This is most gamers’ first experience of Home; and for many, it seems to have been their last.

And on the strength of that introduction alone, I can see why – Killzone 2 it ain’t!

But, for me, this is what defines Home – it isn’t the games that you play; it is the ‘Third Place’ that was proclaimed but never defined in the much derided PlayStation 3 advertising campaign. Home fills a place in the gaming landscape between the core gaming experience and the more utility based services offered by current generation consoles and the internet. It’s a place where the games, the users, the producers, publishers and the marketers of games meet, all neatly presented through the 3D world’s visual cues. Yes, it is a tool for publishers to market their products (be it a game, a movie, a service), but it is also a forum for us – the consumers – to mock, to criticise, to discuss, to celebrate these same products. While you may argue that internet forums already offer this kind of service, I would suggest that they are not exactly comparable – yes, they offer an arena in which to discuss games and the games industry, but they do not offer the same kind of unified experience as Home – where adverts, discussion, interaction and gaming can all take place within the same three dimensional space. The population of Home has pushed the boundaries itself, starting up its own version of Big Brother, for example, or organising impromptu gatherings and parties.

But I digress…. So, back to Home Square… You’ve arrived, you’re on your own and, you’re bored. You log out, never to return and pop on to your forum of choice and proclaim: “I tried Home once, and it was a waste of time”, then return to Modern Warfare 2 and Grand Theft Auto and Zelda and Mario and all the other games that you love. Or…or!…you spend a little more time exploring…

Should you bite the bullet and take the latter option, what will you actually find? When trying to assess the success of Home (in terms of content and as an experience), I think its right to break it down into two factors: ‘Space’ and ‘Users’. By ‘Space’ I am referring to the actual world of Home – the spaces, the minigames, the shops etc. By ‘Users’ I am (of course) referring to the people that populate the spaces.

Firstly, let’s look at the Users. It is a common misconception that Home is solely populated by lecherous male teens, pawing over any available female (who may or may not actually be female in real life!) they lay their virtual eyes on. Obviously, there are quite a lot of lecherous male teens pawing over any available female (Home is, after all, essentially an extension of the internet…what do you expect?!), but like the internet, and the world at large, it is also frequented by a wide spectrum of people. Eavesdrop on a few conversations or (shock horror!) actually try talking to somebody and you’ll meet all manner of people, who can be annoying, rude, stupid, silly, funny, clever, interesting…

Most importantly however, you can be pretty sure that everyone in Home has one thing in common – that being an interest in gaming. If you want to chat to gamers about games, Home is as good a place as any to do so. So, if your friend list is looking a little slim, and you want to find like-minded people, instead of going to a forum, you could visit Home – a service that, through its visual interface, can offer a remarkably fluid means of meeting new adversaries/team mates! None of the other current generation consoles offer something equivalent. Microsoft have made tentative steps towards such functionality with 1 vs. 100 and the recently announced retro-gaming themed ‘Game Room’ (is this Microsoft’s response to Home?), but there’s no way to easily interact with other (non-friend-listed) gamers in real time within a neutral space (i.e. where you’re not competing).

What about the Spaces then? Another complaint frequently levied at Home is that there is nothing to do, not enough spaces and that updates are too infrequent. In this respect, Home has also moved a long way from its bare-bones launch. The theatre, bowling alley, Home Square and shopping centre have now been joined by a wide range of spaces – from the poker tables and golfing greens of EA Sports Complex, to the stunt flying of Red Bull Air-Race and disco dancing of the Singstar VIP room. Game specific spaces (such as Capcom’s Street Fighter IV themed S.I.N. lair and Resident Evil 5 shanty town and Sony’s own Everybody’s Golf lounge) offer locations to meet other gamers interested in specific games, and are a great place to set up matches, or simply spend some time passively wallowing in the world of your favourite title. In total there are approximately 27 spaces in Home Europe, with multiple minigames between them.

The speed at which spaces are updated and new spaces are introduced has also improved greatly, with a two week turnaround now seeming to be about the norm. While this doesn’t match the daily occurrences of your average Animal Crossing village, it can still make a visit to Home a rewarding and often surprising trip.

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