I'm going to have to beat RC to the punch on this one, this is pretty awesome news if it's true. Everything was cnp from NeoGaf. "Originally Posted by Doel: If you have IGN Insider, check out this thread supporting this theory. It was posted in early February, and no one believed the poor guy (when if you read his posts, he seems to be working for Sony), where he discusses that Animal Crossing type of thing where each person has their own room and can share their music and media with other visitors. He posted that long before it came up anywhere else. WOW! freakyguy666: Has anyone else heard the rumors of a major Sony Online upgrade? Apparently the update will make the Xbox LIVE interface look antiquated in comparison. Apparently the interface is set up like a Virtual Town where each user has their own virtual apartment. Within your apartment you store your collection of acheivements and virtual trophies to show off to any "visitors" (i.e. people on your Friends list). Your friends could visit you if you are "home" (i.e. online)and once inside they could "walk around" your apartment and view how you've decorated your place. But more importantly, they could listen to any music or watch videos that you've got in your place (i.e. content you've stored on your PS3). Furthermore, your friends could join you for a game of cards or other simple games while listening to your music or even running a movie on your virtual TV (again using data on your PS3 HD). Once outside of your apartment you could visit the virtual Movie Theater to download--what else?--video content, visit the virtual Arcade, and other more exciting areas that I'm not at liberty to discuss yet... The bottomline is that the interface is going to get a major overhaul and it's supposed to be very slick and user friendly. It will make apparent the advantages of the PS3 hardware and--dare I say--the new Sony Online Network. If this has already been posted I apologise in advance! Otherwise, you heard it here....FIRST!" "Update: There's good news and some bad news. Good news: Beta is up and running...looking fantastic! Bad news: Release has been pushed back to the Fall. Feel free to chalk this up as another unsubstantiated rumour... " "I don't intend to get too technical but here's a hint...the PS3 reserves 96MB for its OS (operating system). The XB360? A mere 32MB. Why does Sony need THREE TIMES the resources?!? Most programmers were perplexed at this decision, but it will all become clear this Fall. One look at the Virtual Town, complete with your Virtual Apartments, with streaming video and music in your apartment for all friends to share and you too will be a believer. All in the fullness of time! Cheers!" I guess this means the XMB was just a place holder until HOME was completed?
Adding some more info: Trademark info: From the IGN guy I think: A hint from a previous interview: http://www.ng-gamer.nl/content.php?id=3162&pagina=2
Sony has been hinting at something like this for a while now. Don't know whether it will be as awesome as all this sounds, but it seems like Sony does have some community features that they have yet to unveil. I wouldn't really be surprised if they went in this direction. So much anticipation for GDC next week (not just PS3-related...also have Miyamoto and other big presentations at GDC). It will probably be a huge disappointment given all the hype, especially with this recent development. I'd be happy if Sony got PS1 downloads working on the PS3, and if background downloading was allowed (although I'm OK with some limitations).
Might as well post the Eyetoy HD rumors that will probably lead to more disappointment... "me2," supposedly a developer at the B3D forums, made some statements regarding the Eyetoy camera for the PS3: http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39118 The last few comments were about this video: <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/L17O43X39cg"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/L17O43X39cg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
BTW, the original source of the Home rumor was Kotaku (a site I hate since they spread a lot of BS). However... http://kotaku.com/gaming/top/sony-blackballs-kotaku-240860.php edit: I'm getting something to eat for now. Don't really feel like chasing down more rumors/speculation.
Rumble is back. Sony settles lawsuit with Immersion. http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070301/sfth075.html?.v=79
Probably so... Not a big deal, but Kotaku and Sony apparently "made up." Also, 1UP has just picked up the story: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3157624 Spoiler Yes, I'm still talking to myself.
Good for PS owners to have rumble back. Everyone who said it 'wasn't important' (including Sony) was full of ****. Lol at the Mii+Achievements thing. This is one area where Sony definitely won't win and will be seen in a lose/lose situation. While PS3 owners will see it as a cool addition (which it is) everyone else will either see it as a lame attempt at more ripping off the other guys or an attempt to try and 'catch up'.
I don't think it is a given that PS owners will get rumble back, at least in the form of a new standard controller (DualShock3 or whatever). It could just as easily be a deal to include FF and rumble for driving wheels, which they'll definitely need when GT5 comes out. I couldn't care less either way. If they do decide to have a new standard controller, they better start the transition pretty soon to make things as easy as possible (rumble in the European PS3s would be a great step, but probably WAY too early for this to take place). Depending on how it is used, there might be enough to differentiate the service from those things, such as streaming media (videos, music, pictures, etc.) from a friend's PS3. Or just simply the online storage of that content...probably pictures for the most part, although maybe some Youtube-esque videos. It seems more like Myspace or like Second Life than those things (though Animal Crossing might be a nice comparison too). Actually, it is a lot like something else Sony has done, down to the use of a virtual apartment: As long as the service is cool and adds a lot of nice functionality, I don't see how it could be a lose/lose situation for Sony. Even if it is seen as ripping off the other guys (which I'm guessing not everyone will know or care about), Sony would seem to be doing a better job in using those ideas. This is assuming that everything is true, down to every little detail of course. Even if that was the case, I think we need to see this in action to get a better idea of exactly what they're offering. I'm kind of skeptical on how some of these things would work.
I still consider rumble extremely unimportant and don't see the fascination with it at all. Most of the time I turn it off if the option is there. oooo, my controller is shaking.
I'll be getting my PS3 in the next week hopefully, so I'm paying close attention RC - thanks for the updates.
You're a fan of GTA, right? You may have seen this already, but there will be a trailer for GTA IV on March 29th: http://www.rockstargames.com/IV/ I think Rockstar also (re)confirmed that the game would be released in October. One of several stories for the day.
uh, wtf? sorry I don't agree with you at all on this issue. I don't have a PS3 yet, but I love that they're adding 'Achievements' in. one of the lame things about the PS3 is that they didn't have something like this to begin with. what's wrong with adding features? are you implying that Sony (or any company in any field of business) should never try to 'catch up' if they're missing something? that they should just keep a certain thing/aspect in a crappy state?
Good move Sony. For once. Pretty excited about the possibilities of this thing...pretty cool to copy the mega-popular social sites. This could take off.
A lot of this stuff could be P2P (media streaming for example), so that wouldn't be much of a concern with costs. I'm sure they'll implement some ads too though, depending on how heavily this type of service depends on dedicated servers. Plus, if it promotes sales of games, music, movies, etc., it might pay for itself. That would be kind of difficult for Sony to prove though. Or, this service might require a fee. Kind of explains the notion that the basic services for PSN will be free that Sony mentioned a while back. Hopefully, we can get some basic services with this for free (limited "webspace", basic room, limits on other things, etc., but if you pay for the premium stuff, you get more).
