James Delahunty
12 Mar 2007 18:18
Sony has revealed that it plans to launch its ambitious PlayStation Home service around October this year. The initial download is expected to weigh in at about 500MB and future subsequent updates and patches will be structured to a streaming solution. A closed beta phase that will involve about 15,000 users will take place between April and August and an open beta will include about 50,000 users between August and October.
Details of the Home plans are revealed in a "third party relations" Q&A from Sony's developer website. According to the file, certain aspects of Home will be accessible using the PlayStation Portable (PSP) console and mobile phones. The environment's persistence will be a particularly tough element to master. "Currently Home is not a persistent world, so when you leave Home, all of your possessions go with you. For instance, it is not currently possible for other users to visit your apartment while you're not there," Sony said.
It continued: "We are working on the persistent aspect of Home, and expect to implement it in the long term." Advertising will be kept to "palatable" levels but will be prevalent. "If you consider Home to be a simulacra of the real world then most goods and services found within the real world could theoretically be replicated within Home," the PDF notes.
Source:
GamesIndustry.biz