So Playstation Home is finally here, and somehow beyond all expectations it manages to be even worse the The New Xbox Experience. Wow, Epic Failure doesnt even begin to describe this mess. With the NXE, at least we got a few actually useful features, like party chat (when it works), streaming Netflix (only a fraction of their catalogue), and the ability to install games to the hard drive (a feature which should have been standard on all 360s from day 1). With Home, you get nothing. Nada. Its one of the most existentialist digital experiences ever. Its just that, an experience, its not a game, and it sure as hell isnt Second Life. So what is the experience? Its a world devoid of anything interesting, original, creative, or engaging, and instead filled with advertisements, overpriced knickknacks and insipid minigames that make WarioWare look like Fallout 3. The people who frequent the world dont come across as anymore interesting or inviting than the game world itself, and if you brought your own group of friends to Home what exactly would you do there given then paucity of content?
Most of the content that was promised for Home simply isnt there. Its still coming. Well, what I want to know is what in the bloody world took them so long to release this? Really, Im dumbfounded. Although the avatars are nice, there is absolutely nothing to do with them - same as the NXE. They are pointless, and only serve as a reminder of how Microsoft and Sony are no longer leaders but followers in the videogame industry. Microsoft gave us what is essentially a giant networked billboard replete with Shigeru Miyamoto leg-humping avatars, while Home gives PS3 owners a slightly more polished 3D version of that. Rather than spending time and money on developing features already found in the Xbox 360, Sony has spent an inordinate amount of time developing one of the most useless multi-user applications in the history of software. On the plus side, you dont have to download it, and its free.
I understand these companies want to court new gamers, and Im sure there is someone out there that Home appeals to, but still you truly have to wonder what Sony was thinking to release it as-is after all that hype. Remember, Home was promised to be amazing and be delivered long before the NXE was ever even developed or announced. At a certain point in Home's development, Sony should have simply realized they were too ambitious with the project design and either canned it or modified the design wholesale, because what we got wasnt worth the time and money they spent making it, and I highly doubt any updates will fix Home to make it worth playing.
If you want community, and you have a PS3, I have 3 words for you: Little BIG Planet. Simply put, LBP is one of the finest games of this or any generation. It is stratospherically, positively paradigm shiftingly brilliant, crazy fun, with amazing sound design, photorealistic graphics, and an awesome online community. Im just going to leave my review of the game at that. As bad as Home is, LBP is an epic win for PS3 owners everywhere.
2 comments:
My take is this: Sony understands marketing. Sony understands technology. But Sony doesnt understand how online communities work. They dont really understand multiplayer online gaming. Theyve learned nothing from Second Life, The Sims, World of Warcraft or any other MMO or big online game. You have no persistent presence in Home. When you log off, you're gone, its like you dont exist, and nothing is saved session to session. There is simply no reason to play it right now. Maybe 2 years from now it will be different, but it very hard to see why anyone would bother with this application at the moment.
I think the whole craze behind avatars and such is a waste of everyones time. The big three companies are focusing way too much on such petty and unimportant things instead of adding in key features that people are demanding.
I havent tried home, and i dont intend to unless its a forced update type thing. The entire concept of home completely escapes me. All it ever sounded like was a sims where you can stick with a couple buddies for awhile.
Im much more interested in checking out the new Gears maps than i am anything revolving around more avatars.
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