorny: OOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

[nathan.wong @ Dec 9th 2008 1:16PM]

I thought their number was 867-5309? Just ask for Jenny.

[Raheem @ Dec 9th 2008 7:50AM]

When was this originally due?