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Street Fighter X Tekken promo brings violent altercations to PS Home
If the only thing keeping you from a meaningful PlayStation Home experience was a lack of fistfighting, good news. For a promotional Street Fighter X Tekken "Total Game Integration" event, you'll get to beat the crap out of those annoyingly placid-looking Home avatars. A series of challenges will allow you to unlock Ryu and Kazuma costumes, enabling you to spice up your brawls with hadoukens and jump kicks.For the ultimate "stuff you never thought about doing in Home" experience, you can even pre-order the game from within the virtual world, getting access to a pack of in-game Gems.
PSN maintenance starts on March 1 at 11am ET
Expect some PSN downtime starting on March 1, from 11am ET until 2am ET the next day. The PlayStation Store on both the PC and consoles will be unavailable, as will account management and PlayStation Home. If you're signed in when maintenance starts, you'll be signed out automatically.
PlayStation Home lets friends watch free movies together now, UStream and radio next month
Sony's recently redesigned PlayStation Home project has always been about bringing online social experiences to the PS3 that mirror their real-world counterparts: hanging out in your apartment with friends, window shopping at the mall, Quincying. Now it can add one more notch to its virtual world experience belt by offering the ability to view full length movies for free, streamed by Sony's Crackle network. If you're a frequent user of Xbox Live's Netflix Movie Parties this may sound like old hat (were we the only ones using that feature?), but now all PS Home users -- in North America -- can do social viewing with up to 60 users or private parties with up to 11 at a time. Crackle's selection of movies and TV shows are available today, while live broadcast UStream events (Engadget podcast party anyone?) and musical stations provided by RadioIO are scheduled to debut in December. Press play on the video above for a quick preview or check after the break for a celebratory press release.
Sony to intro refreshed PlayStation Home tomorrow, tosses in free titles to celebrate (video)
SCEA's cleaning up its virtual house and introducing a new design for PlayStation Home. The newly redecorated Hub is set to hit PS3 consoles in North America tomorrow, bringing with it "genre-based districts" split into Action for core gamers, Sportswalk for related scores, news and titles, Adventure which'll extend the Uncharted 3 experience, Pier Park that plays host to arcade games, PlayStation Home Theater for media content and, lastly, PlayStation Home Mall where you can purchase DLC. A spate of "freemium" titles is also on deck for the refresh, offering users access to a handful of mini-games like the first-person shooter Bootleggers '29, poker-based PlayStation Home Hold 'Em, PlayStation Home Sport Trivia, racer RC Rally and 3D puzzle game Cogs. If you're aching for a sneak peek, just click on past the break for a video tease.
PlayStation Home relaunches on PS3 tomorrow
That's right, if you've been anxious to see PlayStation Home's transformation for yourself, you'll get a chance to download the new client sometime tomorrow. Or you could just watch a video. Entirely up to you. As we've covered before, the update brings with it newly themed districts, some free-to-play games and a (hopefully) more useful hub. No specific time for (re)launch was given. %Gallery-138094%
Video: Welcome to your new PlayStation Home
In this video, Sony takes us on a tour of the new PlayStation Home. If you're not sure what's different, maybe now would be a good opportunity to go check out Home for the first time -- if only so you have something to compare to the new version.
PlayStation Home gets 1.55 update this Thursday in advance of relaunch
Yes, yes, we know the relaunch is coming, but don't expect it this Thursday. PlayStation Home community manager "Locust_Star" posted on the PlayStation Blog today, announcing the 1.55 update and some patch features arriving prior to the big relaunch. Included in 1.55 are an improved "start-up flow," some wardrobe and furniture browser tweaks and the ability to manually clear the PlayStation Home cache on your HDD. Outside of technical stuff, Home has also added some new costumes, spaces and Loot, a game that lets players record and download their own custom videos right to their hard drives. There's also YouTube functionality for those must-share Quincying moments.
Sony redesigns PlayStation Home, makes it the game outside the game
Sony updated PlayStation Home in the spring of this year, and gave its virtual world multiplayer support and better graphics. Evidently that update wasn't quite what Sony wanted, so the company will roll out a complete redesign of the community this autumn to make it easier for folks to connect with desired content. The revamped Home lets users find games by exploring several themed districts (Action, Adventure, Sportswalk and Pier Park) with their digital doppelgängers. Sony's saying the changes will make PlayStation Home itself a game, so maybe it's time for Second Life to start shaking in its boots. Denizens of Sony's digital world can get more details in the PR below.
PlayStation Home relaunches this fall with a questing system, themed districts
Big things are happening in PlayStation Home this fall. Sony has announced that an entirely new Home experience is currently in the works, one which it hopes will better cater to the needs of its users and offer a better experience overall. Home will relaunch with a new Hub and destinations based on desired gaming experience. The new Hub "integrates games, quests, community events and user-generated content, while providing players with additional navigation, shopping, socialization and entertainment options." Essentially, it's the launch pad to anything else in Home. Within the Hub, players can go over to the Activity Board to check on quests or create their own events and share them with their friends. Users can also check out the Activity Board to quickly jump to games and content. Outside of the Hub, there are four main areas: Action District, Sportswalk, Adventure District and Pier Park. As you can imagine, each caters to the needs of a certain gamer -- the Action and Adventure Districts both cater to hardcore and action-adventure fans, respectively, while Sportswalk is for sports nuts. Pier Park is an interactive theme park, replete with rides and games and such. This big update will piggyback on a core client update arriving this fall, which Sony hopes will help players get into games and content much quicker than before.
Sony reinventing PlayStation Home to be more like an MMO
PlayStation Home was a hugely anticipated feature for console fans, one that ultimately garnered mixed reviews and apathetic affection. Due to the reception, Sony has decided to reinvent the game lobby-slash-virtual-world to incorporate the best of themeparks, MMOs, and social networks. When it relaunches this fall, PlayStation Home will look radically different, resembling a sleek mall with plenty to do and faster functionality for those who want to get right to their games. But between playing commercial titles, gamers are encouraged to hang out for a while, which is where MMO elements come into play. The new Home has a number of districts, as an amusement park would, and in them players can pick up quests, go on treasure hunts, and explore these video game-themed zones to find hidden mysteries. Sony also promises that it will incorporate persistent, ongoing stories, similar to those you'd find in MMOs, such as an alien invasion that affects all of the areas. Sony is hoping that the 23 million Home users will embrace this new experience and form stronger social connections through it.
Watch EVO fights from within PlayStation Home this weekend
PlayStation Home is quickly becoming the destination for pretending you're in a room watching an event. After the popular E3 viewing, Home is now hosting live streaming footage from the EVO fighting tournament in Los Angeles. Through Sunday, you'll be able to watch the world's best players compete in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Tekken 6, Mortal Kombat, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift 2, and Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition from within the PlayStation Home Theater. You'll get some pointers about how to play fighting games, and you'll get free junk for your Avatar, including an EVO shirt on Friday, a fighting stick item Saturday, and an EVO trophy on Sunday.
Sony PSN 'Welcome Back' promotion extended... for one more day
Welcome back. Again. Chances are, anyone planning to grab those PSN freebies took their share when the promotion launched last month, but just in case you've been holding out, Sony's giving you another 24 hours (from now) to download your pair of free PS3 and PSP games, 100 virtual items from PlayStation Home, and 30 days of PlayStation Plus. After then, you better be prepared to pay up for your copy of Dead Nation or LittleBigPlanet. The whole gratis shebang goes offline for good at 9AM Pacific Time tomorrow -- just before the PlayStation Store is set to open for business in Japan.
Sony rolls up the PSN 'Welcome Back' mat this Sunday, takes free entertainment with it
Four weeks ago today, Sony announced its 'Welcome Back' campaign following the weeks-long PSN outage that began in April. Now, the program is entering its final weekend, giving you just two more days to download your pair of free PS3 or PSP games, along with 100 virtual items from PlayStation Home and 30 days of PlayStation Plus. To claim your gratis package from the PlayStation Store, click on the "Welcome Back" tab and make your pick. Sure, a few handouts may not make up for those countless days you spent offline, contemplating a switch to other networks, but free stuff is free stuff, so head over to PSN to claim what's rightfully yours before the clock strikes midnight on July 3rd.
Welcome Back goodies for European PlayStation Home outlined
Who cares about free games, downloadable content or PlayStation Plus memberships? We certainly could not care less -- our envious eye has fallen on the European PSN, whose Welcome Back rewards now include a grip of free PlayStation Home swag.
E3 2011 spurs half a million PlayStation Home visits
We like to make fun of PlayStation Home, but it turns out if you put cool stuff there, people will log in. VentureBeat reports over 500,000 people showed up for the festivities, which included interviews and gameplay demonstrations of what was on offer on the E3 show floor, plus a live stream of Sony's press conference and a virtual recreation of its booth area. Sony did a similar thing last year and pulled in 250,000. If for some reason you weren't able to make it into Home, get caught up on our admittedly less interactive Sony coverage from the show: the keynote, the booth and E3 overall.
Sony's E3 keynote to be streamed live in PlayStation Home
Got any plans for Monday night? Sony's announced that it will stream its five hour E3 press conference straight from the very real, very solid Los Angeles to the ephemeral metaverse of PlayStation Home. Normally, we'd judge anyone who spends five hours inside of PlayStation Home, but we'll make an exception for this. The keynote kicks off on June 6 at 5pm PT. In addition to the press conference, Sony will also recreate its E3 booth set-up in Home. Starting Tuesday, June 7 at 12pm PT, users can take a virtual tour of Sony's re-creation and unlock exclusive Home content in the process. Also, the PlayStation Blog guys will be streaming live from the show floor at random intervals, offering up game demos and interviews for virtual patrons. We'll be honest ... we're a little jealous. We'll be there, dragging ourselves through the aromatic halls of E3 to bring you all the hot scoops ... but instead of F5-ing our internet site, you'll be kicking it in Home. We quit. Hit the jump for the full press release.
Sony rolling out PlayStation Home 1.5 update with real-time multiplayer support
Earlier this morning, Sony lifted the floodgates on its 1.5 update for PlayStation Home, bringing with it real-time multiplayer support, improved physics and more realistic graphics, among other goodies and graphical tweaks that we're slightly less excited about (like, umm, "better furniture management"). Also hitting the PlayStation Home Mall this week is Sodium Blaster's Paradise personal space and TankTop 1.0, a mini-game which appears to take advantage of the improved graphics promised in Home 1.5. Of course, the big news here is the real-time multiplayer support, which Sony says will pave the way for first-person shooter and racing games, making it even easier to terrorize other players from the safety of mom's basement. So, what are you waiting for? Hit the source link for all the saucy details.
PlayStation Home 1.5 debuts April 20
Announced during GDC, version 1.5 of the PlayStation Home client will go live tomorrow morning, April 20. The update not only introduces engine enhancements designed to aid developers in making full high-performance games for the platform, but a number of interface tweaks as well. Sony is launching a new Sodium themed private space along with the update, although Lockwood Publishing's futuristic racer utilizing the Home 1.5 framework, Sodium Two, is still in closed beta. You can find a complete list of the UI and functionality updates being introduced at the source link below.
Rumor: Leaked Home screens show revamped Central Plaza
Are you sitting down? Please, take your time. All set? Great! Earlier this week, leaked shots showing up on FourPlayerCoOp depicted a brand new, kinda futuristic Central Plaza in Home. Relax! Breathe! We're not 100 percent sure whether the shots are conceptual or final, though they look awfully real to us (aside from that woman's impossibly tiny skirt). Either way, we'll see soon enough as PlayStation's Home update 1.5 will arrive this spring. Or at least those of you who are still using Home will. We won't. Because we aren't. [Image credit: FourPlayerCoOp]
Sony announces Move.me application for researchers and hobbyists, promises improvements to PlayStation Home
The PlayStation Move may not have proven to be as instantly hackable as Microsoft's Kinect, but it looks like Sony is now trying to change that -- it's just announced its new Move.me server application that promises to let researchers, hobbyists and others use the Move as a controller for a PC, with the PlayStation 3 handling all the work in between. It will be available for download from the PlayStation Network this spring, although you can also try your luck with Sony's early-product seeding program if you'd like to get it sooner -- no PS3 SDK or licensing agreement is required. In other PlayStation news, Sony's also confirmed that it's now working on version 1.5 of PlayStation Home, which promises to add real-time multiplayer gaming functionality to the virtual world, along with improved physics and refined graphics. Details on it are otherwise still fairly light, but it's also slated for a public release sometime this spring. Head on past the break for the official word on both announcements from Sony.
