Sony Takes on Linden Lab (Sony Home vs Second Life)

This could be good for Linden "MONTE CARLO — Tired of Second Life – or want a better online 3D world experience? Sony may offer that alternative world later this spring with its “Home” destination for PlayStation 3. “Home is a cross between private chat rooms, MySpace, YouTube and online gaming,” explained Ron Festejo, creative director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, in an interview. “If you’ve ever tried Second Life, you can immediately see how much richer this world is and how accessible it is.” The Sony Europe group has been spearheading the software behind Home, a free PlayStation 3 virtual community that will launch this spring as a download. The creators of this new 3D universe were on hand at the Imagina conference last week to give attendees a sneak peak at the brand new, modified hub running online with thousands of Beta testers inhabiting the world. Microsoft has accrued 10 million online subscribers for its Xbox Live service, which comes free as a basic service with every Xbox 360 but requires a $50 annual subscription to play online games. Sony, however, is going in a different direction with PS3. Anyone who has used Xbox Live knows that the service is a great way to jump into an online game, but the 2D interface is not built for stickiness in the generic lobbies. In contrast, Sony has constructed a living, breathing world that gamers will enter before connecting with others online to play games. In addition to being able to play six-player bowling in the bowling alley and classic games in the arcade, there will also be offerings like billiards, chess and checkers for gamers to socialize over. A movie theater that features 10 screens to watch movie trailers and game previews also will be available at launch. Soon after the rollout, Sony is expected to offer a video store where gamers will be able to rent full-length features that can be downloaded to their hard drives. Sony is also expected to offer music and TV programming through Home." www.localtechwire.com/business/local_tech_wire/news/story/2389864/