Home Sweet Home?

Over the last few days, several Home articles have popped up discussing the success of Home. According to TheSixthAxis

Apparently there are over one hundred games now on the service, with fifty virtual spaces and fourteen million client downloads. That’s a pretty big service to provide for free. But hold on, it’s not actually free is it? The service exists, partially, to sell us virtual items (they’ve created over five thousand of them) in micro-transactions. Mr. Buser says “it’s one of the highest-margin businesses in the games industry”. So that’s why Sony representatives keep telling us how great it is!

May the Good Lord help me if I ever decide that I need some “paid for” virtual items for my Home space. If Sony can keep the Home momentum going, you have to admit that it is like printing money. What a great concept. Hire a staff to create “virtual” content that does not require any sort of distribution channel over and beyond the R&D costs associated with the development of the Home environment. Then watch folks fall all over themselves to get the latest, greatest virtual wares as a sort of status symbol in the virtual environment.

I have never logged into Home. I think I will today or tomorrow just to see what all the fuss is about. I am not sure what I expect other than giving Sony one more number to their tally. Maybe as a Plus subscriber, Sony will throw some extra bonus virtual content so I can scream “Look at me, I am a sucker too!”

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2 thoughts on “Home Sweet Home?”

  1. I checked it out a year or two ago and have not been since. Yeah it’s the same stupid mentality as achievements or leveling up your WoW character, people collecting virtual medals to display to others also displaying virtual trophies.

    I’ve been waiting and waiting to see if they make game-launching and a gathering place for finding gamers for multiplayer games. That never happened, apparently because Sony wanted to sell virtual junk and there are suckers who want that stuff.

  2. At some point today I am going to sign on to Home for the first time. If it is just for virtual wares then I do not see the point (other than Sony making money).

    I know there are games available, but I have never read reviews to see if they are high quality, or even free. I assume they are similar to minis in terms of game length, complexity, and value.

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