Home is "best-looking multiplayer world"

Creative director Ron Festejo believes PlayStation Home is the "best-looking" and most "user-friendly" multiplayer world he has seen.

He used the frequently compared Second Life life as an example of a world that has to cater to lots of different system specifications, which is something the PlayStation 3 sidesteps, allowing his team to reach new visual benchmarks.

"Personally, looking at other models, a lot of them are too hardcore, a lot of them are garish in the way they look. I think what we've done with Home is have the best-looking multiplayer world - and actually the most user-friendly that I've seen as well," Festejo told GamesIndustry.biz.

"I think the PS3 platform has given us an advantage in terms of keeping a polished look, and it not to look like Second Life. I don't want to dis Second Life - obviously they've been successful and they have to cater for people with old Pentium IIs and whatever, so I can understand why it looks the way it does.

"So it's not to criticise them, it's just that as a PlayStation 3 online space it was very important that there is a quality bar that we want to hit," he added.

PlayStation Home is the virtual world where PS3 owners will interact with each other between playing games. You will have your own avatar as well as a house to personalise using game trophies, pictures and music from your hard drive.

The service is currently in beta and undergoing considerable changes, with the next batch of updates expected next week.

PlayStation Home is currently aiming for a Q2 2008 release.