Speaking to Daniel Hill at PlayStation Day we managed to gather a few tidbits of info about Home and where it's headed. Hill reiterated that the open beta will be happening this Autumn. He also added that the closed beta will be "extended" in July to include more gamers as well as, for the first time, European press. When asked whether Home would be fully functional for the open beta, Hill responded by saying that "Home will never be fully functional" and that it will continue to grow and evolve over time. The open beta will include all necessary features such as trophies and game launching.
Game spaces are slightly lower on the list of priorities, but not forgotten. Some are being shown off later this month to beta members and Hill stated that what he had seen of them is "really impressive." Game launching has extended beyond Warhawk to MotorStorm now, and this feature was demonstrated on the show floor at PlayStation Day. The feature allows you to select your option preferences, including track and number of laps, within Home. This allows you to almost immediately jump straight into the gameplay, rather than into another menu.
Hill also confirmed to us that trophies will be available in the XMB. "They have to be," he said. There's no word on when that will happen, but a 2D representation of your trophy list will be visible via the XMB at some point in the future. Obviously, the basic funtionality needs to be created within Home itself before being exported to the XMB, so don't expect it anytime soon.
Game spaces are slightly lower on the list of priorities, but not forgotten. Some are being shown off later this month to beta members and Hill stated that what he had seen of them is "really impressive." Game launching has extended beyond Warhawk to MotorStorm now, and this feature was demonstrated on the show floor at PlayStation Day. The feature allows you to select your option preferences, including track and number of laps, within Home. This allows you to almost immediately jump straight into the gameplay, rather than into another menu.
Hill also confirmed to us that trophies will be available in the XMB. "They have to be," he said. There's no word on when that will happen, but a 2D representation of your trophy list will be visible via the XMB at some point in the future. Obviously, the basic funtionality needs to be created within Home itself before being exported to the XMB, so don't expect it anytime soon.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-08-2008 @ 8:41AM
Eggy said...
Some more AF would be nice. But I like how developers can take this as far as they want. When you give creative people the ability to do something like this the results will always be great for the gamer in the end.
Reply
5-08-2008 @ 9:04AM
JAH75157 said...
i'm almost to the point of not caring about home, just release the damn thing.
Reply
5-08-2008 @ 9:11AM
Rick said...
I hear ya JAH75157. All we ever seem to be getting with the PS3 is delay after delay, after delay. Although I can appreciate that the delays are caused by the developers wanting to give the best quality and product performance but even still its getting beyond a joke now.
Im just looking forward to MGS4. Sexy times.
Reply
5-08-2008 @ 9:13AM
Dave said...
I am growing less and less excited for Home... I just don't know what how it's going to enhance my game experience. It just seems like a chore. If everyone jumps on though, and there's a lot of people doing it, it might be fun. If it has enough addicting features, a la facebook, I might just get hooked.
Reply
5-08-2008 @ 9:16AM
Alex said...
Isn't the whole 2D trophy representation kind of backwards. Wouldn't a 2D be easier to create more accessible to the user. Therefore, shouldn't that part be released first, so people can begin getting their trophies. Sony does some asinine things.
Reply
5-08-2008 @ 10:45AM
Eggy said...
They probably know a thing or two about what they're doing. Contrary to some know it all kids on a fanboy website.
5-08-2008 @ 9:18AM
drdre74 said...
Im so tired of hearing about Home. Home this and home that! Home is a Urban Myth and is never going to come out. So stop reporting about it already. Sony is never going to release it since its a always growing product they'll never be happy with it to release it.
Reply
5-08-2008 @ 9:28AM
koehler83 said...
That is the most significant picture I've ever seen of HOME.. and its pretty much the only thing that justifies its existence... except for the fact that it in fact doesn't exist.
Reply
5-08-2008 @ 9:37AM
James said...
Home is a lie.
Reply
5-08-2008 @ 10:04AM
deusmecha said...
I honestly don't even care about Home anymore. They delayed it too many times.
Reply
5-08-2008 @ 10:05AM
willxcore said...
Unfortunately, I'm with the rest of you guys. I couldn't give a shit less about Home anymore. They should have just released it way back when and kept adding updates to improve it. Sony would probably have gotten shit for its quality right from the beginning but I'm sure now they're going to get even more shit for it being delayed so much if it ever even launches it won't fulfill the expectations of most people.
Reply
5-08-2008 @ 6:56PM
Da said...
I almost wish Sony would charge for home.
It pisses me off to listen to dicks like ^^this guy^^ complain about home, and know that as soon as it's released they'll be downloading and using it (and having a great time).
Sony should make a list of the idiots who complain about free software and not offer it to them.
5-08-2008 @ 10:26AM
JoJo said...
By the time sony launches Home.
I'll have an Xbox 720.
Reply
5-08-2008 @ 11:34AM
Popfrogs said...
I can't wait to see how much faster the 720 red rings.
5-08-2008 @ 1:04PM
James said...
With the 720, you get 6 blinking red lights, instead of 3. It's twice as broken.
5-09-2008 @ 9:34AM
JoJo said...
yes indeed! the 720 will come with the new Halo 87.
Same characters and story line. Never ends.!
5-08-2008 @ 10:28AM
chris.westermann said...
For the amount of effort going into Home, why not just turn it into an MMO version of GTA. All you need is a few baseball bats laying around (or cricket bats for you limeys), some cops and a few skanky hos.
Reply
5-08-2008 @ 10:59AM
stewartdk said...
You guys are on crack. It is not a game, and you are not required to either use it or pay for it. So shut up already.
When it comes out, it is going to be amazing. As someone who works in IT, I can understand why they are taking their time. Fickle end users like the ones posting here are the first to crap all over something if it's not perfect.
Which is what y'all are doing right now too - see the pattern? You piss and moan no matter what, so your opinions become irrelevant.
G'night...
Reply
5-08-2008 @ 11:15AM
JAH75157 said...
then maybe they shouldn't of said they were gonna release it a year ago.
i don't know about you but being a graphic designer, and telling my client that i'll have them a piece next monday, then that monday i'm like well it wasn't perfect so i'll have it the monday after this, they won't be happy.
yeah it's free, so what? they need it to be able to compete with the competition's online features.
quit giving us unrealistic release dates, we'll quit bitching.
5-08-2008 @ 12:03PM
Justin said...
Jah, shutup, you're clueless. I'm a beta tester, and they decided not to release it a year ago because they scrapped it and started over with something better based on our feedback. It's idiots like you that would've b*tched and moaned about the current iteration to the point it was irrelevant. Better they get it right before releasing it to the wolves.
As for the competition, they pay, we don't, so Sony doesn't NEED it to compete, they've already found other ways to level the playing field. Home is the game-changer, the way to take the lead.