Sony gets closer to Home with test of Events Space

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 28 May 2008 04:38

Your IT - Entertainment

The long awaited online Home service for PlayStation 3 appears to be getting closer with the successful test of a new virtual online service. Sony hosted an invitation-only event in Home's Media and Events Space last week for an undisclosed number of guests drawn from the 10,000 PS3 users participating in the closed beta.

The concept behind Home is that of a Second Life style virtual world, with members having their own apartments as well as access to public spaces, games, virtual cinemas and more.

Sony began work on Home in 2005, and the launch was originally scheduled for the northern Autumn of 2007, but now even the public beta is not expected until November 2008.

The company used the Media and Events Space virtual arena for a re-run of the PlayStation Day held in London last month. Features included a photo gallery of games developers and video replays of presentations from the live event delivered on a jumbo screen.

Sony plans to use the Space to accommodate events ranging from game unveilings to fashion shows.

"As well as looking great, the Media and Events Space is flexible and user-friendly - it's a real focal point for our virtual community. This was a very exciting first event and we've already received plenty of great feedback," said Home producer Martijn Van Der Meulen.

The launch of Home will move Sony's PlayStation Network online offering up a notch, helping the PS3 to maintain its momentum against its less powerful though so far more successful competitors, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii. However, some critics feel the company may be late to the party as they believe the initial enthusiasm for virtual environments like Second Life is waning.