Amazon offering Home costumes as Killzone 2 pre-order incentive

It didn't take long- Amazon is offering some new Home costumes for customers who splash out on a new copy of Killzone 2. Pre-order the game and you'll be able to adorn your home avatar with "With costume pieces for your head, torso, legs, hands and feet; you can customize your Home avatar to look like an ISA Soldier, a Helghast Assault Trooper, or something in between."

"Codes to access your bonus costumes will be sent no more than ten days after the game releases."

Sony Home is now in beta, and I'm sure that we'll see a good few promotions like this over the coming months. From an advertising point of view, it makes sense. Firstly, Amazon nets a few extra customers keen to get every extra bit of content that they can get their hands on. Secondly, Home gets users proudly advertising Killzone 2 with their avatars. A cunning idea, the success of which of course hinges on how many PS3 owners regularly make use of Home. No word yet on whether we'll get this deal in the UK.

NeoGAF via PS3Fanboy

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Home entering open beta tomorrow

After months of delays, players will finally be able to get their hands on Sony's virtual world tomorrow. Not the full version mind, but an open beta. It'll be a free download that you can grab from the PSN. You'll be able to wonder around with your own avatar and chat to other players, and a Far Cry 2 themed environment will be ready for you to explore. These environments will allow you to meet and discuss the game with other players, as well as -according to Sony- "access content and clues that will enhance the gaming experience." Clothing brand Diesel has already signed on, allowing you to kit out your avatar in virtual clothing.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what the reaction to Home is. To be honest, I'm still a little skeptical about it. While having game content available is a nice touch, I'm still unsure that adding an extra level of interaction between you and the content is necessary. If you wanted to access movie trailers or game content, wouldn't you rather browse there using the PSN, rather than having to fire up Home? Is Home really the best way to meet up with other players? I'm looking forward to finding out.

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DLC coming to Mirror's Edge with PS3 exclusive content

A DLC pack's just been announced for Mirror's Edge. Due to arrive some time in late January, the pack's going to go for 10 USD on the PSN and will feature seven completely new, redesigned time trial maps. PS3 gamers will get an exclusive perk in the form of an extra free map. No word yet on the UK price.

In many ways, the time trial mode in Mirror's Edge is better than the single-player campaign. Whereas the story mode is filled with frustrating combat sections, maps that seem to smite you with instant death unless you already know what's coming, and occasionally confused level design, Time Trial mode is just a lot of fun. It's easy to spend hours trying to shave seconds off your run, learning maps backward, and trying to nail each acrobatic trick to get the fastest time possible. If you've played the story and been left unsatisfied, it's definitely worth giving time trial mode a shot.

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Sony has £50,000 for PSN prototypes

If you and your buddies nurse ambitions of making it in the world of video games development, then this latest announcement from Sony might interest you: the company will give ten thousand pounds to five teams to create a prototype game for the PSN in the first three months of 2009. Should the games be good enough, they've got a chance of getting funding for release on the PSN. Sony's planning on holding a free workshop in the UK where you'll be able to find out more about the competition, as well as get a chance to pitch your game to Sony execs.

The PSN has done a better job recently of differentiating itself from Xbox Live. While Sony's selection of casual content might not match what Microsoft has, the PSN's got a better selection of more substantial hardcore fare. It still lags behind in the indie games stakes though, which is a shame. The more Sony can get developers used to using the PS3 architecture the better

gamesindustry.biz via PS3Fanboy

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Home possibly getting open beta in "coming weeks"

We could be seeing an open beta for Home in "the coming weeks" according to Home's community manager, TedtheDog. That's his forum nick, in case you were wondering. Posting on the official Home forums, he gave an bulletpoint overview of the coming weeks. The final point, point 6, reads "Open Beta starts and that will be just as it implies, Open to all."

Of course, it's worth taking this with a pinch of salt. It was originally on for public release on October of 2007. Then Spring of 2008. It's understandable that it was delayed, getting the balance and dynamic of a virtual world right is a tough one. I'm really interested to see how it turns out. I'm a bit sceptical how many console users the service will actually appeal to and I'm a little concerned that it could just end up adding an uneccesary level of interface to gaming and communication. That doesn't mean I wouldn't like to be proven wrong though. possibly

via CVG

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Home arriving next month?

We could be seeing Home as soon as next month. Posting on the Home beta message boards in response to a bug , Home Manager "TedtheDog" wrote that the bug should get fixed with the next system software update. "2.5 is what we're waiting for and 'October' is what I've heard, later October is my guess." According to the post, Home 1.00 would come bundled with the firmware update, and it sounds like there's a good chance that Home 1.00 will be the first full release.

I'm not entirely convinced about Home. I'm just not sure what the appeal is. While the trophy room sounds like a nice touch, I'm not sure whether players will want to go through the rigmorale of signing into Home just to view them. Additionally, while having snippets of game content and promo materials available sounds like fun, I'm not sure how many users will want to wade through that extra level of interface just to get to them. Also, Sony's going to have to insure they don't go over the top with advertising. Perhaps if the socialisation tools are really good, it could work. With any luck, we'll get to find out soon.

via PS3Fanboy

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New Firmware update changes, umm, not much

You may have noticed that if you go into the XMB and click on System Update, you'll be able to upgrade your system firmware to version 2.43. Apparently though, it's only mandatory for those of us in Japan. However, a posting over at the Sony blog reads "...if you do perform the update, it will not cause any issues with your system or add any new functionality."

Well, that's good to know.

If you're obsessed with keeping your firmware up to date for some unfathomable reason, this might be of interest. Otherwise, maybe not.

via playstation.blog

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This week on PlayStation Store - The Last Guy arrives, along with Warhawk: Operation Fallen Star expansion

Ladies and gentlemen, set your jetpacks to WAAAAUGH. Warhawk: Operation Fallen Star expansion has arrived, bringing probably the largest update to the online action game since, err, that one with the dropships. Fallen Star also unlocks the new Tau Crater level and costs £3.99.

Other PSN goodies this week include The Last Guy - top down Google map based crowd management game that has been tearing it up in Japan. It costs £4.99, but if you're not sure about it, you can check out a free demo of the Asakusa level.

There's only one other PS3 demo this week; it's NHL 09 and frankly I'm not even 100% sure what NHL stands for so you'll have to just check it out by yourselves. On PSP however, you've got Pipe Mania to try out, or you can buy Medal of Honor Heroes 2 for £14.99.

And finally, trailers: Tom Clancy's HAWX (what was I saying about not enough flight sims earlier?), Far Cry 2, and the The Last Guy. Plus there's a Last Guy wallpaper and a Graffiti theme. Enjoy.

David Reeves gives Home status report: everything is on track

With PlayStation Home being a good six months late already, you can perhaps understand why people are eager to keep an eye on its progress. Especially seeing as there was neither hide nor hair of it in sight at, oh, Europe's biggest games event last week in Leipzig.

Well, we really should stop our fretting - it's on straight and narrow, it's going as planned and there'll be an open beta soon. "Everything is absolutely on track. I can look you in the eyes and tell you it's on track," Reeves said.

Another area of constant speculation is the price of PS3s. Again it's business as usual: "There is no price cut," he told GamesIndustry.biz. Certainly not this year anyway.

(via VG247)

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PlayStation Home to include adult only areas

PlayStation Home isn't just going to be about good, wholesome family fun, you know. Much like real life, it's going to have a seedy underbelly where vice rules and shady characters lurk amidst crippling, urban decay.

Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration - it will have adult only areas though. Speaking to ThreeSpeech at the recent Edinburgh Interactive Festival, Peter Edward, director of the PlayStation Home Platform Group revealed that in the long-term there could be a number of 18 rated areas "cropping up".

Before you get too excited, that probably doesn't mean in-Home topless bars or cyber-brothels, but probably something more like an online casino. Or - and we're really rolling the depravity here - theatres showing mature rated video game trailers.

In an interesting aside, Jamie McDonald, VP of Sony Worldwide Studios, revealed that PlayStation Home had been in production long before Second Life - the closest conceptual equivalent to Home, which has been around for a fair few years now.

(via GamerChip)

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PlayStation store to get A-Z search function

Despite the semi-recent redesign, it is still a little bit tricky to browse through all of the extensive selection of content on the PlayStation Store. Sony aims to remedy that, albeit a little bluntly, by introducing an A-Z search feature within the All Games section.

The search will filter for full games, demos and DLC in an alphabetical list and bring the European Store in line with the US version. Who knows, next we might even get simultaneous release dates.

There's no indication of when the overhaul is happening. A fully fledged firmware update is presumably not necessary, so expect the feature to sneak in in the near future.

(via CVG)

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Home closed beta access being expanded

Blimey, this week has become a bit beta-tastic. First it was Resistance 2, then SOCOM started dropping beta hints, now it's PlayStation Home that's getting a healthy increase in closed beta spaces. So how do you get in? For North America it's easy - sort of- all you need to do is download the new PlayStation Home theme from PSN (pictured left).

That won't guarantee you entry, unfortunately, but it will put your name (aka email address) in a big digital hat from which you may be picked and granted access to the soon-to-be-expanded beta.

In Europe, you're already way half way there and you didn't even realise it. Well, you've had your name entered to the beta tombola by SCEE by the simple virtue of existing. Keep an eye on your email, possibly even go as far as venturing into the spam box, to see if you're in.

It's not clear when exactly the invites will be sent out - "very shortly" is all we've got to go on. As soon as we hear of invites arriving, we'll let you know.

(via PlayStation blog)

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Some obligatory new PlayStation Home screens

Sony's it's-not-official-but-really-it-is-or-maybe-it-isn't blog, Three Speech is touting some fresh shots of PlayStation Home, just in case you'd forgotten about it during E3. Was it even mentioned? I can't remember. Do we still care?

They are pretty good though and show a couple of Home areas that I don't think we've seen yet. Look, here's the Game Space, aka the arcade cabinet room:

Authentically, it looks like it has all the atmosphere of a Brighton arcade, but without the peculiar smell.

Here's what the outside space looks like now:

In a few weeks or months, that will be slowed to a crawl and coated in thousands of idiots all practising their Dance emotes.

Konami apologises for yet more server problems

Oh dear. The early life of Metal Gear Online wasn't exactly the smoothest of rides - although that was mostly thanks to Konami incredibly cack-handed sign-up process - and now that MGO is in the wild, the problems really aren't going away.

An official apology on the Konami site regretfully informs players of "major system related problems" that popped up right in the midst of last week's Gene Expansion upgrade. It wasn't just server downtime or play-spoiling lag, oh no. Some players were overcharged for their Gene Expansion upgrade and some were blocked from logging in entirely.

The worst part is that Konami doesn't even have a solution in mind. "We have been taking numerous corrective measures since the problems initially started, but unfortunately there are no permanent solutions we can announce at this present moment," writes Konami. As a result, it has spent the last few days correcting as many of the issues as possible and refunding players the extra cash they were charged.

At the time of the writing, the reward shop was still down and showing no signs of return. Konami really should consider getting a new ISP or something.

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Killzone 2 multiplayer details, beta confirmed

Dutch developer Guerrilla was showing off Killzone 2's multiplayer at the recent E3 event. Personally, I think this is going to be perhaps the most important aspect of the game, and one that Guerilla has the best opportunity of pulling off successfully now that it has been granted a few months of free time to apply spit and polish while Resistance 2 fills the pre-Xmas limelight.

Killzone 2 is a fairly unashamed war shooter, just like so many others out there. But on its shoulders lie many of the hopes of PS3 owners, who are still waiting for the PS3 to provide something that truly sets the PS3 apart from the noisy white box Microsoft is peddling. What, wasn't MGS4 good enough 4 you?

But Guerrilla does have plans to make its multiplayer portion stand out from the crowd. For starters it will ship with a generous set of eight maps. Players will gain experience as they play, much like in COD4, and rank up with different medals and ribbons awarded accordingly. The game supports up to 32 players and they can choose between six classes.

E3 2008: Movie and TV content goes live TONIGHT

Blimey. Now that's a big one. After a brief show off of the movie and tv download system, which is surprisingly quite competitively priced, they go and say that it'll all be available to download TONIGHT.

Yep, no few month wait, as all that content should be available any moment now. Can't say I've been able to head online quite yet and check it all out, but it all looks/sounds pretty exciting. It might even just be in the US for the moment.

My only problem now is, WHERE ARE THE BLOODY GAMES?!

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Sony takes PSN IDs to the web

Sony has added a bit more functionality to PSN IDs, allowing you to link them to PlayStation Underground accounts and so identify yourself on the web via your PS3 profile, keep track of your friends and find new ones to play online with.

The PlayStation Network Portable ID links your underground account to your PSN account, so you'll need to go through a brief linking / sign-up process. Once you've done that though you can start using it and it will give a bit of code to directly link your ID details to any internet forum or social networking site you choose.

At the moment, that's really all you can do, but Sony is planning to add more considerably more functionality to the service, so were hoping that Trophy lists and friends messaging will follow soon. At the moment, your profile details and avatar can only be managed directly from your PS3 but that may change eventually too.

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DICE considering Home and Trophy support for Mirror's Edge

What's with all these really intriguing, vaguely original EA games going around? It feels... unnatural. I think I'll need to go clean my typing fingers after this post. Excited as I am by Dead Space, Mirror's Edge is also a prospect I'm relishing and the smatterings of gameplay, along with the distinctive art style, show it to be shaping up nicely.

We haven't got any fresh footage for you unfortunately (but we'd be surprised if there wasn't something to come out of E3 this week), however there's some good news for Trophy-hungry PS3 owners. Owen O'Brien, senior producer for DICE has confirmed that the team is "looking at" supporting some of the PS3's upcoming / recently arrived new features.

Along with Trophy support, there's talk of Home integration. However, with Mirror's Edge some way off, and Home also barely inching over the horizon, we may be getting ahead of ourselves. It is interesting that devs appear to be just 'looking at' Trophy support rather than guaranteeing it. That doesn't quite go along with what Sony promised us.

(via VideoGamer)

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A new batch of Home screens - Summerhouse

Well it's been a while since we've heard anything vaguely interesting about Home (it's probably going to be really dull, you all know that right?). And that trend has yet to be smashed apart by these screenshots of what is apparently 'Playstation Home Summerhouse.'

Exciting huh? Looks, there's Kenny from South Park having a poo. And a human looking character with a shaved head and a bit of stubble. Exciting!

Some of you must be looking forward to it, so here's a few pictures. Means bugger all to me.

Source: PS3sense

PlayStation Home health check: still on track for autumn with full features

All has been quiet on the Home front for a few months, but Sony hasn't forgotten about it. In fact PSN direct Eric Lempel says that even though it will still be in open beta form at its scheduled autumn release, it will nonetheless be a "fully functioning service".

This reassurance comes amidst concerns that Home might begin with an initial slow start, which would then be added to with ongoing updates. Comparing the rollout to that of Google's free email service, Gmail, Lempel explained "[Gmail beta] offered everything you'd expect, but was in beta just to say that 'there's more to come and maybe it's not fully polished'."

"Even though [Home] will be in beta, it will be a fair representation of what the service can be and its potential, so it won't be a 0.5 release, it will be a fully robust service," he added.

The launch of a new movie service for US PS3 owners was also confirmed but no additional details were revealed.

(via MCV)

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More details on upcoming PlayStation Video Store

As we learned yesterday, Sony is planning to roll out a new video store section of the PSN this summer. Well, summer-ish. In Europe it'll probably be more like summer 2010. Doesn't matter though, because that'll give it time to sign up more studios to add to the mix.

Essentially, the PlayStation Video Store might be a direct copy of Xbox 360's Video Marketplace, but Variety's game blog Cutscene reveals that there are plans to make the service just a little bit more special. Sony is discussing with partners about the potential for allowing PSP functionality as well as normal PS3 viewing.

This could either mean downloads designed directly for the PSP (which would also infringe on Sony's own UMD movie business) or it could mean that any download or rental you purchase will be compatible with the PSP for you to enjoy however and wherever you wish. That would tie in neatly with Sony's lofty Blu-ray PSP goals.

Variety does point out that this will this complicate any deals Sony is looking to strike with studios and could reduce the impact of the initial service. You'd hope that while faced with the growing popularity of illegal download sites, studios would be eager to find delivery platforms to sell their content conveniently and in high-quality, but then this is Hollywood we're talking about.

Slim pickings on PlayStation Store this week

This pretty much the quietest PSN update we've had since Sony stopped updating the Store to give it an overhaul.

A single paltry demo props up the week's update. You can now get your hands on Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, which plays very much like last week's excellent Battlefield: Bad Company demo because the two are essentially the same game other than settings in human history.

Guitar Hero fans can also pick up the Isle of White Track Pack for £3.99, which includes 'Problems' by The Sex Pistols, 'Shoot the Runner' by Kasabian, and 'I Predict a Riot' by Kaiser Chiefs.

Videos are, a most underwhelming affair. You can now get two Haze Korn interviews. Wow - hear a shit band talk about a shit game; brilliant. Next week, Back Street Boys come in to chat about Turok.

One billion virtual world users in next 10 years - could Home be the next, erm, home?

According to those damn analysts, the online virtual world market is about to reach epic sizes, with over one BILLION registrants for the various virtual world markets expected within the next 10 years.

I'd quote some of the babble they've come out with, but its full of words like "demographic" and "marketing" so I'd really rather not. It basically hints towards online virtuals worlds making mega bucks, and all of us eager for a slice of the pie.

So why is this good for Sony? Well, since Home is due for launch at, well, some mystical point in the future, it means they're well in line for a decent chunk of this cash themselves.

Think about it. A stable virtual world on a platform that millions worldwide own, and most importantly, all run at the same spec. Sounds like a cracking base for Home to be an incredibly well populated place. And a fantastic money making scheme for Sony.

Though it was an analyst who started all this, so its probably crap.

Source: GameDaily
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Surprisingly good update for PSN this week

Why surprising? Well, it's fair to say that North America already had us at a disadvantage, what with their God of War Guitar Hero track and a very promising new top down shooter, Novastrike (more on that shortly). Our update is still impressive though. Here's what you get:

In games you have PSone original Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six. Hark back to an innocent age when tactical shooters could be all tactical and quasi-realistic (albeit butt-ugly) without resorting to knobbling terrorists all over neon-lit poker tables. Then realise why knobbling said terrorists over neon-lit poker tables wasn't actually a bad idea after all. Pity they had to make the same game twice to reiterate the point. £3.49 is what you'll pay.

You also get demos of Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit and Battlefield: Bad Company which despite the controversy, looks like it's very much worthy of a taster.

In lieu of our proper Guitar Hero III God of War II track we get a God of War theme, which I suppose will have to do. For Guitar Hero fans there's also Motorhead Track Pack that's apparently free, which is very much the kind of pricing that appeals to us. Plus there's a Toy Home: Second Gear Pack for £2.99. Anyone out there actually played Toy Home?

This is where God of War meets Guitar Hero

An exclusive new Guitar Hero III track is gracing the PlayStation Network today, entitled "The End Begins (to Rock)". As expected, it's the epic God of War II theme with some guitar riffs thrown in. Check it out:

Just remember kids, if you were late to the PS3 party and bought a 40GB PS3, and now you're thinking 'Gee, I sure wish I was slicing bits of angry monsters from Greek mythology' then TOUGH SHIT. Your cheap, compromised PS3s won't be letting you have any Kratos action any time soon. God of War and God of War II just won't work with your consoles. His polished scalp and skimpy loincloth are for the pleasure of the 60GB (or 80GB) faithful.

I suppose you can still play the song if you want. As long as you promise to be crying salty tears of envy afterwards. We're assuming it's currently destined for the NA PlayStation store only. It takes a long time to translate all those power chords into French and German and Norse and whatever. Nevertheless, it is free, so there's nothing stopping you popping in and 'borrowing' a copy off our friends across the pond.

(via PlayStation blog)

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Sony partners with IGA to introduce dynamic in-game advertising system on PlayStation 3

SCEA and SCEE have just announced the introduction of a new dynamic in-game advertising on PS3. IGA Worldwide has been selected as the first advertisement distribution partner, but others such as Double Fusion are expected to join later.

"The PS3 platform is primed to leverage the high growth potential of the in-game advertising market," said Phil Rosenberg, Senior Vice President, SCEA. "Ads that are organic to the environment not only benefit developers and advertisers, but also create a richer experience for gamers."

Well, that certainly is the Great White Hope of many within the games industry, but let's not forget that the concept has yet to prove itself completely and there are some -even at Sony - who don't share such faith. Not that these fears matter much - it's now well on its way to PS3.

Ubisoft takes a trial run of PlayStation Home's Media and Events Space

Sony made its new Media and Events Space - a dedicated portion of PlayStationHome - public just the other day and now Ubisoft is taking it for a test ride to coincide with its own Ubidays event.

Because Home is still very closed to the public, only those with closed beta access actually have the chance to go in and take a look at what they've got on offer> However, it is definitely encouraging to see that companies are already seeing potential in it to help ordinary users get up close and personal with major gaming events.

Over the next five days, the Media and Events Space (God, I hope that gets a catchier name) will be showing previews of the many new titles Ubisoft has on show, including Prince of Persia, Tom Clancy's HAWX and Soul Calibur IV.

With a bit of luck, when it comes to GDC, E3, TGS, Leipzig of 2009, maybe we'll all be right in there, getting the news first hand from virtual mock ups of the events themselves, and without the need to suffer budget airlines and even more budget hotel rooms.

(via Joystiq)

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This week's PSN offerings

A bit of a mixed bag this week, but it pretty much caters for the niche areas. At the front of the store is the new PSN game Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix whose price tag is only a bit less pretentious than its name. Yours for £6.99.

If that doesn't float your boat, you can zip back in time for some classic platforming from Michel Ancel, who has been in the news this week for other reasons, and can only be but a few titles away from fully certified 'legendary developer' status. Rayman of course spends his days now as the protagonist of the Nintendo Wii's Raving Rabbids series, although I think the Rabbids are really stars of that selection of mini-games. Rayman is selling for £3.49

If you're not looking to blow your cash and have a copy of Army of Two gathering dust, then you are in luck as the FREE Veteran Map Pack (reported earlier in the week) is now available as promised.

PlayStation Home's latest addition: the Media and Events Space

Things have been mighty quiet on the Home front for a while, except for the bits where Sony occasionally pops up and says "Sit tight, it's delayed again". Just what has Sony really been doing to it behind the screen to turn it into the smooth, sleek experience Kaz envisioned? Adding a new PlayStation Media and Events Space, for one.

An official press reveals that last week, Sony ran a test run of the new service on Home, inviting 10,000 closed beta testers along to an in-game re-creation of the PlayStation Day event earlier in the month. Users were able to wander about looking at various photo galleries and watching the various speeches, but all from within Home.

PlayStation Store update: A second week of gaming goodness

This isn't just 'more like it' this pretty much 'it' as we get a second successive week of decent PlayStation store entrants.

First place goes to the arrival of the PixelJunk Monster Encore expansion pack which at £1.99 is an absolute steal. Normally I need to spend hundreds of pounds on pointless gadgets to elicit the kind of arguments the missus and I get into over Monsters strategies.

If instead you wish to preserve the sanctity of your marriage and not have it devolve into a shouting match of "Canons! There. No left. Not that tree, the bloody fir! Aargh" then you should probably check out the Overlord demo or shell out for C&C Red Alert PSOne game, priced £3.49.

There's also a new PSN game called Dark Mist available for £4.99. I confess I have never even heard of this game before. A bit of research reveals that it has been out in Japan for a bit and is from Game Republic, creators of Genji: Days of the Blade and Folklore. It's an action adventure game slightly reminiscent of the early Zelda games but mixed with a Super Stardust HD explosion of noise and colour. If anyone has given it a whirl, let us know what it is like.

Rumour: 'Trophies' heading to PS3

No dodgy videos or 'insider' statements here - this rumour comes from the finest kind of leak there is... an accidental announcement in an official statement.

Inside a recently updated fact sheet for PixelJunk Eden (which looks visually spectacular by the way), the features list alludes to something called 'Trophy Support'. Check it out for yourself here.

Of course the obvious question is what on earth are Trophies, and where do I get them? Well, as we know PS3 gamers have been clamouring for an answer to Xbox Live Achievements since the PS3 first launched and seems that Sony has heard the cries.

However, we were only expecting something to be implemented when Home eventually makes its way out of the darkness into full public availability. Trophies were mentioned in relation to that before and when it happens, we are expecting full blown 3D trophy cabinets to decorate or Home spaces with. Or at least something along those lines.

The Trophies mentioned in relation to PixelJunk Eden could be something else entirely though. Well, maybe, or more likely a kind of offline list of your gaming achievements presented within the XMB rather than forcing you to go into Home to sort them. If that was the case then these might be paving the way for eventual Home integration, and form the list of possible accolades you could then add to your 3D home space.

Home's creative director confirms open beta in November

Okay this one slipped beneath our radar and doesn't really tell us anything that we haven't heard on the grapevine before. However, it's always good to get the confirmation right from the horse's mouth.

As we know, Home is a bit of a big deal for Sony. It was once a very big deal for us but as the months turned into well over a year, with proper release on the horizon, our initial excitement has waned.

Time to perk up though - right now Home has 8,000 to 10,000 beta testers currently involved. PlayStation Home's creative Director, Ron Festejo, also reveals that this number will be significantly expanded from July before throwing its doors open to the wider public in November.

I wonder how much good the open beta will do for the virtual world. Unfortunately people tend to ignore the 'beta' part when they play these things and nitpick and condemn every minor glitch. Home really needs to wow when it launches properly, but if the beta is a bit too beta it might drive people away before it even starts.

(via Akayuki)

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SOE President: MMO's really important for the PS3 long term

Speaking in an interview John Smedley, the San Diego-based president of Sony Online Entertainment has dropped some interesting hints about how MMOs will play a role in the future of PS3 gaming.

SOE's Seattle Studio is currently at work on a new spy-themed MMO for PC and PS3. "I think MMOs are going to be a real strong selling point for the PS3 long term -- there's going to be some great ones on the PS3," said Smedley. "You're not going to find "The Agency" on the [Xbox] 360," he added.

Not really a surprise to know that Sony isn't going to hand its first console MMO over to its closest console competitor, but that doesn't exactly rule out the possibility of something similar coming to 360. What's most interesting is what these games are going to look like when they get here, and how they'll survive.

Home "too ambitious", full version won't arrive until 2009

Sony's David Reeves has admitted that the company's plans for virtual online space Home were perhaps just a tad on the lofty side.

"We've realised that maybe we were too ambitious with the non-gaming applications within Home, getting sponsors and stuff like that," said Reeves. Very honest of him. Kudos.

So, the new plans for the service? "We're concentrating on the gaming by launching games in Home, and attracting people who are into gaming first," Reeves continued, "instead of the Nike people, or Adidas people who are into fashion and not necessarily into gaming."

Not quite sure why you'd buy a PS3 if you weren't into gaming, but there you go. While this might ostensibly seem like good news - and it means that the Autumn release will go ahead as planned (in open beta form, anyway) - I can't help but be a little concerned. Home has been in development for a long time now. To change it significantly less than six months before its due date is a huge climbdown, and leads me to wonder whether it's going to be worth bothering with. Evidently we'll find out sooner rather than later now - it's certainly an interesting move from Sony, but will it pay off?

CVG

Haze demo hits the US today

Sony really did treat us this week - we got ourselves a whole two days of exclusivity on that Haze demo release. I hope you all dutifully relished in the superb feeling of being first to something as it doesn't happen very often. In the case of console accessories this whole continent might as well be on the moon.

The co-op multiplayer is a particular highlight of the demo, which being only one pretty short section isn't a lot to get your teeth into. As I mentioned in yesterday's preview, the hosting / joining method is superb and makes it easy to find your friends, and drop in and out of games in progress. The split-screen stuff is worth a shot too.

The official PlayStation blog also notes that you can set up private rooms for just you and your friends which players must be invited to specifically. Also rather cleverly, you can set each of the 3 slots individually so you can play with random PS3 owners and keep a space open for your buddy.

Related posts: Haze devs tease us with TimeSplitters 2 HD possibility | The eternal question of Haze exclusivity