IndustryGamers recently got a chance to speak with Peter Edwards, head of HGG development group in London (developers of PlayStation Home) and Jack Buser, SCEA's director of PlayStation Home, about the PS3's virtual world. They were candid about what led to the creation of Home and where the virtual world is today.
Buser was pleased with how the service had recently crossed 6.5 million users, which he called "absolutely staggering" for an optional service. Back in March, Sony had announced five million users, with 2.2 million of those in North America, making it the most important singular market for Home. Many users are spending as much as 40 minutes at a time in the online space.
The demographics of Home users are unsurprisingly not too different from the regular PS3 audience, Buser informed us. That said, Buser did comment that the population of girls are "very active" inside Home. He noted that while an FPS title may not need a balance of male and female models and clothing, it was a "guiding principal" in Home.
"It's always been our desire to broaden the appeal of the platform and ultimately we'd hope it would be a big box shifter for the PS3," chimed in Edwards, "where people will actually buy the PS3 so they can get access to Home. I don't think we're there yet, but we think we'll be there before long."
This desire for mass appeal manifests itself in Home's realistic surroundings and avatars, compared to a more cartoony set up. As the number of people playing World of Warcraft as humans that look like themselves will attest, playing as something that looks like yourself has major mainstream appeal.
When asked about promoting Home, Buser noted that with the expanded beta program, they put up ads on PSN and got an "overwhelming" response. Gradually, Sony has rolled out like spaces for companies and specific games.
"This will be another milestone for us," commented Buser. "That will probably be the time when you'll start to see Sony stretch its wings and say 'Ok, now there's enough stuff in here that, I don't care who you are and what you're into, you're going to find your space, where you want to hang out'... that'll be the time when you'll start to see it marketed big."
"We need to get to the point, and we've very close, where we stop talking about potential and start talking about how Home is Home and people are no longer saying 'Home is going to be really good' and instead say 'Home is really good' and I think at that point, that's when you're in a situation where we can start doing those sorts of pushes and bringing everybody into Home," added Edwards.
IndustryGamers finds it curious that only a little more than a quarter of PS3 owners have downloaded Home. It is, after all, a free service, but Buser stated that many users simply never take their console online and will never receive the option. For the number of people who volunteered for the service, registered with PSN and downloaded the latest firmware, he asserts that the attach rate is actually quite good.
"If you would have told me when I came on that I would be here now, I would not of believed you if you said we had 6.5 million users in Home," said Buser. "We're dancing in the street with that number."
There are already plenty of mini-games available to play in Home, and apparently the initiative for that most of the time stems from the developers and not Sony. He pointed to the Red Bull Air Race space in particular as a good example of original content in Home. Buser also mentioned Xi, a real-time alternate reality game that takes place in Home, on the web, and in the real world, which "could not be done on any other platform."
Sony is a humungous corporation, and we wondered what potential cross media promotion could be incorporated into Home. Buser pointed to a partnership with Sony Pictures, where they screened the first 10 minutes of a Blu-ray release and gave out a free in-game shirt. He called this "the beginning of the sort of Sony United initiatives that will occur inside PlayStation Home." Buser also noted that any third-party company can potentially be involved with Home, pointing to fashion company Diesel and furniture store Ligne Roset as brands that benefit from the association with Home.
IndustryGamers asked what was next for Home, and Edwards responded frankly that he did not know. "The thing that has amazed me most about Home is what people will create," stated Edwards, mentioning how impressed he and his team were with the Red Bull Air Race space.
"We're just starting to see now stuff coming through the pipeline which is really highlighting the next generation development on Home, and that's what's great. But there is no ceiling on what you're going to be able to achieve [in Home.]"
Full Int http://www.industrygamers.com/news/sony-playstation-home-can-be-a-big-box-shifter-for-ps3/ Does anyone actually like Home, like me? :) Also, a few interesting points in there on what they believe is going to happen on promotion and how the ladies have taken to Home.
