There was a lot of buzz when Sony announced their virtual 3D world for the PS3 called "Home."
The concept, which loosely resembles Nintendo’s "Mii" avatar concept, took this idea and expanded it to a virtual universe where PS3 owners could gather, meet, shop and do other activities in this digital world…and all for free.
According to an insider who has had hands on knowledge of the upcoming program, the following additional details were revealed about Home:
- There will be initially four primary areas where user avatars can meet: the apartment, the lobby, a movie theater, and game room.
- Voice communication has been implemented and will support Bluetooth headsets. Users can speak to each other and volume of the voices will vary as the virtual people get closer or farther away from one another.
- The apartments of the avatars can be decorated with furniture and be customized according to the user’s wishes.
- The lobby acts as a meeting place to relax and meet other users while the movie theater screens will display game and movie trailers. The games room will be equipped with pool tables, arcade games and bowling alleys.
However, other features which were expected with the release of Home such as joining in games, playback of music from the PS3’s hard drive and other multimedia functions will be absent.
The idea of just hanging out with your friends or meeting new people via Home will be something that will definitely reshape the meaning of what it is to be an online community. The question is whether this new additioin to the PS3 will help to increase it’s popularity or is seen as a gimmick for people who like The Sims concept of game play.
[via next-gen.biz]
