A New Home Designed For Gamers Launches Tomorrow

See Full Image

Back in August, we got our first look at what would become the new PlayStation Home.

Now, the full redesign is less than a day away. Today, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) has announced that the redesign of their virtual social and gaming interaction service will launch throughout the US and Canada on November 3.

As some of you know, this overhaul will give Home a new central hub, surrounded by a variety of new districts based on game genres. This will also come with several free-to-play titles, including Bootleggers '29 (an FPS in the Action District that pits cops vs. criminals in the Prohibition era), PlayStation Home Hold 'Em (pretty much what it sounds like), PlayStation Home Sports Trivia (in Sportswalk, duh), RC Rally (build, customize and race your own remote-controlled car!), and Cogs (a 3D version of Lazy 8 Studios' award-winning Steampunk puzzle game). Said Jack Buser, SCEA director of PlayStation Home:

"This is a major milestone for PlayStation Network, and we are thrilled to bring a new core experience to PlayStation Home where games are front and center. Home’s community is made up of some of the most passionate gamers on PS3, and we’ve listened to their feedback since Home launched in 2008, finally transforming Home itself into a game. This redesign marks a new beginning for PlayStation Home, and players can expect much more to come."

The new districts to explore are as follows:

Action District: A gathering place for hardcore gamers, the Action District has a gritty, urban feel reminiscent of a first-person shooter level and provides a direct travel point to action and horror games.

Sportswalk: The Sportswalk has an exciting outside-the-stadium feel with instant major league sports scores, headlines and highlights and sports-themed games.

Adventure District: At the launch of the PlayStation Home redesign, the Adventure District will present the UNCHARTED™ 3: Fortune Hunter total game integration event, providing a third-person adventure experience including a partial recreation of the Yemen level from UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception™ multiplayer mode and a cover-based shooting system complete with weapons and gameplay inspired by the hit series. Players can unlock content that can be used in the UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception Blu-Ray Disc™ game as well as additional PlayStation Home rewards.

See Full Image

Pier Park: A waterfront boardwalk leads players to carnival, puzzle, outdoor and arcade games. Take a ride on the Pier Park Ferris wheel or visit the arcade for more games.

PlayStation Home Theater: The PlayStation Home Theater features an ultra-modern architectural design and hosts a wide range of videos programmed specifically for PlayStation gamers, including episodes of Pulse and Qore, trailers and interviews from the PlayStation Blog, and exclusive user-generated videos in the popular Community Theater.

PlayStation Home Mall: The PlayStation Home Mall is loaded with thousands of pieces of content from some of the most popular games and entertainment in the world. Shop for PlayStation Home games, extravagant personal spaces, costumes, clothing items and other avatar enhancements, and tons more in the redesigned Mall.

With over 230 games ready-to-play, over 10,000 virtual items, and over 70 spaces, there's a lot to see and do. That includes the PSXE Show in the theater (expect a new episode soon), and another related announcement we'll give you tomorrow. :)

Oh, and check out all the new screenshots!

Tags: playstation home, home redesign, new home, home launch

11/2/2011 10:18:01 AM Ben Dutka

Put this on your webpage or blog:
Email this to a friend
Follow PSX Extreme on Twitter