PlayStation Home Message Board older than one year ago
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This Thursday, September 8th will see a new Resistance 3 space invade Home, bringing its own public space complete with mini-games, rewards and more. What better way to celebrate the launch of Insomniac’s well-reviewed shooter than to suit up, win some rewards, and deck out your personal space with the spoils of war?
Home is also updating several core spaces, including Central Plaza (check it for a heavy surprise), and arcade cabinets for the Theater.
Magnus returns with a very interesting mixed bag of goodies ranging from a Monster Lizard Outfit to some cute Kitsune ears to the new Sweet Treats furniture bundle. Check out these sweet deals!
In Lockwood news, a new batch of Medusa hairstyles will hit the shelves of the Sodium store this week and a slew of new Sodium 2 items will be released, including racer upgrades of a most patriotic nature. Check ‘em out!
The PlayStation Home Mall is updated this week with new D.O.G. companions from LOOT, then meet Dusty, the new addition to Mass Media’s line of Brimstone Dancers. Head to the Mall this Thursday and add these items to your collection!
Starting soon, new episodes of both Ugly Americans and Deadliest Warrior episodes will arrive in the Theater. To be updated Tuesdays and Thursdays, several episodes of each will be there for your enjoyment. Bring your popcorn and some friends!
The PlayStation Home Community Theater receives an update this Thursday. Tune in this week and watch as HomeCast Rewind gives us the lowdown on all that’s up and new. Next up, Gamer Indepth interviews special guests, the Assassin’s Guild, a rather large clan based in the Home community who love everything Assassin’s Creed. While you are there, you’ll notice that Scribble Shooter arcade cabinets have been placed throughout the Theater, so step on up and give this critically-acclaimed PlayStation Home-exclusive a play!
Where to start? There’s so much coming this week. Check the Navigator for the New and Recommended places to go, then hit the Mall and Theater for more great stuff. Also, please join us in the Gamer’s Lounge every night of the week for our Featured Game Nights. Come meet and hang out with the Home Community Volunteers who host them from 4-8pm Pacific Time (7-11pm Eastern Time). For the schedule of events, either check the posters in the Gamer’s Lounge itself or on the calendar at the bottom of the PlayStation Home page.
See you in Home!
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I know that most of you don't pay attention to PlayStation Home. Hell, I barely do, even though the service fascinates me. It doesn't capture my interest any more than Second Life, but Home is a thing I can quickly boot into before playing a game and see what's changed since the last time I got tempted. That itch comes along about once a year.
Sony announced today it's rolling out a massive restructuring sometime this fall making games front and center in Home.
Home director Jack Buser signaled the company was heading in this direction when I interviewed him for a series of pieces about Home.
"If you look at the average Home user, they are the most hardcore gamer on the PS3," he said back in June. "They buy more games than the average PS3 user, they play more games than the average PS3 user. They also watch more movies than the average PS3 user, who is already a highly self-selective consumer. We're talking about rabid consumers of media and hardcore gamers. That's who these people are."
The people I talked to who drove the community aspects of Home, such as HomeStation Magazine, did not strike me as people particularly interested in more games in Home, but that's where it's headed.
In the fall, Home will ditch its current (and outdated) central plaza for a segmented hub that essentially splits into genres--Action District, Sportswalk, Adventure District, Pier Park. These new environments will also come packed with activities and games to interact with. Everything about the redesign seems tailored to push Home users towards more and more games.
Home was more of a "world" before, but Sony's aiming to make it a "platform," not unlike Facebook or any other networked hub where people hop online to do any number of things, like play games.
Additionally, Sony will be releasing an update to the underlying Home client to minimize "the time it takes for players to get into games." Again, it's all about the games.
I'm curious about the reaction from the more hardcore users, who may not take kindly to this approach.
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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.
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Hi everyone. I’ve got some huge news for you.
As you know, we’ve been working hard to fill PlayStation Home with hundreds of games – everything from pool tables and dart boards to full-on space shooters like Novus Prime: Escalation, zombie slashers like Dead Island Zombie Survivor, and massive online racing games like Sodium 2: Project Velocity. Today we are excited to announce a complete redesign of the heart of PlayStation Home to reinforce our evolution into the ultimate social game platform on consoles today. This redesign will connect you with the world of hundreds of games in Home faster and better than ever before.
Coming in Fall 2011, this new core experience for PlayStation Home features a “hub and districts” design that will help you find games, people and places that fit your favorite game genres. The design features a new Hub that integrates games, quests, community events, and user-generated content, while providing you with additional navigation, shopping, socialization and entertainment options.
The new, futuristic Hub (shown below) brings an ever changing roster of games right to the center of Home, including Cogs from Codename: Lazy 8 Studios which will be featured front and center on day one. The Hub will also feature a new Activity Board filled with games to play, rewards to be won, a new UGC events system, and cool stuff to discover.
Powering this Activity Board is a massive new questing system that literally transforms Home itself into a game if you so choose. From frequently updated community activities to huge, branching narrative adventures, this questing system will provide game play options delivered to you in ways never before imagined.
Additionally, surrounding the Hub will be districts based on game genres to suit your mood. Whether you want an intense, in-your-face experience, or a more chill, laid-back environment, these districts will be packed with games and navigation points leading you to content that suits your style.
- With a gritty, urban aesthetic reminiscent of a first-person shooter level, the Action District (shown above) is the perfect destination for gamers looking for action, shooter and horror games.
- Come experience the outside-the-stadium feel of Sportswalk, which features up-to-the-minute major league sports scores, headlines and highlights, and sports-themed games.
- Enter a lush beachfront jungle full of sights to see and adventure-themed games to discover in the Adventure District.
- Pier Park (shown above) is your destination for carnival, puzzle, outdoor and arcade games, featuring a waterfront boardwalk, Ferris wheel and a fun party zone that is linked to dedicated indie and arcade game spaces.
On top of all this great news, I’m excited to announce that we are going to upgrade Home’s core client to provide a streamlined initial user experience, getting you in and playing games faster than ever before. This upgrade will be deployed as a separate release from the redesign, and together they will underscore PlayStation Home’s evolution into a world filled with hundreds of games ready for you to play, making Home the ultimate social game platform on consoles.
We hope you’re as excited about PlayStation Home’s new core experience as we are!
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The third phase of the Dead Island Total Game Integration event launches this Thursday, August 18th into the wide world of PlayStation Home. This special event allows players to unlock a host of unique rewards. Log in this Thursday to play the Dead Island-themed “Zombie Survivor Game” and hack, slash, bludgeon, shoot, decapitate, and dismember swarms of zombies in a series of bloody, hyper-violent challenges. We have a special Dead Island game guide coming at you tomorrow, so keep your eyes on this Blog for all the info you’ll need to survive the zombie onslaught in PlayStation Home and unlock the exclusive “Exploding Zombie Meat” weapon for use in Dead Island.
Lockwood is releasing a whole range of rockabilly wear so you can rock your PlayStation Home avatar in true 1950s style. Guys can sport the classic greaser look (complete with a cool leather jacket and slicked-back pompadour) or opt for a preppy style; the girls will have the choice of a sassy day look with tie-up blouses and cropped pants, or a breezy evening dress and sweeping over-the-shoulder hairstyle. Head to the Sodium store in the PlayStation Home Mall this Thursday to pick up these hot new rockabilly items; while you are at it, be sure to pick up the ever-popular Lockwood Gift Machine, which is being updated with a ton of new gift items this week!
In other news, the PlayStation Home Mall will receive an update this week with new Wild West items from nDreams, new Peeps from our friends at Heavy Water, and new hairstyles, companions, and furniture items – highlights of this week’s update can be seen in the latest installment of our Virtual Items Showcase video!ty
Of course, the PlayStation Home Community Theater receives a huge update this Thursday. Watch as GamerIndepth ShoutOuts returns with coverage from the recent LoadingReadyRun event. Next up, PS Nation offers up more of their E3 2011 coverage focusing on titles like Rage, Journey, and Uncharted 3. Finally, Urgent Fury gathers some intel on the soon-to-be-released Resistance 3 and then presents a special inFAMOUS 2 trophy tour.
Lastly, I wanted to take this moment to give you all a quick preview of some awesome costumes that will be released within a couple weeks in PlayStation Home. Behold – the CAS Combat Armor System! Watch this quick teaser trailer and then let us know your thoughts on the official PlayStation Home forums.
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Attn: Earthlings. Transmissions intercepted from an unidentified flying object spotted over Central Plaza late last night tell us that Ooblag’s Alien Casino will be entering the PlayStation Home universe this Thursday, August 11th. An interstellar casino frequented by gamers from across the galaxy, Ooblag’s Alien Casino includes a highly stylized multiplayer game of craps…with a twist. Winners will be rewarded by being transformed into extraterrestrial high rollers while losers will be punished severely by Raaksu, the casino’s ruthless be-tentacled Pit Boss. As an added bonus, players that access the Ooblag Alien Casino space will be rewarded an active item version of the Ooblag game that can be played in their personal spaces. This PlayStation Home-exclusive is 100% free to all players and will be available from the Navigator this week. Check it out!
Phase two of the ongoing Dead Island total game integration will begin this Thursday. Log into PlayStation Home this week to take part in the ghoulish Zombie Photo Shoot game, where you can snap some pictures of yourself posing with the flesh-eating denizens of Central Plaza. And if you haven’t yet had the chance, be sure to take our Zombie Survivor Quiz to find out how well you will fare in the impending zombie apocalypse (all participants will unlock up to four Dead Island-inspired virtual items). While you are at it be sure to pick up the new Dead Island costumes – like the Decapitated Zombie, Zombie Policeman, and Zombie in a Bikini (ooh-la-la). We’d show you pictures, but they are too graphic to print here. Also, don’t forget to pre-order Dead Island directly from Central Plaza to receive the special Exploding Zombie suit for your PlayStation Home avatar. This ultra-limited item is not available anywhere else, so be sure to pre-order your copy of Dead Island from PlayStation Home today!
The PlayStation Home Mall will receive an update this week with new items from VeeMee (including the awesome TOVs animal items), Lockwood Publishing (be sure to check out the new Legends Baseball costumes), Konami (Gladiator costumes and Retro Collection clothing items) and new items in our Exclusives category (animated ruby tables, diamond sunglasses, and more). Head to the PlayStation Home Mall this Thursday and scoop up these hot new items!
Like clockwork, the PlayStation Home Community Theater receives yet another massive update this Thursday. Watch as Hip Hop Gamer interviews LightBox Interactive about the highly-anticipated Starhawk. Next, LittleBigPodcast crowns the winners of their Mind the Gap level-design contest. Afterwards, HomeCast Rewind looks at the new Sodium 2 reverse tracks, the ever-popular MechJet and B’Loons outfits, the new PlayStation Home bundles available on the PlayStation Store, and the one-and-only Homelings club. Finally, we present the season finale to Platinum’d. Will the nefarious BZBee win or will our hero D-Edge take home the grand prize? Find out this Thursday when the final “who will win?” nail-biter airs in the PlayStation Home Community Theater.
See you in Home!
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In anticipation of the upcoming Dead Island TGI (total game integration), pop into PlayStation Home this Thursday, August 4th to check out the Zombie Survivor Quiz to determine your level of cunning against the hordes, and you’ll be rewarded for it. Be sure to check out the Dead Island swag too, including some horror-inspired blood splatter wall art for your personal spaces and some rudimentary weaponry so you will be best prepared for the undead invasion coming very soon.
Lockwood Publishing is releasing a new collection of very trendy hairstyles for both women and men. Whether you’re a Sweet Lolita relaxing in the park or a foxy punk ready for the ultimate festival, the Medusa collection will offer something for everyone.
Tomorrow afternoon, some special guests are coming in to play the recently released Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012. Popular Canadian sketch comedy group, LoadingReadyRun’s seven members will be logging in tomorrow to game launch with the Home community from 4-6pm Pacific (7-9pm Eastern). Be sure to check the Message of the Day tomorrow for details.
Konami celebrates the 30th anniversary of the beloved Frogger series with Mascot Heads, an Animated Frogger T-shirt for men and women, and even a Frogger companion!
Codeglue is releasing some slick blazers for the guys and dainty dresses for the ladies, as well as some adorable T. Rexes: Trixie, Tiffany, Theodore and Tommy Rex. Head to the Mall to and find something that strikes your fancy and adopt a new, scaly friend.
While in the Mall, check out our new selections, completing your individual look from hairdo to high-top.
Finally, the Theater has some great updates. Platinum’d’s ninth episode releases, ever nearing the finale. Who will win, collecting every single PlayStation trophy? D-Edge or BZBee continue to battle it out, right to the end.
In the Community Theater, Gamer Indepth shares their E3 thoughts, interviews, Scribble Shooter, and more. Next up, LittleBigPodcast shares more of their Mind The Gap contest finalists’ levels. Finally, PSXextreme returns with some interesting breakdowns on historical game releases and their wishes for HD re-releases of some fantastic PlayStation classic games.
What an exciting week! See you in Home!
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In anticipation of the upcoming Dead Island TGI (total game integration), pop into PlayStation Home this Thursday, August 4th to check out the Zombie Survivor Quiz to determine your level of cunning against the hordes, and you’ll be rewarded for it. Be sure to check out the Dead Island swag too, including some horror-inspired blood splatter wall art for your personal spaces and some rudimentary weaponry so you will be best prepared for the undead invasion coming very soon.
Lockwood Publishing is releasing a new collection of very trendy hairstyles for both women and men. Whether you’re a Sweet Lolita relaxing in the park or a foxy punk ready for the ultimate festival, the Medusa collection will offer something for everyone.
Tomorrow afternoon, some special guests are coming in to play the recently released Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012. Popular Canadian sketch comedy group, LoadingReadyRun’s seven members will be logging in tomorrow to game launch with the Home community from 4-6pm Pacific (7-9pm Eastern). Be sure to check the Message of the Day tomorrow for details.
Konami celebrates the 30th anniversary of the beloved Frogger series with Mascot Heads, an Animated Frogger T-shirt for men and women, and even a Frogger companion!
Codeglue is releasing some slick blazers for the guys and dainty dresses for the ladies, as well as some adorable T. Rexes: Trixie, Tiffany, Theodore and Tommy Rex. Head to the Mall to and find something that strikes your fancy and adopt a new, scaly friend.
While in the Mall, check out our new selections, completing your individual look from hairdo to high-top.
Finally, the Theater has some great updates. Platinum’d’s ninth episode releases, ever nearing the finale. Who will win, collecting every single PlayStation trophy? D-Edge or BZBee continue to battle it out, right to the end.
In the Community Theater, Gamer Indepth shares their E3 thoughts, interviews, Scribble Shooter, and more. Next up, LittleBigPodcast shares more of their Mind The Gap contest finalists’ levels. Finally, PSXextreme returns with some interesting breakdowns on historical game releases and their wishes for HD re-releases of some fantastic PlayStation classic games.
What an exciting week! See you in Home!
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In anticipation of the upcoming Dead Island TGI (total game integration), pop into PlayStation Home this Thursday, August 4th to check out the Zombie Survivor Quiz to determine your level of cunning against the hordes, and you’ll be rewarded for it. Be sure to check out the Dead Island swag too, including some horror-inspired blood splatter wall art for your personal spaces and some rudimentary weaponry so you will be best prepared for the undead invasion coming very soon.
Lockwood Publishing is releasing a new collection of very trendy hairstyles for both women and men. Whether you’re a Sweet Lolita relaxing in the park or a foxy punk ready for the ultimate festival, the Medusa collection will offer something for everyone.
Tomorrow afternoon, some special guests are coming in to play the recently released Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012. Popular Canadian sketch comedy group, LoadingReadyRun’s seven members will be logging in tomorrow to game launch with the Home community from 4-6pm Pacific (7-9pm Eastern). Be sure to check the Message of the Day tomorrow for details.
Konami celebrates the 30th anniversary of the beloved Frogger series with Mascot Heads, an Animated Frogger T-shirt for men and women, and even a Frogger companion!
Codeglue is releasing some slick blazers for the guys and dainty dresses for the ladies, as well as some adorable T. Rexes: Trixie, Tiffany, Theodore and Tommy Rex. Head to the Mall to and find something that strikes your fancy and adopt a new, scaly friend.
While in the Mall, check out our new selections, completing your individual look from hairdo to high-top.
Finally, the Theater has some great updates. Platinum’d’s ninth episode releases, ever nearing the finale. Who will win, collecting every single PlayStation trophy? D-Edge or BZBee continue to battle it out, right to the end.
In the Community Theater, Gamer Indepth shares their E3 thoughts, interviews, Scribble Shooter, and more. Next up, LittleBigPodcast shares more of their Mind The Gap contest finalists’ levels. Finally, PSXextreme returns with some interesting breakdowns on historical game releases and their wishes for HD re-releases of some fantastic PlayStation classic games.
What an exciting week! See you in Home!
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In anticipation of the upcoming Dead Island TGI (total game integration), pop into PlayStation Home this Thursday, August 4th to check out the Zombie Survivor Quiz to determine your level of cunning against the hordes, and you’ll be rewarded for it. Be sure to check out the Dead Island swag too, including some horror-inspired blood splatter wall art for your personal spaces and some rudimentary weaponry so you will be best prepared for the undead invasion coming very soon.
Lockwood Publishing is releasing a new collection of very trendy hairstyles for both women and men. Whether you’re a Sweet Lolita relaxing in the park or a foxy punk ready for the ultimate festival, the Medusa collection will offer something for everyone.
Tomorrow afternoon, some special guests are coming in to play the recently released Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012. Popular Canadian sketch comedy group, LoadingReadyRun’s seven members will be logging in tomorrow to game launch with the Home community from 4-6pm Pacific (7-9pm Eastern). Be sure to check the Message of the Day tomorrow for details.
Konami celebrates the 30th anniversary of the beloved Frogger series with Mascot Heads, an Animated Frogger T-shirt for men and women, and even a Frogger companion!
Codeglue is releasing some slick blazers for the guys and dainty dresses for the ladies, as well as some adorable T. Rexes: Trixie, Tiffany, Theodore and Tommy Rex. Head to the Mall to and find something that strikes your fancy and adopt a new, scaly friend.
While in the Mall, check out our new selections, completing your individual look from hairdo to high-top.
Finally, the Theater has some great updates. Platinum’d’s ninth episode releases, ever nearing the finale. Who will win, collecting every single PlayStation trophy? D-Edge or BZBee continue to battle it out, right to the end.
In the Community Theater, Gamer Indepth shares their E3 thoughts, interviews, Scribble Shooter, and more. Next up, LittleBigPodcast shares more of their Mind The Gap contest finalists’ levels. Finally, PSXextreme returns with some interesting breakdowns on historical game releases and their wishes for HD re-releases of some fantastic PlayStation classic games.
What an exciting week! See you in Home!
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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.
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A public service announcement from Lockwood Publishing: Sodium 2 has seen its 3 millionth race! This means that Sodium 2 players have collectively traveled more than 75% of the way from the Earth to the Sun. In recognition of this amazing achievement, Lockwood Publishing is unlocking new Reverse Mode tracks in Sodium 2 this week. Head to the Sodium 2 launch grid on Thursday, July 28th to tear it up on your new tracks!
You may have seen the teaser posters placed throughout PlayStation Home that show a variety of mech silhouettes. This Thursday, these incredibly awesome MechJet costumes will finally be available from the Sodium store in the PlayStation Home Mall. These are seriously some of the most impressive costumes to ever be released in PlayStation Home. Watch this trailer and then tell us what you think in the comments section.
Days may be blazing in the Sodium Desert, but nights can be brutally cold. The latest range of Sodium Desert Nights Track Gear addresses the problem of what to wear to Scorpio’s after the sun goes down. Pick up this future-blasted utility wear this Thursday from the Sodium Store. And while you are there, be sure to scoop up the latest additions to Lockwood Publishing’s Fool Throttle line!
This week sees the PlayStation Home Mall receiving an enormous update with new items from some of the most popular publishers on the PlayStation Home platform. Check out the latest edition of our long-running PlayStation Home Virtual Item Showcase for a sneak peek at some of the coolest clothing, furniture, and costumes that will be hitting the shelves this week.
If you head to the PlayStation Store this week you’ll see that we’ve bundled up a load of content and created a starter pack. Kick start your PlayStation Home collection by picking up this convenient pack, which includes $24 worth of content (including community favorites like the Lakeside Log Cabin and the Mysterious Doll active item) for a low price of $4.99!
You wanted more Billabong clothing? You got it! This week sees an update specially crafted for all the ladies in the PlayStation Home community. Here’s a preview of some of the new Billabong clothing items available this week in the PlayStation Home Mall.
Want to be the center of attention? Want to make everyone do a double take? Then show off your crazy side with the “must-be-seen-to-be-believed” Chaos Clothing line from Hellfire Games. Be the life of any party or dazzle friends and foes alike with animated pandemonium – available this Thursday in the PlayStation Home Mall.
If you haven’t heard yet, Dead Island will be invading PlayStation Home in the very near future. Check out this article on Kotaku for screenshots and be sure to keep your eyes glued to this Blog for more info as we get closer to the launch of this special event.
The PlayStation Home Community Theater will be updated this week with new videos. Log in this Thursday to catch the latest episode of Platinum’d. Afterwards, watch as HomeCast Rewind takes a look at the recently-released UFC content in PlayStation Home and the new Bonk personal space. Replay with Doc also returns with an interview with the ArMy-oF-BeAsTs clan while UFREQtv brings us several interviews from the E3 show floor – including a chat with a member of the PlayStation Home team that his known for his bright hair. Finally, SOCAST covers the latest SOCOM 4 update.
Don’t forget to come out to the PlayStation Home Theater this weekend for our live stream test of the EVO 2011 world championship. Attendees will receive a line of exclusive PlayStation Home/EVO virtual items: Visitors on Friday will receive a limited edition EVO t-shirt for their PlayStation Home avatar; on Saturday players will be rewarded with a special fighting stick companion item; and on Sunday all viewers will receive a replica of the EVO trophy for their PlayStation Home personal spaces.
See you in Home!
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The largest fighting game competition in the world is right around the corner and we are giving you, the PlayStation Home community, a front-row seat to witness the no-holds barred action of the 2011 EVO World Finals.
From Friday, July 29th until the final battle on Sunday, July 31st we will be streaming the event live from the Rio Resort in Las Vegas to the PlayStation Home Theater. Watch as competitors from around the globe duke it out on PS3 across five competitions: Marvel vs Capcom 3, Tekken 6, Mortal Kombat, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II, and Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition. Players include 2009 and 2010 Street Fighter champion Daigo Umehara who will attempt an unprecedented “3-peat” victory. Along the way to his goal he’ll face one of the strongest fields of competitors ever assembled, including US legend Justin Wong, Korean wizard Poongko, French phenom Kayane, and UK champ Ryan Hart.
The purpose of this event is twofold: First, bring the world’s top fighting game competition directly to your PlayStation 3. Secondly, we have some new video streaming technology to test in the PlayStation Home Theater and what better opportunity than this? Join us for this special event and help us test this new video streaming technology by posting about your experience in GlassWalls’ EVO 2011 World Finals Stream Test thread on the official PlayStation Home forums. Attendees will receive a line of exclusive PlayStation Home/EVO virtual items: Visitors on Friday will receive a limited edition EVO t-shirt for their PlayStation Home avatar; on Saturday players will be rewarded with a special fighting stick companion item; and on Sun all viewers will receive a replica of the EVO trophy for their PlayStation Home personal spaces.
From high-profile grudge matches to the Grand Finals (running all day on Sunday, July 31st), this year’s EVO World Finals is not to be missed. Knuckle up and log into PlayStation Home this weekend to watch the best of the best throw down until only one champion remains.
Full schedule:
Friday, July 29th
8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Super Street Fighter IV Tournament, Early Rounds 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Super Street Fighter IV Tournament, Quarterfinals 8:00 PM – 11:00 PM Super Street Fighter IV Tournament, Semi-Finals (top 32 players)Saturday, July 30th
8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Tournament, Early Rounds 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Tournament, Quarterfinals 8:00 PM – 11:00 PM Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Tournament, Semi-Finals (top 32 players)Sunday, July 31th
9:00 AM – 9:00 PM The top 8 in each tournament square off for the 2011 championships. In order:
BlazBlue Continuum Shift 2 Tournament Finals Tekken 6 Tournament Finals Mortal Kombat 9 Tournament Finals Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Tournament Finals Super Street Fighter IV Tournament FinalsSee you in Home!
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Boasting addictive top-down, shoot ‘em up action and an incredibly unique art style (hand-drawn by one of the developer’s 12 year old sons), Scribble Shooter received accolades on the 2011 E3 show floor from the likes of IGN and left players that visited the virtual E3 booth in PlayStation Home begging for more. This Thursday, July 21st, Scribble Shooter will finally be released into the ever-evolving world of PlayStation Home and we’re inviting YOU to come get your hands on this game and see what the buzz is all about. Visit PlayStation Home’s Central Plaza to play the first level of this awesome retro-style arcade game. Then pick up the full game as an arcade cabinet for your PlayStation Home personal space and defeat each level’s boss to unlock special rewards. It’s one of the most fun casual games you’ll play all year and it’s only available in PlayStation Home.
Lockwood Publishing releases their new line of Delirious Squid items this Thursday, July 21st. From rapping squids to bears in dresses and girls with tentacly faces – nothing is too bizarre for Lockwood’s latest clothing line. Also available this week from Lockwood are four new companions: Bunsen and Spike are two hard-rockin’ lizards who get their kicks head banging to loud music and swishing their tails to smashing guitars while Al Cabone and Mr. Ska Bones are more mellow fellows, shambling around with a spring in their skeletal step. Check out this video for a sneak peek at the new Delirious Squid content, available this Thursday from the Sodium store in the PlayStation Home Mall.
Also available this week from the PlayStation Home Mall: Lifeguard outfits (courtesy of Lockwood Publishing), tons of Billabong clothing items for the guys and the gals, an assortment of MyDeco furniture, and even a Cole McGrath costume from inFAMOUS 2!
This Friday, July 22nd, we will be hosting a special “Game with the Devs” event with the makers of F3AR. Head to PlayStation Home’s Gamer’s Lounge between 3:00pm and 5:00pm PT (6:00pm and 8:00pm ET) to meet the Day 1 team (just look for the following PSN IDs: FEAR3DevAndyK, FEAR3DevBrad, FEAR3DevBrianM, FEAR3DevBrianL, FEAR3DevZach, FEAR3DevTJ, FEAR3D3evDeadFred, FEAR3DevLeo, FEAR3DevAnthony).
The PlayStation Home Community Theater will be updated this Thursday with a ton of new, exclusive videos. First up, LittleBigPodcast returns with a video showcasing the three final finalists of their LBP2 level-creation contest. Next, Gamer Indepth takes a look at Scribble Shooter and introduces the Who’s Who of Home. Finally, Platinum’d releases episode 7 where D-Edge and BZBee’s epic final battle draws closer and Jess reveals a secret of her own.
See you in Home!
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One of the hardest-hitting game franchises of all time slams into PlayStation Home this Thursday, July 14th. Ahead of the release of UFC Undisputed 3, THQ is bringing you all the bare-knuckle action you can handle with the release of the UFC Octagon public space, complete with training games, trivia, and special rewards. Fighters and fight lovers alike can head over to the PlayStation Home Mall to pick up their very own UFC Undisputed personal space and choose from a wide range of UFC Undisputed virtual items – from posters that commemorate some of the most memorable matches in UFC history (such as Liddell vs. Jackson and Sylvia vs. Arlovski) to fight gear and assorted furniture. True MMA fanatics won’t waste a moment logging into PlayStation Home this week to get fists-on with this hot new content!
Hudson releases their Bonk Living Space this week into the ever-evolving world of PlayStation Home. Based upon the classic Bonk titles of yore, this highly-stylized personal space (and assorted clothing and furniture items) is a true must-have for PlayStation Home collectors and fans of this cartoonish caveman, known across the world for his tendency to headbutt each and every thing that dare cross his path. Pick yours up this Thursday from the Estates store in the PlayStation Home Mall!
The PlayStation Home Community Theater receives another update this week when HomeCast Rewind returns to cover the latest Aurora update and new Konami and LOOT items. Next up, PSTALENT.COM launches its third episode of The Spotlight where Director_On_Duty has tragedy befall him, and leaves us with a nail-biting cliffhanger. Finally, PSXextreme brings a little historical overview of the Call of Duty franchise and its long-standing impact on the gaming industry.
See you in Home!
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Before we get to our regularly-scheduled weekly update, I wanted to give all of you Home-people a quick look at two new games that we will be releasing soon into the ever-evolving world of PlayStation Home. First up is Ooblag’s Alien Casino, a game made specifically for the PlayStation Home community as part of our Welcome Back package. Enter this interstellar casino and try your hand at Ooblag, a multiplayer game of craps…with a twist. Winners will be rewarded by being transformed into extraterrestrial high rollers while losers will be punished severely by Raaksu, the casino’s ruthless Pit Boss. As an added bonus, players that access the Ooblag Alien Casino space will be rewarded an active item version of the Ooblag game that can be played in their personal spaces. Check out the trailer for a peek at this exclusive (and 100% free) game – coming soon to PlayStation Home!
Next, I’m pleased to announce that the highly-anticipated top-down, shoot ‘em up game, Scribble Shooter, will be released in just two weeks! This charming arcade-style game (which was hand-drawn by a developer’s 12 year old son) will take over PlayStation Home’s Central Plaza on Thursday, July 21st. Play the first level and then purchase the full game as an arcade cabinet for your personal space. Those of you who played the demo of this game in our virtual E3 booth are familiar with Scribble Shooter’s addictive gameplay and unique style, but what you haven’t yet seen are the collection of awesome rewards, which will be granted to players as they beat each level’s boss battle. Mark your calendars, my friends – Scribble Shooter will be in your hands before you know it…
This Thursday, July 7th, we will be updating the PlayStation Home Mall with a ton of new items – from Sodium “Abyss Trooper” costumes to new LOOT space furniture and more. Here’s a short video that highlights some of the new content that will be on the shelves this week!
Speaking of new items, Codeglue releases a new batch of items under the Mesmo line this Thursday – including what may be my favorite companion to date, the hilarious Hamster in a Ball!
Konami launches their B’loons line of balloon weapons and costumes (with custom animations) this week. I foresee Central Plaza being full of B’loons this weekend – what do you think?
nDreams’ is bringing Barbarian back into style with their latest Fantasy Fashion costumes. Check ‘em out!
Our friends over at VeeMee are bringing some of Billabong’s most popular designs into the digital realm, with the first batch showing up in the PlayStation Home Mall this Thursday morning. Here’s a quick taste of what to expect:
Finally, Mass Media launches their hotly-anticipated “Brimstone Dancers” this week. Sure to turn up the heat at your next Home party, Lilith, Layla, and Brigette come as both active items and companions and will be available this Thursday from the PlayStation Home Mall.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is bringing the world of 2027 into PlayStation Home through the QR Missions Contest. Here’s how it works:
1. Download the QR Missions App from the APP STORE on your iOS Device (with camera).
2. Register and select “PlayStation 3” as your console of choice.
3. Using the App scan QR Codes like THIS ONE.
For each code scanned the community earns more points, reach 1 million total points as a community and earn your exclusive PS Home Companion VTOL Chopper! You can only get the VTOL Companion by participating in the QR Missions, so tell your friends and gather together for a piece of exclusive Deus Ex: Human Revolution content in PlayStation Home.
In addition, be one of the first 1000 people to scan 10 codes and get a free Deus Ex: Human Revolution Dynamic theme for your PlayStation 3! The contest ends August 23rd when Deus Ex: Human Revolution launches, so join in now for your exclusive content.
Of course, the PlayStation Home Community Theater receives a huge update this week. Join us this Thursday, July 7th as we air the latest episode of Platinum’d, the popular live-action comedy series exclusive to PlayStation Home. Next up, Urgent Fury returns with host Jack Delhouse covering the exciting new FPS, Brink. Next up, LittleBigPodcast returns with three more of their “Mind the Gap” contest winners.
See you in Home!
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The impending holiday weekend is the perfect time to log into PlayStation Home and play Sodium 2 – the adrenaline-soaked futuristic racer that is taking the world of PlayStation Home by storm. From July 1st through the 4th, our friends over at Lockwood Publishing are offering double XP to all players. Additionally, PSU and Lockwood have teamed up for a special contest where players can enter to win a Sodium 2 gift pack, including naming rights for a special S2 livery skin. More details can be found HERE.
This Thursday, June 30th, the PlayStation Home Mall receives yet another enormous update. This week you can choose from a wide array of content – from Sodium 2: Project Velocity furniture to our new line of animated weapons. Check out this video for a quick look at some of this week’s featured content.
In other news, Lockwood expands their Cucumber line this week with their new “Dolly’s Diner” furniture items. The items are true must-haves for all you retro-minded players out there – check ‘em out!
Those of you who visit the Central Plaza over the holiday weekend will receive limited-edition Canada Day and Independence Day rewards. Protip: Avoid gas stations when rocking this explosive headwear….
Also, don’t forget to play the AXE Excite game, now available in Central Plaza. Beat the game to receive a free surprise courtesy of AXE Excite (so good even angels will fall)!
Aurora fans rejoice! nDreams’ mysterious game space is receiving its first major update this week. The following is included in Aurora v1.1:
- The nDreams Collect-O-Rama loyalty cone. Complete all 12 tasks and win a mega pack containing 7 unique items including two bodyguard companions and the enormous Flying Donut of Death!
- More rewards for OrbRunner.
- The Auroralite Hoodie – the ultimate accessory for experienced OrbRunner players to help you level up!
- Fixes that make your Aurora experience much more stable and smooth.
- Daily XP bonuses – extra XP for visiting multiple days in a row!
- A teaser for a new game in Aurora 1.2 and other nDreams content (see if you can find it).
Last but certainly not least, The PlayStation Home Community Theater receives yet another massive update this week. Join us this Thursday, June 30th as the one and only HipHopGamer takes a look at Activision’s upcoming action game, Prototype 2. Next up, PSXExtreme returns with their second episode, focusing on one of the year’s most highly-anticipated games – UNCHARTED 3! Finally, HomeCast Rewind returns with another video focused on current events in the ever-evolving world of PlayStation Home.
See you in Home!
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In case you'd forgotten, PlayStation Home still exists. And, yes, it's still in Beta.
Sony's ambitious virtual world may not have become the all-inclusive revelation proposed by Phil Harrison back in 2007, but it's still kicking. The service recently received its biggest backend update yet (version 1.5), and it's making money for Sony.
You might not love about Home, but plenty of others do. And they truly do care.
I've been endlessly fascinated by Home. I published a series at G4 called "My Life in Home," where I hopped back in and tried to figure out the appeal, even if that appeal was lost on me. I researched those stories in January 2010, when I hadn't booted up Home since December 2008. Since then, Home has remained just a skipped over icon since then, finally changing last week.
Much has evolved in Home. It's faster, with plenty more places to go. I can't knock Sony's virtual E3 booth, either, even if it's pretty hokey. But that's coming from someone who's been attending E3 for over a decade. For someone who's never been, I'd imagine it's pretty neat. There's still an obnoxious amount of loading in Home, but some of that's been remedied by a new interface that appears before you actually launch into Home, allowing you to queue downloads for new rooms.
Much about Home hasn't changed, though. The art style is still...well, let's call it questionable. There are more items to mask your sort of real-looking face, but the general look of Home has remained. It's still a glorified chat room that just happens to have other things to do. Then again, I know plenty of people who treat World of Warcraft the same way. It's not inherently a bad thing.
I spent an hour on the phone last week with Sony's director of Home, Jack Buser, but you'll read that conversation tomorrow. Today, I'd like to introduce two people: Jason Sorensen, editor of HomeStation Magazine, and Tammy McDonald, CEO of a content creation company who pays the majority of its roughly 20 employee salaries by producing items, worlds and games for Home.
Each represents pillars of Home's success. They have little to do with whether you (or me) like it.
Sodium 2 is one of the "big budget" games launched in Home, with multipalyer and decent visuals.Where Everybody Knows Your Name (And PSN ID)
Sorensen is an editor, not unlike me. He just writes for a very different audience: Home users.
"Home is indeed a very misconstrued entity," said 31-year-old Sorensen, who goes by NorseGamer. "It has the interface of a video game and it's populated by video gamers who are used to the handholding of a video game, but it's not a video game, and the fan publication that I run is devoted to examining Home from a sociological perspective, rather than a gaming perspective."
Sex, gender and avatar politics are some of the most common topics amongst Home users.A quick glance at the headlines for HomeStation Magazine prove out his point.
"Yes, Sex Sells — But At What Price?" is an examination of the sexualized expansion of clothing in Home.
"Home Athletes: Club VIP (Very Important Pixels)," highlighting a group within Home featuring purple and gold jacket-laden members, jackets that can only be earned by beating a certain number of Home-exclusive games. The latter was written by Burbie52, a 59-year-old member of Home and founder of the Grey Gamers, a group catering to Home's oldest crowd.
New issues of HomeStation Magazine are uploaded roughly once per month, but the website updates daily. If you want direct insight into the diversity of the Home community, here you go.
"There are some genuinely fascinating human stories in Home," said Sorensen. "People who meet in virtual reality, fall in love, relocate, marry and start new lives together. Quadriplegics who can walk. Deaf people who can communicate without any social stigma. Agoraphobics who can travel. Schizophrenics who need not worry about being shunned."
When I last checked in with Home, the experience reminded me of the a/s/l era of an Internet dominated by America Online. That was fine in my teenage years, but not something I'd like to return to. Then, I thought about my own Internet habits. I'm a frequent visitor of the NeoGAF message boards. And that's it. Outside of interacting with Giant Bomb's users, it's the only place I'd call my virtual home. Sometimes I don't care for it, but it's always one thing: familiar.
That's when I started to understand part of the appeal of Home. It's just a community that happens to exist on a game platform. The games part means much less than the people in it, their shared appreciation for games simply being the connection that brought them together.
"In real life, none of us would probably ever interact with each other," said Sorensen. "Yet we all find purpose, validation, relief or enjoyment in Home, and we work together as friends and colleagues."
If you wanted a slice of E3, Home had trailers--and even live streamed the press conference.Imagine what it's like when your favorite place on the Internet disappears. While it was a bummer that Mortal Kombat multiplayer didn't work during the PlayStation Network outage, it also meant the Home community suddenly found themselves without its primary means of communication.
"One thing that happened to every Home fansite is that visitor traffic numbers went up considerably," explained Sorensen. "The beating heart of Home isn't its gaming experiences--and it never will be. The true strength of Home, and where its long-term revenue generation opportunities are, lie in its ability to provide a social environment for people to interact and express themselves. The core community is quite resilient, and took to various fan websites to maintain those connections."
Sorensen's prediction that Home isn't about games is noteworthy, given Home's director told me there would be even more games coming to Home in the future, filling out the service. It reminds me of my original critique of Sony's approach to home during the series of articles at G4, where it seemed Sony's desire to court everyone basically ignored those who already got it.
HomeStation Magazine isn't the only dedicated magazine or community for Home users, but it does appear to be the most well-written. It probably helps the authors mostly skew older.
Home, like other virtual services, gives people a place to be someone else, perhaps the person they'd like to be, rather than the person they are in the real-world. That's not the case for everyone, but viewed from that perspective, Home's attraction could be extremely attractive.
"Thoreau once famously wrote that most people lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them," said Sorensen. "This is why social networking websites and virtual realities are so inherently addictive: because they give people a sense of significance and at the same time allow for tremendous creative expression and control over one's own self-portrayal."
For some people, that world is Second Life or something else. For these people, it's Home.
Where There's Virtual Smoke and Virtual Fire, There's Real Money
Heavy Water wasn't called Heavy Water originally--it was Vision Scape Interactive in 1997. The company was a jack of all trades for-hire developer, working on over 100 different titles. Everything changed four years ago, when Electronic Arts approached Heavy Water about creating the EA Sports Complex space for Home. Heavy Water decided to take a gamble.
EA Sports Complex was one of the first publisher-specific spaces to appear in Home."Home was not up at the time and there were quite a few unknowns in the process," said Heavy Water CEO Tammy McDonald, "but my husband, Matt McDonald [CCO and president], saw Home as an opportunity to create a hybrid of content that spoke to our strengths and we could take advantage of our ability to use old-school development techniques to optimize content and tools."
EA Sports Complex launched in spring 2009, formally announced at CES the same year, sporting what you'd expect from a publisher-branded space in Home: trailers, mini-games, leaderboards. It was also a place for fans to hang out.
Right now, Heavy Water is one of the largest contributors of content for the Home platform, with much of its business now defined by Home. McDonald couldn't share specifics on what kind of money it's making off Home ("We make enough money to do what we love, and we love working in Home) or how profit sharing works with Sony ("We work within a variety of models Sony, some is work fore hire and others include a royalty share), but it's clear Home is working out for it.
The company was employing more than 120 people in the San Diego area at one point, but that's down to about 20. The difference seems to be the impact outsourcing's had on the industry.
"We have an art team in India that we have been working with since 2033," explained McDonald, "so we can have as many as 100 additional artists/animators or as few as five, just depends on what our needs are at the time. It all comes down to planning."
Heavy Water most recently launched the second line in its "Heavy Ink" series, featuring tribal tattoos and full body looks modeled after classic pin-up girls aimed at "female fans of Home."
Such such success, for the foreseeable future, Heavy Water doesn't expect to leave Home.
"Home is our core focus and our pipeline is set up around creating content, games and interactive experiences in Home," said McDonald. "Creating games for other platforms that do not have an obvious connection to what we are doing would be a distraction at this point."
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