Sony: Give PS3 Home another chance
"It has come on in leaps and bounds."
Sony has urged PlayStation 3 gamers to give its virtual world Home another chance.
"I hear all the time, 'I logged on when it first launched but there was nothing there' – but I urge people to go back on there," Home platform director Peter Edward told Develop.
"It's been two years. We were always very proud of what we had achieved for launch, but we're the first to admit it was basic back then.
"Two years down the line it has come on in leaps and bounds, is vibrant, full of cool content and great games to play. It's free – those who aren't going in there are really missing out. If you think Home is what it was two years ago, do yourself a favour and have another look, you won't be disappointed."
Home enjoys 17 million registered users, contains at least 236 games and maintains profitability through the sale of 7000 high-margin virtual items, but has suffered criticism from the press and gamers since its 2008 launch for an apparent lack of compelling content.
Edward, however, is convinced that is no longer the case, and described the typical Home user as very similar to the average PS3 gamer.
"They're not that different from the PS3 demographic," he said. "But we find the more engaged, more active users are on there. Almost 'the hardcore of the hardcore' – but there's also a broad skew to the demographic. So we have a slightly more female, and wider age group logging on as well. But the most active are the more average gamers, and they are the most receptive to the idea of spending money in Home.
"Amongst all those users, the average time spent on Home each time they log on is one hour, so they really are engaged – they're in there hoovering up content, talking to other users."