Tag: Video Games

PlayStation Home: We’re all going to Xi

As the penultimate article in my series on PlayStation Home, we now delve into the mysteries of Xi which pushes the limits of what you’d think possible from a virtual world merely for socialising.

What gets me most about Xi, is the sheer genius of it all.  PlayStation Home as a cohesive online world has the potential to have lots of secrets, some of  which Xi is exploiting fully, creating it’s own mythology around Home which I find very compelling.  The first glimpse of Xi you’ll see will be through a secret Home area called the Hub.  It’s worth reading what Joystiq has to say both about Xi in general and about the Hub in its article, ‘Xi infiltrates Home- and it’s kind of neat‘.  My own thoughts echo Joystiq’s: why aren’t other Home spaces this cool?  Quickly followed by the demand: let’s have more of this!

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It’s good to be back Home

Updated 25th April, 2009

Welcome to the first in a series of articles on PlayStation Home this April.  This article serves as an introduction to the other articles and so I’ve referenced future posts,  but of course the links aren’t live yet, so please don’t be mad if you’re clicking them and nothing is happening!  This article will be updated as the next articles go live.

I first stumbled my way through the front door of my swanky new Harbour Studio shortly after the PlayStation Home open beta was made available. I got immediately bored after spending literally a minute looking round my teensy little pad and learning the controls.  To go elsewhere, like the Home Square or the Shopping Centre etc, they had to be downloaded first.  So with a bit of spare time on my hands and for lack of something better to do, with the limited amount of furniture initially available I proceeded to cram as many chairs, tables, units and desk lamps as I possibly could into my modest-sized studio.

The end result, as you may have guessed, was a cross between an airport departure lounge and a poorly organised alcoholics anonymous meeting.  But without the people.  I don’t really know who was going to visit my apartment as I have few contacts on the PlayStation Network, and I’m totally anti-social when wandering round PlayStation Home.  Which is kind of ironic, seen as the whole idea of Home is social interaction.  The worst thing about my set up was that I didn’t even have a TV or entertainment system.  That could have produced a few awkward moments for my imaginary guests.

Continue reading It’s good to be back Home

PlayStation Home: a series of articles for April

Update: All articles are live, see below!

Over the course of April, I will release a series of articles on PlayStation Home to mark its continuing improvements, reflecting on what has been achieved so far, and what the future holds in store for both PlayStation Home and the community.

Publishing schedule:

This post has been updated as and when each article has gone live, linking back to them and acting as a sort of hub for them.  Whilst all articles have been published, I wouldn’t call them fully complete yet, so if you want to participate in shaping this series whith addition content, then contact me: comments or emails are most welcome.