Take me Home: Playstation Home first impressions (Hint: It’s not Second Life)

After an agonizing wait which seemed like forever, Sony allowed the general public to partake in PlayStation Home. “Home” is a virtual world for PlayStation 3 users. Many people have compared it a similar virtual world called Second Life. Much of the tech mainstream blogosphere don’t seem to really understand the major differences between the two. Let me offer some clarity, along with my first impressions of the open beta.

So, why is this being compared to SL all of a sudden? Is it because both have humanoid avatars? Is it because you can dress them up in clothing? Is it because you can visit places or stores that are often sponsored by real world brands (Red Bull, Diesel, etc.) Is it because you can (attempt) to hook up with the opposite sex?

For someone who personally has 2 different avatars in Second Life (and no, I’m telling who they are) and has been in that virtual world on and off for more than 3 years, I can see major differences between the two.

In “Home”, other than your looks, you can’t create ANYTHING. Right now, “Home” is treated as a meeting space for gamers, not a place to truly express yourself or you know, actually have a virtual life. For some, this revelation can be comforting as some areas of Second Life can be full of really nasty and creepy-looking stuff (sex clubs, goreans, furries, etc). Still, even though “Home” doesn’t really have red-light district to call it’s own, it kind feels like the sanitized Time Square that all the old New Yorkers wish would go away in favor of the old nitty-gritty-you-will-get-robbed-and-can-see-a-peep-show days.

In Second LIfe, if you have the ability, time and patience, you can create pretty much anything using the in-game tools…or you can spend money or “Linden Dollars” (their currency) to get it if you don’t want to create it. Speaking of money…

In “Home”, the economy doesn’t exist at all. One of the reasons a lot of folks talk about SL is because it has it’s own currency, the Linden which ebbs and flows in value much like a real currency. You can spend money in “Home”, but you can’t make money in “Home”, at least for now. Considering there are no actual tools to create content, making money seems to be on the back burner for the development group.

Other than your own apartment-like space or club space, you can’t own or rent land. In Second Life, one of the most unique features of that virtual world is (if you have the money) you can own land. Imagine the space of “Home” that you just explored. You know, the arcade, the store and public square all together. Now, imagine exploring that space 4 TIMES the size of that in SL. These spaces are called “sims”, basically a cluster of servers dedicated for your services much like a web server. Once again, I don’t know if the “Home” development team is working on that or not, but I hope they get around to doing that.

The “community”, and calling that is a stretch, is poor in quality. The tech mainstream media doesn’t like to talk about the “real” communities in Second Life, unless it involves sex, furries or something more outrageous. Since sex sells and they love more ad revenue generating page views, the love to write about how real relationships are ruined by avatar adultery, many message boards and blogs have commented on how perverted and pathetic some of the SL residents are. It is no different with Playstation Home. Sony has made sure that “Home” is as E-rated as possible, but don’t forget the “Online Interactions Not Rated by the ESRB” disclaimer. It’s doublespeak for “Hey, we can’t give a rating to this since we can’t predict how foul and dirty these people will be.”

You will see a LOT of guys on home. I really, REALLY mean it. I would guesstimate that the male to female ratio is around 20 males for every female. The minute a female avatar shows up, about a dozen men gather around “Night at the Roxbury” style. The only thing missing out of this situation would be that annoying “what is love?” song (which I admit would make it more hilarious). This video sort of illustrates what I’m trying to say:

I read the cheapassgamer forums and one Home user (OatmealMu) who uses a female avatar found a genetic error walking around home:

Ran into a kid who asked me to be his girlfriend over a mic. Nothing too out of the ordinary. But he NEEDED an answer.

“Do you want to be my girlfriend? Yes or no? YES or NO?!”

His voice was so insistent I just about died laughing. This was serious business. In any case, I think my female avatar is suitably attractive. I get plenty of friend requests and people follow me around like puppy dogs. I somehow managed to make he cross-eyed, though. The fact that nobody seems to care says a lot about the community. Screwing with people is probably the most fun I’ve had with Home so far.

Since Sony is short-sighted and doesn’t want to add headsets by default in every PS3 (like the 360), most people resort to speaking with pre-set gestures and phrases. I have encountered some people with headsets, but many of them sound annoying. Maybe it’s the fact that I don’t have a lot of PS3 friends. (Speaking of friends, I you like what you’re reading, plz add “RonaldHennessy” to your friends list.)

So, what do I think about “Home”?

Since Playstation Home is a space for gamers, you would expect to find…you know…actual games? They do have a arcade with a gimped version of the puzzler “Echochrome” and “Ice Breaker”, plus Bowling and Pool. The mini games are fine (you can also find a game in the public meeting square and chess in the mall). The only problem with so many users, you often have to wait to play them. Is Sony trying to emulate a real arcade in which you actually have to wait to play some games? (ProTip: Beat the arcade games and you can get free stuff!)

The avatar customization could be better. Sony designed the avatar to be dressed to impress, no matter what the size or gender. The problem with this is most people in real life don’t look like or WANT to be like Abercrombie and Fitch models. They need to introduce different styles of clothing. When we see Diesel clothing for sale soon, everyone is still going to look like frat boys/sorority girls. Mix it up! This sort of problem still exists in SL, but since it’s a free market and not a controlled environment, you can actually find decent looking clothing that doesn’t make you look like a prostitute, pimp or thug. At least you can store up to 9 different avatars. Try creating a attractive female, then create a really ugly guy. Go out in “Home” and walk around female, watch guys follow you, then change to ugly avatar = instant lulz.

I like that you get your own little apartment. Still, I want unique stuff for my “space” that will set me apart. The promised feature of virtual trophies that you win by playing PS3 games is something I really want to show off. Also, I hear you’re working on allowing pictures and video to be shared. If the 360 can do it, so can you. On the issue of clubs, charging for them plus monthly fees is ludicrous. This should be free, or at least give us a premium feature(s) that I would be willing to pay for.

Closing thoughts

Once again, this virtual world is not a game. Bloggers and press, stop referring it as such. It is a meeting place for gamers and not meant to compete with Second Life. If you want to do something more ambitious in a virtual space (especially if you’re an educator), I would stick with SL. It has existed for about 5 years and despite mistreatment by the tech blogosphere it remains the best virtual world in my opinion. The sky is literally the limit in terms of what you can do. It may not LOOK good as “Home”, but can you create a giant robot out of nothing in home? Can you create giant cities in home? Can you open up your own store in home? And if you are so inclined create a sex club to fulfill all your dirty fantasies?  No, no, no and no. Home is O.K., but will need some time to find it’s own identity and culture. A closed beta that lasted several months and a few days of observation of the open beta is not a good indication of how “Home” will turn out. (And don’t even put Google’s short-lived “Lively” into the equation. The big G treated it like a hobby. Once it officially launches, the gloves will be off and Sony must make this world outstanding for the gaming community.