Kotaku compares: PS3 vs 360 GTAIV. Winner? read on

External Since: Apr 30, 2008 Posts: 717

On Apr 28, 3:51 pm, Doug Jacobs <djac... DeleteThis @shell.rawbw.com> wrote:
> Oh wait, you weren't being sarcastic? Have you actually tried Second Life
> or done any sort of research about it? With the exception of your first
> point (it's not a hub/lobby for other PC games) you're completely and
> utterly wrong. It's part 3d avatar chat, part MUD, part role playing, and
> part SIMs. There are games on Second Life - everything from simple card
> games, to pool, to FPS type shooters. Grab a skateboard and show off your
> sick tricks, or skydive - with or without a parachute. While the
> graphics are rather primative, it still allows for a surprising amount of
> customization and creation. There are even people making real-world money
> off their secondlife businesses - so much so that the IRS cited Second
> Life as the reason they want to start taxing online income from virtual
> worlds.

Home is patterned after Second Life. They are similar. It is
unstable, but free. Home will definitely be a smoother experience,
and more stable, but definitely less dynamic (losing some of the charm
of Second Life). Well, the graphics are getting an update on Second
Life, which is making it out of reach of more and more computers.

> I'll admit that comparing Home to Second Life is rather simplistic, but at
> the same time, do you honestly think that it's going to be nearly as
> successful as Live? Do you honestly think anyone over the age of 10 is
> going to care one whit about decorating some online apartment with virtual
> furniture they had to buy with REAL cash? Do you honestly think anyone is
> going to be interested in seeing your elaborately decorated apartment
> and/or view your trophy collection? Likewise, would YOU even care about
> seeing anyone's apartment and/or trophy collection?

This is a valid point, but Home IS like Second Life, just less dynamic
and integrated in with Sony's games. As far as people go, there is
potential for it. And if the experience does catch on, people will be
doing it. But, the cost will likely end up being at not playing games
in the world as much. More time you spend customizing your home, the
less you are in game. XBox Live manages all this for you.

> I can only hope that Sony is investing big bucks in their network
> infrastructure. Downloading things from PSN (like updates and demos) has
> been a painfully slow process. I don't know how Sony expects to keep
> something like Home running with 1000s of simultaneous users.

Sony is banking on it becoming an environment Sony game fans will park
themselves into, so they then can run advertising all over the place
and sell ad space. Maybe it will run smooth. I do know the amount of
commerce generated by users in Second Life isn't a lot. One is better
off getting a minimum wage job and doing it.

> > Home will do for the Playstation what XBOX Live did for the XBOX.
>
> I hope you're right. Sony's current online service is less than exciting
> and I find it utterly strange that Sony couldn't even create a workable
> network that at the very least mimics the known features that Live had
> on the original Xbox.

Well, I hope it shows the Second Life experience can translate into
something that will benefit gaming.

- Rich

External Since: Nov 19, 2007 Posts: 927

On Apr 29, 10:48 am, Rich Hutnik <richardhut... RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote:
> On Apr 28, 4:31 pm, Doug Jacobs <djac... RemoveThis @shell.rawbw.com> wrote:
>
> > In alt.games.video.xbox Rich Hutnik <richardhut... RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > Home is cool, particularly as a free thing. It does different things
> > > from Live, which is meant as an interface to get people playing. Odds
> > > are Live uses will be playing more games online than Home users will,
> > > outside of perhaps free games in there. None of this manages to
> > > generate revenue, by the way.
>
> > I've brought this point up as well. If Home becomes more of a
> > destination, rather than a tool used to play online games, where's the
> > money coming from? Certainly not from the games Home-users aren't
> > buying. Perhaps those online games of Pool will cost $0.50 or something...
>
> That is a concern with Home. I bring up Second Life, because that is
> what Home is patterned after. Both are 3D worlds that don't cost the
> users anything, and provide an immersive experience for people to
> socialize in. The more one spends time in it, the less one ends up
> buying more content. Is it cool? Yes. Can it work? Yes, but will
> see. Home will likely run much smoother than Second Life, but
> probably at the expense of content being added. Of course, there is
> chance games get integrated into the community in a full way, but time
> will tell here.

The episode of the Office with Dwight's Second Life was freaking
hillarious.