PlayStation Home is designed to fit in with Sony's PlayStation 3 philosophy, one which is strongly focused on user-generated content. The likes of MySpace and YouTube, Harrison noted, have made significant impacts on the cultural landscape in recent years, and now it appears that Sony wants in on the action. Or, as Harrison put it, PS3 and PlayStation Home will be about, "leveraging the convergence of technologies, from broadband and video chat to supercomputer-speed processors, to make gaming more interactive and dynamic than ever before".
As we reported in our rumour piece of a few days ago, PlayStation Home users will be able to create an on-screen 3D avatar (with a far broader range of body types, skin types and other variables to be available). Not only that, but you'll be able to select a rather posh, sleek apartment for your mini-me character to hang around in, complete with a Hall of Fame room, where you can show off the trinkets and trophies you've accumulated from games. Much like Live Achievements, in other words.
"It's your place, so it's your rules," Harrison explained, as he showed off his own Hall of Fame, which had Killzone and Loco Roco characters in glass cabinets. You can even have friends over, and communicate with them via text, audio and video chat.
Beyond the front door of your apartment lies the World Map, for which Sony has some big plans. "We expect it will be not just about Sony content, not just about game content, but a much wider network," explained Harrison. "Over time we expect it to expand to non-game brands as well, so you could imagine going to visit a space that might be provided by a famous beverage company or a cool clothing company or a record company, or even a retailer, or a magazine or a website.
"So we think this is a very powerful way to bring community not just to games, but to other forms of lifestyle and entertainment - all built around PlayStation 3."
Harrison rounded off his discussion of PlayStation Home with the news that a public beta would kick off in April, and the final product will be released as a free download in the latter half of 2007.
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