Sony debuted PlayStation Home in December 2008. So, at the time of its closure on March 2015, the community’s existence will be a little over six years. As a hardcore PlayStation fanatic and owner of all the PlayStation consoles, I generally had no time for PlayStation Home. I recall checking out Home two or three times. The first time was around launch. The second time was around the time of the release of Batman: Arkham Asylum. There was a PlayStation Home feature where users could go to the BatCave and browse around. The third and final time was probably around the time of Uncharted 3’s release, and I tried out some special PlayStation Home mini-games based on Uncharted. I also recall that the PlayStation Home environments in Uncharted were redesigned to look like levels.
I have no problem with virtual social hubs, but for the most part, I found PlayStation Home boring. I bought the PlayStation 3 in order to play some cool games. There was nothing particularly cool or exciting about PlayStation Home. If I wanted to socialize online about games, online gaming forums provided a much better outlet for that; or even Facebook for that matter. If I made friends playing online games or multiplayer, I usually found them while actually playing the game. As a gamer, there was virtually no appeal to continue tuning in to PlayStation home. I had giant robots to demolish, aliens to eviscerate and tyrants to conquer. The prospect of strolling around a virtual shopping mall to try and chat with someone using a controller was unappealing in comparison.
In terms of social hubs, something like The Tower in Destiny a bit more accessible. The Tower is an area players will have to use as part of the gameplay. It is a place that players need to check into now and again. PlayStation Home provided little reason to ever tune in. Whenever I would go to the PS Home area, it was more or less a distraction from gaming. It did not really enhance my gaming experience.
Obviously, I am not alone in my view, since PlayStation Home is closing. At launch, Home may have seemed ingenious. However, users did not seem to take to it as much as Sony hoped. If the service was a success, then why is it closing?
To all the fans of PlayStation home, I am sorry for your loss. However, I will not lament the loss of the service once the servers close on March 31, 2015.
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