According to Sony, PlayStation Home, the PS3 virtual world/lobby, has been a big success.
Speaking to Gamasutra, PlayStation Home director Jack Buser said, "The proof is in the pudding...With numbers like we have, it goes without saying that Home has been a huge success for our company, something that we have been very proud of."
The numbers in question aren't really the profit numbers for that division of Sony -- those numbers are not public. Instead, Buser talked avatar items. "We've released over 5,000 virtual items on the platform, and we know that once those items reach maturity, they are profitable," he said. "So you see us creating a tremendous amount of virtual items, because it is such a high margin business for us to be in."
I would say that it is a very good business model for PlayStation, and quite profitable, I might add," Buser said of the micro-transaction model that powers Home. "I like to say it's one of the highest-margin businesses in the games industry."
"[gamers are] understanding that through micropayments, they can gain social context and social capital, or they can through gameplay context, upgrade their gameplay experience through microtransactions. And that's just becoming part of gaming."
So, you guys are gamers... are you interested in gaining social capital through buying new hats for your fake, video game self? Or are you more like me, and see the whole thing as sort of silly?
Source: Gamasutra
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CLFresh
how the hell is this considered successful. home is garbage. so stupid and unenjoyable. i dont know one person that actually plays ps3 just to enjoy home.
CLFresh
how the hell is this considered successful. home is garbage. so stupid and unenjoyable. i dont know one person that actually plays ps3 just to enjoy home.
lucidity
I imagine the Move controller will be a big success as well considering ppl will have to buy 4 to play split screen boxing.
Firm_B
I Just like collecting all the free items... no way i will pay for virtual clothes... free stuff FTW! : )
Esspytood
i was on there and one of the shops had a sign that said 'BE STUPID'
probably in the sense of 'you'd BE STUPID to buy stuff from this place'
CMcCon342
Yeah, just like the first 2 years of the PS3...oh wait.
mikemill
I check out Home about once a month or so... I have to admit, I've bought a few of those micro-transactions he is talking about. When they offered a Stay-Puffed Marshmallow head or the Storm Trooper costume I couldn't resist.
DreamingDarklyRobin
People love to buy virtual items for a steep price, as evidenced by my by my friend's avatars.
mikemill
I check out Home about once a month or so... I have to admit, I've bought a few of those micro-transactions he is talking about. When they offered a Stay-Puffed Marshmallow head or the Storm Trooper costume I couldn't resist.
The_US_Assassin
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! !! YEAH and the Tea Party actually a bunch of happy black people.
XwingVmanX
I thought home would be cool if it was what I thought it was going to be, you start up your system and instead of going to your main menu u go to home instead (with barely any load time). Than from there it is simple to watch a movie, listen to music, shop in the playstation store, and launch games. All from your room, and if you feel like it, you could leave to go explore and see what was new in the world of Home. A lot of gamers would complain about it, but as long as the system quickly loaded up home as it would the main menu and in Home it was quick and easy to start playing a game if you didn't feel like actually doing anything in home, gamers would warm up to it.
But if I am turning on my system to play a game, I'm not going to load home (which took forever the last time I played it) just so I can launch a game from home when i can do it a the menu is pointless.
DreamingDarklyRobin
People love to buy virtual items for a steep price, as evidenced by my by my friend's avatars.
JustTheBeginning
I'm sure it is, they charge $8 for an apartment, that's the price of a good PSN game!
weiyunchi
i did it once when i first got my PS3 this last christmas. i haven't gone back home.
CamronJK
While it is silly to spend money on virtual things, people buy DLC, which is something virtual, daily in the stores. Granted, those have more functionality but tend to cost 5 times the price if not more. (DLC tend to be around 5 dollars while clothing in Home will range from 49 cents to 2.50 for an article of clothing apx.)
The main thing though is that X-box live has the avatar marketplace in which things cost quite a bit more if I recall and those go on avatars you can't walk around and only see when viewing a profile.
If you are someone who frequents virtual worlds, a few bucks here and there isn't much. If you only sign into Home once in a great while, then don't buy anything. I log in about twice a week, I have purchased Sodium items and a few item's I thought were interesting or well made. I have probably put around 30 dollars into Home in the past year and a half (about the time I installed it) and while I may not use all of the stuff I have purchased, it doesn't upset me to fund a designer. (Though I do hate seeing crappy items pushed on there, some are quite well made.)
mothr101
i log into home once every couple of months thinking hey maybe i'll like it this time. am wrong every time :( i mean kudos to all who enjoy it but jesus it is boring and not interesting at all
dj8002
I'm like you and find it all kind of silly
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