Giving someone points to buy toys for a virtual place isn't going to get them to go there in the first place.

PS3 owners need a reason to care about Home.

First off, it's not a beta, Sony is using that word to cover for all of the network issues and other problems they would have when Home was released. I mean c'mon, can anyone think of a console beta that everyone can download? Most of the content missing is mainly because of legal issues (Like the radio features and Televisions that would have allowed users to watch shows downloaded on their harddrive with friends) People have been asking for these features on the playstation forums since the beta was out.

To be honest, Home is by far, the worst thing Sony has created. To those who defend it, do you honestly think Sony will add meaningful content on a consistent basis? Where is the promised Red Bull space, that was supposed to be released a week after the "beta" came out? What does home offer that the current XMB does not? (games, chat room, messaging system)

What I want is party chat, with anyone playing any game, like the 360 NXE has.

If Sony wants Home to be considered a success they should:

a. change the people into animals
b. call it "Animal Crossing"
c. charge $$$ for it


I don't know about you, but I'd buy that game in a heartbeat!!

Funny, I thought stealing the competitors' ideas and improving on them was a Microsoft tactic.

Still, point a would be neat.  Rename it ZOO instead of HOME for extra fun.

Carriage Return is arguably the best Home arcade game.  I will discount Echo Chrome there, because it is also off Home.  Carriage Return is new, in that I hadn't seen it before.

As for Mercenary Madness, it is a decent game, a platformer, that has Atari 2600 level graphics but better animation and no flicker.  It is worth checking out once at least.

The whole idea of 3D avatar worlds that get large numbers on, is a grail companies are pursuing, in hopes they can get a lot of eyeballs to hang around, so they can advertise and make money off micropayments.  It is is close to mass delusions this concept.  It is like you see the THEORY there, and the potential, but the reality is different.  YES, it would be great if it worked as though.  But in reality, the 3D worlds tend to emulate the worst of real life.  And a simulation of suckitude is stuckitude.

Second Life was mentioned here also.  Well, Second Life enables people to own their own content and put up what they want.  Oh performance is shaky, but it is alive at least.  What you have with Sony Home is an environment that won't grow like that.  It is like a corporately build theme park, which oozes marketing.  You get the feeling you walk into a mix of an amusement park and a Gamestop.  It gets sad when the most interesting thing (well outside Carriage Return) is watching streaming video of upcoming games.  I actually sat through the video presentation at the Mall showing the latest Prince of Persia.  At least it was doing SOMETHING.  I didn't have to wait like in the theater for the movie to load.