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A “third party relations” question-and-answer PDF discovered on Sony’s developer website has shed new light on the newly announced PS3 Home service.
The document reveals that PS3 home is currently intended to launch in October, with an initial download that should come in at under 500MB. Subsequent patches are planned to be delivered in a way to make the download “negligible” to the user.
The beta Phil Harrison talked about will host around 15,000 users and will take place between April and August. This will then move to an open beta for around 50,000 people between August and October.
The document also details some of the features we can expect to see when using PS3 Home. PSP and mobile phone users will be able to gain access to certain home features via their portable device, although specifics are not available.
From launch Sony expects it to be easy to track down your friends, but being able to take these friends and launch into an online game is something that will be added when the functionality has been coded.
Persistence of the online world is also something which will be added later in the life of Home.
“Currently Home is not a persistent world, so when you leave Home, all of your possessions go with you. For instance, it is not currently possible for other users to visit your apartment while you’re not there,” says the Sony document. “We are working on the persistent aspect of Home, and expect to implement it in the long term.“
Joining players in the virtual world will be real-world ads, although Sony states that these will be kept to a “palatable” level. Also in the pipeline are content auctions, downloadable content sales, premium events and plenty of other initiatives. Sony expects Home to provide a platform for individuals and businesses to generate significant revenues.
With the closed beta expected to launch in April look out for plenty more PS3 Home information in the coming weeks.
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