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Sony Has Renewed The PlayStation Home Trademark

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman

It’s probably (almost certainly) nothing, but Sony Interactive Entertainment recently renewed the trademark for PlayStation Home and, naturally, we’re all wondering what that could mean for PSVR 2.

PlayStation Home was basically Sony’s take on a virtual hub for social interaction long before the days of Rec Room and VRChat. Launched on the PS3, it allowed friends to meet up in different spaces, dress as their favorite game characters, collect items for personal rooms and visit limited-time events like one mirroring the company’s E3 booth that ran during the show.

But, while ambitious, Home failed to really capture the kind of sizable audience that Sony likely envisioned, and it was shut down around a year after the launch of the PS4 (which never got its own version of Home).

Sony renewed the trademark on April 23rd, lasting through until 2028. Of course, companies refresh trademarks for unused and long-dead products all the time as it protects them from others using the name or if they want to revisit the idea later down the line. Were this a new trademark like, say PlayStation Home VR, we might be a little more confident this was a sign the service was coming back.

When PSVR released back in 2016, there was a lot of talk about how Home could have been Sony’s answer to the growing popularity of new social VR applications. It could have also made for a great user interface for PSVR as a whole – a place to launch games or play traditional ones on a virtual screen in the comfort of your custom environment. Instead we ended up operating PSVR via the usual PS4 menu on a virtual screen floating in the darkness.

jet87jbc.jpg
 

Rac3r

Member
The concept of PS Home was really cool and I think it’d be much more successful on the PS5. I’ve had so many late nights where my friends and I take a break from gaming and just talk on the Home Screen for an hour or two. That’s when something like PS Home would be great to have. If they brought back and added mini games (bowling/pool/mini golf/etc) and app integration (Netflix parties like the 360 had, and simply loading into multiplayer games with your friends) I could see it getting really popular.

just don’t add micro transactions because that, and load times, is probably what killed it in the first place.
 

KRYPT83

Member
Ps home was cool, even though they ripped the idea off the xbox arcade! running around as your avatar during summer of arcade was a blast. A ps5 entry with psvr addition would be nice, problem is Sony is a recipe company they hardly innovate they steal other people's shit and most of the time make it better as they tailor fit it to there service
 

Keihart

Member
PS home was cool but the kinda missed the boat now, although with PSVR2 coming it would make sense to have a replacement to VRChat.
VRChat it's almost everything PS home attempted to, but i doubt it would ever be admitted on consoles...it's just too wild, feels kinda like the old internet forums in some ways.
 
Honestly Sony can just rerelease Dreams as Playstation Home. Simply add multiplayer. Remove PS4 support to make it more ambitious.

They can also use the dreams engine to make a Minecraft clone, aka DreamCraft.
 

8BiTw0LF

Banned
Why trademark a name which is already trademarked - "PlayStation"? No one can use the PlayStation Home name anyway.
 

kether

Neo Member
PS Home was so much fun. My favorite thing to do was headbang with a bunch of other random avatars in the theater to the Paramore video. And I don't even like Paramore, but after hearing that song so many times I now embrace my love for it.
 

Birdo

Banned
It will only be a hit if they allow custom skins (Which they won't).

That's the only thing that keeps places like VR Chat alive.
 

fragganaut

Member
I really enjoyed it at the beginning and was constantly looking and waiting for new things to explore, that tuned down a little over time, but I was still visiting home on a regular basis, as long as it lastet.

For me the biggest problem were the loading times because at that time the internet in my region was unbelievable slow. Also that they had content locked to regions wasn't really helpful. I don't know for sure if it just where certain events or if it was the last few weeks before they shut it down, but all of a sudden there where a lot of really great avatars and outfits running all over the place, and man those Japanese characters looked really great

Buyed a lot of unnecessary stuff, would be real great if that somehow still was connected to my psn-account
 
With the SSD, and possibly VR, I could see this working out well. Load times were the only thing that sucked on the OG Home. It was still fun running around and checking out the new activities and environments.

Also a very good looking game, considering it was free.
 
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DonkeyPunchJr

World’s Biggest Weeb
PlayStation Home has without a doubt the best character creator I’ve ever used. You could tweak so many variables for your face. It even had advanced options so you could add asymmetrical details like a crooked nose or uneven ear heights.

I made the ugliest freak of nature you ever saw. Just hideous. My favorite thing to do was to use an attractive female avatar, wait for the guys to swarm me like flies on shit, then swap to my ugly dude and start gyrating. Then chase them down as they ran in horror.
 

Bo_Hazem

Banned

It’s probably (almost certainly) nothing, but Sony Interactive Entertainment recently renewed the trademark for PlayStation Home and, naturally, we’re all wondering what that could mean for PSVR 2.

PlayStation Home was basically Sony’s take on a virtual hub for social interaction long before the days of Rec Room and VRChat. Launched on the PS3, it allowed friends to meet up in different spaces, dress as their favorite game characters, collect items for personal rooms and visit limited-time events like one mirroring the company’s E3 booth that ran during the show.

But, while ambitious, Home failed to really capture the kind of sizable audience that Sony likely envisioned, and it was shut down around a year after the launch of the PS4 (which never got its own version of Home).

Sony renewed the trademark on April 23rd, lasting through until 2028. Of course, companies refresh trademarks for unused and long-dead products all the time as it protects them from others using the name or if they want to revisit the idea later down the line. Were this a new trademark like, say PlayStation Home VR, we might be a little more confident this was a sign the service was coming back.

When PSVR released back in 2016, there was a lot of talk about how Home could have been Sony’s answer to the growing popularity of new social VR applications. It could have also made for a great user interface for PSVR as a whole – a place to launch games or play traditional ones on a virtual screen in the comfort of your custom environment. Instead we ended up operating PSVR via the usual PS4 menu on a virtual screen floating in the darkness.

jet87jbc.jpg

Man, I've spent so much time back in day on PS3 in the US server, making many friends out there! Lol it was so much fun but of course use a fucking keyboard to communicate. Not sure if it'll workout good without overhauling the concept.
 

Robins

Member
I think if the abomination that is Roblox can be successful I think PSHome is now much better suited to the micro transaction lifestyle people are used to today and could be very successful.

Back on PS3 it was way ahead of its time. Viewing trophies in a 3D space, Mini games, clothing and interactive furniture for your flat, Social areas to chat there was so much to it and all gaming themed. I thought it had great potential.
 

JSoup

Banned
An underused feature of Home that I really thought was cool, some devs used Home to create live 'drop-in, drop-out' rooms.
You'd be in game, see a door, door would be listed as "rest area". Enter door and the game would be put in sleep mode, Home would automatically open and download the themed room for the game. If the game had online components, the room would have live stats. When finished, exiting the room closed Home and dumped you back into the game.
 

Ultraslick

Neo Member
IF they were to try again, they should treat it (and develop) it like a AAA open world game.
I hesitate to use the term MMO because of its Warcraft connotation, but think more of the system employed in online survival games.
Maps like Ark or even something like No Mans Sky where every user can create their own space. Every other user could visit that space.
It could exist in a vast GTA like city.
Property could be acquired and houses, apartments built.
“Currency” would be based on a new trophy -points system which would launched to coincide.

Playing other PlayStation games would increase your funds to buy houses, cars, items.
You would log in daily to contribute to collective world building and expansion in some way.
There would be social factions, gangs, clubs, events, challenges, free weekly mini-games aka golf with friends, Among Us, etc.
Discord would be baked in.

possibilities and technology are there for a passion project like this.
Need to sign up several of their top tier devs to create this system-level game.

call it PlayStation - Utopia
 

yurinka

Member
WTF LOL!

I didn't spend there a lot of time, but it was fun to go there to get new customizable stuff for my avatar or homes, or to unlock in games items to place them there. Like Namco arcade machines for my home or Capcom clothes for the avatar.

I remember that they even streamed an E3 conference there.

I don't remember if they ever implemented it, but it had a good idea of having a PS3 trophies museum room where you'd see like 'real, physical' 3D objects of the trophies earned in PS3 games.

It would be a great fit for PSVR2, but if not let's hope it means they managed to achieve something I think it's impossible: to properly emulate PS3 on PS5.
 
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Shmunter

Member

Would be nice. But if the model made bank from Mtx on PS3 why would they have killed it, and why would they resurrect it?

Sony wouldn’t want to take time away from games that are a bigger bang for the buck.

Of course it could be the tech now males such a venture more economical to upkeep and certain tweaks could encourage spend.

Hope we get Home 2.0
 

Fahdis

Member
Animated GIF


Warning; repressed memories about to come out...

My studio was unfinished when these fuckers cut that damn service. I also use to wear the T-Shirt from the SF4 Platinum to flex on people. Fuck Sony for taking away my superiority and Killzone tree. Also my girl avatar (when I used it - was cute af with that Karen hair) I lured men into my studio just to stand there like a brick or leave the room and eat something while they tried desperately to talk to me.
 
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RoadHazard

Gold Member
The main thing that made me not bother with this after playing it a few times on PS3 was the horrific load times. Just took so long to do anything or go anywhere. A better version of the same idea that takes advantage of the PS5 hardware (and PSVR2) could potentially be a hit for Sony given how well VR Chat and the like are doing.
 

EDMIX

Member
I always thought this was waaaaaay ahead of its time.

This makes more sense for VR, so I'm hype to see what they do with PSVR2 or what ever they do with Home.
 
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