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Red Bull expands Home space with 'Flugtag' flying machine challenge
PlayStation Home's first branded space, Red Bull Beach, has added two new ... wings, if you will. The energy drink maker launched its Home presence with the Red Bull Air Race mini-game (and the unofficial "wait in line and spam 'X' to play" companion challenge) -- the new Flugtag (German for "flying day") mini-game trades high-performance stunt planes for human-powered contraptions taken from its annual "will it fly?" themed event. The goal: Grab one of several "flying machines" -- try a banjo with wings, or, say, a completely counter-aerodynamic "flying pig" -- and attempt to glide as far as possible off of the space's launch structure. It's definitely ... interesting. So is the space's other new addition: the Red Bull illume exhibit, a virtual re-creation of a real-world art installation which features adventure sports photos projected onto the faces of translucent cubes. It's art, only ... extreme!
PlayStation Home catches a fishing game
Want to experience the excitement of sitting around all day? You're in luck! PlayStation Home is getting a brand new fishing mini-game in an upcoming premium personal space. The Waterfall Terrace, available this Thursday in the Estates store of the Home Mall, boasts a waterfall and an eternal sunset, as envisioned by Phil Harrison. Using various lures, you'll be able to reel in a variety of fish, all of which will appear on the walls of your virtual apartment. Check out a video after the break.
Egg-man will teach you about PSN security
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has just launched a new website catered to parents looking for tips and tutorials on safe gaming for younger players. PS-PlaySafeOnline.com includes explanations of the PS3's parental control settings function, security features for registered PSN Online IDs, and advice on what to do when faced with online jerks. The entire site is wrapped around a strange (and way too cheery) Egg-man character, who seems to waver been non-threatening and subversively creepy. Our only real gripe? There is no glossary term for PlayStation Home's "Quincying" phenomenon. Everyone must be warned.
Final Fantasy XIII goes Home in Japan
To coincide with the launch of Final Fantasy XIII in Japan, PlayStation Home has been updated with a number of virtual Square Enix goods -- all of them terribly expensive. For 600 yen (about $6.66), Final Fantasy fans will be able to purchase an avatar costume of Snow, Lightning or Sazh. (The Baby Chocobo wig for Sazh will cost an additional 100 yen, though.) While these costumes may be pricey, the alternative (cosplaying in real life) exacts an even greater cost. FF13-inspired furniture is also available at the Home Marketplace, ranging from 100 to 200 yen each. Perhaps you'll want a Cactaur for your apartment? Or a Final Fantasy XIII sofa? Certainly, there's no better way to relax after a lengthy FF13 grind than to sit down on your virtual couch.
Sony launches a salt on Home with 'Sodium One' social gaming space
Sony heard you liked games, so it put an MMO in your Home so you could socially game while you socially game. The company just announced the launch of Sodium One (yeah, we don't know either), a self-contained social MMO space within PlayStation Home. By taking the Teleporter installed in the Central Plaza, Home users can receive in-game objectives from an AI called "VICKIE." Said objectives then task the player with playing various minigames, including "objective-based meta-games, full arcade-style games and community events." The first game accessible in the space: Salt Shooter, a game in which players use tanks to shoot robots. Only five levels of this minigame are available for free, with more levels and items unlockable through microtransactions. Sony is giving away 1,050 free Salt Shooter unlocks to early Sodium One adopters, so be sure to go check that out soon if you're interested. More games, events, and virtual goods will be added over time.
Assassin's Creed II costumes go on sale in LittleBigPlanet, Home
You may be nearing the end of your assassinating adventures with Ezio in Assassin's Creed II. But, what are you supposed to do as you agonizingly wait for the upcoming DLC? Make your own AC2 adventures in PlayStation Home and LittleBigPlanet, of course! The LBP Ezio costume will be available today on the PlayStation Store worldwide for £1.59 / €1.99 / US $1.99 / AUS $ 3.45 / NZD $3.90. Unfortunately, this costume set doesn't include any hidden wrist blades, so you'll have to make do with slapping your friends silly. PlayStation Home's offering is a little less adventurous. The virtual Mall will feature "Renaissance costumes pulled straight from 15th Century Italy." In other words, you can dress like a courtesan (essentially, a fancy way for saying "prostitute"). Once again, no lethal weapons will be included, so instead of killing, you'll have to make do with ... um, dancing. Source - Assassin's Creed II Costume - LittleBigPlanet Source - This Week in PlayStation Home - PlayStation.Blog
Santa Claus is coming to PlayStation Home
Santa has added a layover in PlayStation Home to an already-packed holiday itinerary. On December 10, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is opening up a new PlayStation Home space that allows you to see Santa's workshop through the unique Home filter -- by which we mean it's now kind of eerie. The new Winter Wonderland space will allow you to interact with a vaguely Shatner-esque Santa Claus and elves like Robin Williams here, as you help the crew get all its preparations for Christmas done. Which means minigames! There will be presents, of course, and a Photo Elf who will take festively decorated pictures of your Home avatar. You know, so you can always remember the time you saved Christmas. %Gallery-79140%
Red Bull Island Home space update coming Nov. 26
Tomorrow, you'll find some big additions coming to the Red Bull Island space in PlayStation Home. Don't worry, Sony isn't fiddling with your cherished Red Bull Air Race mini-game, but rather adding two new mini-games to the virtual tropical island. First is Red Bull Illume, an area for the sports and action photogs out there. Then there's the Redbull Flugtag mini-game, which will pretty much be a game adaptation of the real thing -- players can launch one of five pre-made flying contraptions off a 30-foot launch pad. Starting on Monday, November 30 at 6pm PDT, you'll be able to see some real-life, behind-the-scenes footage of the Flugtag in the Home theater. There will also be trivia and, if you're one of the first five lucky individuals who send in a trivia answer here during the event, you could win yourself a PSP Go! How's that for incentive?
Turkeys to invade PlayStation Home this week
It's rare we quote someone extensively for a post, but we thought this update from PlayStation Home's Locust_Star speaks for itself: "In celebration of the impending Turkey Day, users will approach the giant stone turkey in Central Plaza and, of course, pledge their allegiance to the almighty Meleagris Gallopavo by stating 'Gobble gobble' and/or other assorted turkey-isms ... You will be given a chance to chase a bunch of wily turkeys around Central Plaza. If you can manage to catch them all, you will unlock some truly hilarious rewards that are sure to make you an object of envy amongst your peers." Yeah, the PS3 really can do everything.
Happy 3rd birthday, PlayStation 3!
We can hardly believe that it's been three whole years since we first enjoyed the splendor of the PlayStation 3 in our own homes. Sure, there weren't a million fantastic games for the console right at launch, and there were a few issues at some stores with poor crowd management, but here we are three years later with a heap of great memories. Remember that nightmare inducing baby ad? How about Sony's response to PlayStation Home being leaked? These days, we have hilarious commercials, a smattering of great exclusive games both on disc and through the PlayStation Network – hell, the system even lost some weight (and half its original price)! We're spending the day celebrating the PS3s lifespan by ... folding proteins like mad! If you're so inclined to join along, we've got this convenient 300 person strong team set up. It's a celebration foldathon, folks – ya dig?
Buzz! developer says PlayStation Home is starting to realize its potential
Andrew Eades, executive director of Buzz! developer Relentless Software, recently had a few nonplussed things to say to VideoGamer.com about Sony's virtual social hub, PlayStation Home. Specifically, he remarked, "Home doesn't appeal to me personally that much," adding that he doesn't know why the experience appeals to people. Though he might not be its biggest fan, Eades later added that Home still has room to grow, and that only now is it "realizing its potential." Eades suggested that Sony focus on "[building] the tools to allow people to create content for it," mentioning that his studio has plans for "a game we're considering doing which only could work in Home." It's just a wild guess, but we're picturing a multiplayer trivia title with heavy crossdressing elements.
Final Fantasy XIII trailer coming Home tomorrow [Update]
While we're certainly happy to hear that a brand new Final Fantasy XIII trailer is coming to the theater in PlayStation Home tomorrow, we can't help but be a little put out too. Is this the announcement that had been hinted at on Sunday? Because we were honestly hoping for something a bit more ... announcementy. On the bright side, maybe there's some real news coming and the trailer's just a nice compliment, or on the even brighter side, maybe there's big news nestled lovingly within the clip. On the double-triple bright side, the Home theaters are also showing a sneak preview of Steven Seagal: Lawman on Friday Wednesday, so there's no way you're not logging out of Home happier than when you logged in.Update: We incorrectly reported the time for "Lawman." It will debut in Home on Wednesday, Nov 18 for one hour at 5pm PST/8pm EST.
PlayStation Home 'not a priority right now' for Sony, most people seem to feel the same way (update: misquote)
Just earlier this month we'd been hearing word from Sony that it was seeing PlayStation Home as more of a "social game platform" than a "social network," and now we're hearing that Sony might not be seeing it as much of anything. Peter Edward, the director of Home for Sony, says that the service is "not a priority right now." Kind of at odds with his other statement that it's "proved there is a market out there and we've got a lot of people that spend a lot of time in [Home]," but we'll let is slide. So, is this a roundabout way of saying Home hasn't been as great as Sony thought it would be, or just a different way of saying the emphasis is changing? We've never minded Sony's Home efforts on their own, but in the context of an also-ran multiplayer platform, it's easy to see why the company should be focusing on other aspects of the gaming experience. Update: Sony has gone on record saying that this statement as reported by T3 from a talk at the London Games Conference is a misquote, instead saying that Peter was talking about how monetizing Home was not as big a priority as building the platform -- which others have confirmed.
PlayStation Home no longer a priority for Sony?
Opinions on PlayStation Home seem to differ -- it doesn't have the kind of flexibility and user created content that's made Second Life successful, but it does provide social spaces and content linked to the games and other media we enjoy. For others, like writers at our parent site Joystiq, it's a brave new virtual world where the fine art of Quincying can thrive. Now that PlayStation Home has gained some traction with its install base and users are making microtransaction purchases, does Sony intend to develop the marketplace further? Not immediately, according to PlayStation Home's Pete Edwards. Edge Online quotes Edwards, speaking at the London Games Conference this week: "It's been a long road. We've proved there is a market out there and we've got a lot of people that spend a lot of time in [Home]. It's not a priority right now but there is a business model there." [Via G4tv's The Feed]
The Daily Grind: Do you use PlayStation Home?
Now here's an odd question that could only be thought up at 8 in the morning. If you own a PS3, are you an avid user of PlayStation Home, or do you avoid the console's virtual world like the plague?We ask because the world seems to present two very different versions of itself. On one hand, some of the mini-games are kinda interesting, the virtual environment does take full advantage of the PS3's graphical capabilities, and the virtual spaces for the different PS3 games are kinda cool.However, on the flip side, you get to deal with the worst of the PlayStation Network community while you can't completely remove them from your screen. If you make a female avatar, get ready to get swamped by every guy in a 30 virtual mile radius no matter how you're dressed.So tell us why or why not you use Home, and don't be afraid to give us all of the gritty details. Go readers, go!
Stay indoors and visit PlayStation Home for Halloween celebrations
Don't want to bother going outside with friends on Halloween? Good! PlayStation Home is hosting two different virtual events, one for Europe and one for America.On Halloween Day, from 6-8PM GMT, SCEE will be hosting a virtual party in the Burn Zombie Burn space. Participants that purchase and wear appropriately undead attire will receive a special "treat" upon arriving. For more details, visit the EU PlayStation.blog.SCEA is celebrating one day earlier, on Halloween Eve. At 11:59PM EST, the Central Plaza will feature a zombie rally that will put Hamsters vs Humans to shame (cough). Once again, virtual prizes will be handed out to all that participate -- and isn't that so much better than going outside, only to get tooth decay? For more details on America's festivities, visit the US PlayStation.blog.Source - Halloween comes to PlayStation HomeSource - Celebrate Halloween PlayStation Home-Style at the Zombie Rally
Jersey sales in Home support breast cancer awareness charity
The sentence following this sentence will be completely unprecedented for this humble news blog: We completely endorse the practice of spending real-life money on virtual articles of clothing -- provided that clothing is the jersey seen above. Sure, black and pink jerseys may not be your style, but when you purchase that shirt in PlayStation Home's EA Sports Complex, the entirety of your $2.00 goes to the charity of New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees, the Brees Dream Foundation, which raises money for breast cancer awareness. Though altruism is its own reward, we'll sweeten the pot even further: Anyone seen wearing this jersey will be granted amnesty from our Quincying, which has grown increasingly violent over the past few months. Trust us, it's a worthwhile investment.
LocoRoco Home space is the happiest place on virtual earth
Sony is set to unleash a new Home space to coincide with the release of LocoRoco Midnight Carnival in Japan this November, andriasang reports. The new destination -- which features an island theme and many of the LocoRoco franchise's signature characters -- will sport "gimmicks" that make it feel more unique than any of the other Home spaces available, Sony says. Sounds fine to us, though we think it's going to be tough granted how high the bar has been set by the Ratchet & Clank space.
Ratchet & Clank, Deadquarters spaces headed Home
Sony has announced that two new spaces are coming to Playstation Home. The first is dedicated to the upcoming Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time, and features a handful of mini-games for Home dwellers to enjoy. Playstation Home director Jack Buser seems particularly excited by the tower defense game, which has three different levels, one for the past, present and future. The space also includes plenty of rewards, including a Ratchet costume. The second Home space has been created in anticipation of Halloween. Called Deadquarters, the space turns all those who enter into a zombie. Sony has set up a website dedicated to the space -- undeadyourself.com -- which suggests there will be some zombie-related Home in the near future. Dare we hope for full-on zombie war? Deadquarters and the Ratchet & Clank space will be available this Thursday.
Sony discusses PlayStation Home's shift from social network to 'game platform'
Aside from providing a venue for a wonderfully childish gender bending game, PlayStation Home initially failed to offer PlayStation 3 users much of a playground. But the various Home spaces and minigames implemented by third-party developers have changed Sony's thinking, according to platform director Jack Buser: "In the early days when we built Home, we really were building a social network for gamers ... through that, over the last year, it's developed into a game platform, first and foremost."Speaking at a San Francisco meeting -- documented in detail by Gamasutra -- Buser described Home-based games as a "low-risk and high-margin" opportunity for developers. "Home is a high definition environment where you can create extremely polished games but with very rapid development cycles," he explained. "You can have small teams of developers -- a couple of engineers and a few artists -- crank out very sophisticated social gaming experiences in very small amounts of time."Buser also highlighted the value of community input in the "evolution" of Home, though he didn't indicate whether Sony had also stopped listening to that guy in the office who's really into Snow Crash. But even that guy might see the sense in Sony's vision, which is "about social, repeatable, fun, and dynamic games that are always changing and being fun for people." We haven't seen the "killer app" yet (we're still waiting in line), but renovating Home into a social games platform -- even if it's built atop the PS3's actual game platform -- seems like a much better use of all that segmented real estate.
