If you aren’t already aware, Sony’s PlayStation Home service for PS3 owners has ended as of April 1st. This great service began back in 2008 and offered a Sim type world where players could interact and take part in a variety of activities. The service had a very impressive 41 million members, proving to be extremely popular. Whilst the fad may have faded over the years, it’s still a little puzzling as to why Sony would decide to close the service.
Sony’s idea to begin a 3D virtual world community began back in 2005, and it would be the first true option for console gamers. Perhaps it was partly inspired by services such as Habbo Hotel, which were highly successful back then. It was the very idea that you could roam around a virtual world, create your own life-like avatar, meet new people, create your very own virtual home and play new games that made PlayStation Home so successful.
PlayStation Home provided a virtual reality world, which of course, would go fantastically well with Sony’s upcoming Project Morpheus. Whilst it’s total speculation, it’s possible that Sony could re-launch PlayStation Home with their virtual reality headset. Sony could also make some huge advancements to the service with loads of new features and ideas. The virtual world would be truly virtual for those who owned Sony’s VR tech gear.
Usually a service is closed because it hasn’t made any real profits or it simply isn’t popular. However, PS Home became quite lucrative for Sony and the members show just how popular it was. This is perhaps why it makes perfect sense that Sony will re-launch the service for PS4 and VR headset owners, they kind of go hand-in-hand, after all. I can imagine VR owners wanting the ability to explore a virtual world where they can meet new people.
Many might question why Sony would close the service for PS3 owners to then re-launch it on PS4. However, it’s difficult for such a service to keep on advancing past a certain point, generally because of the technology involved. It’s fairly obvious that the PS4 could take such a service into a totally new direction, especially when combined with VR technology. The really interesting thing is that the PS4 has the ability to realistically display your very own features visually. Whilst the PS3 doesn’t really have the ability, with the PS4 you could definitely put a very precise you within the service, meaning you’d basically be a replica within the VR world. Interesting? Definitely!
If PlayStation Home doesn’t re-launch on the PS4, then I’d expect something similar to eventually become available, even if it wasn’t made by Sony. If it’s going to happen, then it would likely feature at this year’s E3 event, however, it would likely launch alongside Project Morpheus. Keep your ears open, it could just happen!
http://wccftech.com/the-witcher-3-1080p-comparison-visual-pc-ps4/
