Sunday, March 2, 2008
Home
Like we have discussed in class, second life is not the only platform out there for social networking across a virtual environment. Sony has created their own system, Home, which is on their infamous PS3. yes you have to fork out over 500 bucks just to jump on board however you do not pay a monthly fee to have your own your space. Also because its based on one type of system with amazing graphics capabilities it can look much cleaner and operate in HD in your home. Also instead of sitting at a computer in a single environment thats always crashing you can seamlessly transition between multimedia, other users spaces, and games with multi player capabilities. This could be the beginning of the home synergy around a multi faceted device that is your one source of entertainment. This idea of one stop entertainment was introduced with the Xbox, PS3 and the Wii. The next generation of consoles due out in 2-3 years should take this a step father. So i guess this could be two topics. But the idea that these devices and virtual worlds might pass for something new, is not true. We will see this market grow and expand as people reach for more of a global unity instead of their local community. Click on home on the top.
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Wow, it looks like Sony is really taking a page out of SL's book with their "Home" feature. The little commercial for Home talks about being able to download extra outfits for your avatar and furniture for your private space. Do they charge real money for these items? Also, what measures are they taking for securing the "private dwellings"? I think Sony's Home is a great idea, but if people are actually storing private information (such as family photos or other personal info. they don't want every gamer to have access to), then security should be top priority for them. Still, a great way to distinguish themselves from the competition (HD-DVD dropping out of the race should help, too).
When Group 1 was looking for TV site samples in virtual world, we came across different platforms that TV Networks are using for fandom cultivation. For exmaple, VMTV is the virtual world for MTV shows.
Since SL is still at its growth stage, it is inevitable to face increasing competition from other VW providers. However, I am more curious about the future integration. In my opinion, the VW platforms will be condensed to just few providers sooner or later. But how fierce the competition will be and which one would last to the end with most users' favor is still in question.
As researchers, we probably can compare the service among VW providers and examine user behavior in different VW platforms to come up with some predictors of success. What do you think?
I've been thinking a lot about this because Sony obviously throws a lot of weight around. Alex, I agree with you that what Sony has in mind long-term for this is "home synergy" - they are setting up the Home network not only to provide a space to build community among their users, but also as a hub and starting point for user experience of Sony PS3 products. But what that means is the big question.
One big benefit for Sony here is they also control the hardware, software and distribution. That worked well for Apple in .mp3 and controlling the standard will make the world look much better, and that's a definite advantage, as Sony realizes.
There are two things that are key differences between SL and what I have read about Home, and both have to do with the PS3 audience:
1 - AGE. One author wrote that he was worried that the usual inhabitants of Home would be a bunch of "14 year olds smoking Lucky Strikes." Given the average age of video game players I don't think that's entirely fair, but Home won't have a minimum age limitation like SL does.
2 - INTENT. I think the competition for Home is Xbox 360 Live and not SL. Ultimately the world is build to service the games, not to stand on its own. The intent is consumption and not creation - I think that's very important.
I like the idea of comparing different VW platforms to try to come up with predictors for success. In the comparison, would you take into account the different intended purposes of the platforms? For example, as Gritz pointed out, Sony's Home is intended for user consumption, whereas SL is about creation. However, I'm not sure how much weight you would give the creators' "intentions" because as we all know, the original inventor's intentions are not always followed. From what I was reading about Home, users can create their own wearables (similar to SL), so how do we know that creation in that VW won't become as popular/important as in SL?
Edit- I stand corrected about creating your own objects in Sony's Home virtual world. It seems like you mainly buy (or download?) additional objects, which goes back to what Gary said about consumption over creation. For this reason, I guess Home is more directly comparable to The Sims Online instead of SL.
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