Sony Announces the Redesign of PlayStation Home

It has come to light that PlayStation 3’s unique social networking service – PlayStation Home – will be getting redesigned, creating a more game-driven experience for users.

Launched back in 2008, PlayStation Home is Sony’s free social service on the PlayStation 3, where users create avatars and wander the world, which consists of shopping malls, game-themed spaces, and virtual homes where fellow gamers can get to know one another and keep in touch through the love of gaming. Although an awesome idea down on paper; Jack Buser, the director of PlayStation Home, admits that Sony made mistakes with the program:

One of the things we learned in those early days is that if you take a bunch of gamers and stick them in a room together and tells them to meet one another and talk, they don’t necessarily do that.

You got to give them something to do. And specifically, you got to give them games to play.

Now, Sony has announced that this thought will be made into reality, when they remodel the PlayStation Home this fall.

When the update goes live, the Central Plaza – the main gathering area for Home users since the launch of the social network service – will be removed. This will be replaced with “the Hub”, a transportation centre packing games and quests for players as soon as they start Home.

Buser notes that this will be the evolution of the platform, as for the first time: PlayStation Home will be a game itself and not just a platform for games.

Today’s news is all about a total redesign of the core of PlayStation Home to elevate these games and put them front and center on the platform. When you come into [the updated] Home, it is obvious where the game content is and how to get there.

From the Hub, players can travel to one of four brand-new districts that will each contain genre-specific games, to fit anyone’s taste. Here are Sony’s official descriptions of these areas.

 

* The Hub: The new, futuristic Hub brings games directly to players with a featured game front-and-center upon login, the Activity Board where players can engage in quests and community activities, and a direct path to free games via the teleporter.

 

* Action District: A gathering place for the hardcore demographic, the Action District has a gritty, urban feel reminiscent of a first-person shooter level and provides a direct travel point to action and horror games.

 

* Sportswalk: The Sportswalk has an exciting outside-the-stadium feel with instant major league sports scores, headlines and highlights, ample space for sports-themed games and provides direct travel points to sports-related games.

 

* Adventure District: The Adventure District drops you in a lush island jungle with an air of mystery, hidden treasure and discovery, where players will be able to launch directly into adventure-themed games.

 

* Pier Park: A waterfront boardwalk leads players to carnival, puzzle, outdoor and arcade games. Take a ride on the Pier Park Ferris wheel or visit the arcade for some bright entertainment.

 

Much like PlayStation Home itself since its launch back in 2008, each of the new districts will change as time goes on, providing players with new games and experiences.  An additional update to Home will streamline the experience so that players go directly to the area they want upon launching the app and will give users the ability to create their own in-Home events. Buser wasn’t ready to give solid details on the program, but he did say:

In a nutshell, it’ll allow you to come in, create your own event, basically tell people what it is, and spread the word.

No confirmation has been made as to whether other spaces of the PlayStation Home service, including the shopping centres and movie theatre will get a makeover, altered, or removed all together. However, Buser has promised that more details will be revealed at a later date.