Home 'game spaces' being shown off later this month
Speaking to Daniel Hill at PlayStation Day we managed to gather a few tidbits of info about Home and where it's headed. Hill reiterated that the open beta will be happening this Autumn. He also added that the closed beta will be "extended" in July to include more gamers as well as, for the first time, European press. When asked whether Home would be fully functional for the open beta, Hill responded by saying that "Home will never be fully functional" and that it will continue to grow and evolve over time. The open beta will include all necessary features such as trophies and game launching.
Game spaces are slightly lower on the list of priorities, but not forgotten. Some are being shown off later this month to beta members and Hill stated that what he had seen of them is "really impressive." Game launching has extended beyond Warhawk to MotorStorm now, and this feature was demonstrated on the show floor at PlayStation Day. The feature allows you to select your option preferences, including track and number of laps, within Home. This allows you to almost immediately jump straight into the gameplay, rather than into another menu.
Hill also confirmed to us that trophies will be available in the XMB. "They have to be," he said. There's no word on when that will happen, but a 2D representation of your trophy list will be visible via the XMB at some point in the future. Obviously, the basic funtionality needs to be created within Home itself before being exported to the XMB, so don't expect it anytime soon.
