PlayStation Home has come a long way since its early days as a barren, buggy, and rather pointless addition to the PlayStation Network. But even though it has improved tenfold, Home is still pretty much a boring social platform that's only useful to people who like dressing up as women.
Sodium 2 might be a rather enjoyable free-to-play racer, but overall, the platform lacks any compelling games. Hoping to breathe life back into the platform, SCEA have announced a major new redesign that will bring the focus back to games:
Jack Buser, director of PlayStation Home, SCEA, said:
PlayStation Home's new core experience is a giant leap in the evolution of the platform, not to mention a major milestone for PlayStation Network, and its new model quickly deploys our users to many compelling free-to-play games that fit their interests. With this update, coming this fall, PlayStation Home becomes a game itself, making it the most robust gamified social experience available.
The new features include:
- 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.
It is still hard to see what the appeal is with Home over simply playing normal PS3 games, but will you be tempted to try out the new Home?
