Microsoft looking to rival HOME?
The wittily informative folks over at TeamXbox.com are this week reporting that Microsoft Corp., everyone’s favourite American software titan, could well be harbouring corporate ambitions pertaining to the possible launch of an online virtual world service designed to rival that of Sony Corp.’s upcoming HOME.
According to a TeamXbox report, the current GM of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices division, Daniel Schiappa, has recently taken to the stage and teased attendees at this year’s Virtual Worlds Conference And Expo (VW07 – Oct 10-11) by offering that:
“…by next year, you’ll probably know more about why I’m up here.”
It is also being reported that Schiappa has “hinted” that Redmond-based Microsoft is presently mulling over whether to pursue the idea of launching a virtual world service that would exist throughout its various home console, personal computer and mobile device hardware formats. The Microsoft general manager has also suggested that any such service would likely emerge on the PC first, with the Xbox brand and mobile devices receiving it soon thereafter.
TeamXbox playfully points out that, in April of this year, the gaming site embarked on an April 01 prank where it ‘announced’ that Microsoft was to unveil “HOMEless,” a new online, avatar-based virtual community described as “a laggy online 2D community-based service,” in which Xbox Live Gold members would be able to create individual 8-Bit avatar representations of themselves in order to explore a community consisting only of Xbox Live Silver members.
Those kidders.
Meh….
Not a big fan of this idea for Msoft or Sony. I play games to play games. I still prefer to socialize in the crisp graphics of reality. I’m all for making gaming more social (voice chat, multiplayer, etc.) but I just don’t see the appeal of these virtual meeting grounds.
it would be cool only if you have access to your very own personal arsenal that you can use to kill everyone else in the virtual world.
Ah, you mean Second Life. If they’re dead set on doing this, why not just write a SL client for the xbox instead of reinventing the wheel?
How do you rival something which still doesn’t exist yet?
Not my sort of thing, but sounds like a good move for Microsoft - slowly they’re eliminating any unique selling points that the PS3 might have.
Thats counter-productive though, by eliminating the ps3’s own unique selling points they eliminate their own. Microsoft is doing good with the 360 because it has a clear concise purpose, an online centric gaming machine. By throwing in these random offerings that they really aren’t best suited to do nor does their primary fan base want (just read this thread!) they’re risking blurring that image and direction and also coming out with a 1/2 competition to home to boot. Thats the REAL reason the ps3 is doing so bad, people see value in the machine, but it has no centric purpose. Its a gaming machine. Its a folding at home device. Its a computer that can run linux. Its a blu-ray player. Consumers look at all these statements and generally lack of direction (what does a floating ps3 have to do with what the damn thing can do?) and are turned off by the lack of cohesion. The 360 and the wii aren’t suffering from this problem and it shows.
fps/home
yeah I’d play that
Id use it for 4 way private chat. If its like home though im not so interested, sounds borin.
Actually, I’d hope they have more than 4 way chat on something like this. Invite everyone back to your room and maybe go to your virtual arcade and start gaming with them all. That or just chill with them and just chat while messing about in a virtual world. I can see the hooks, but I can also see why people are turned off by the idea.
Who cares about HOME anyway?
M$ needs to put guns and cars in it so we can do drive bys and rob stores lol dont make it some retarded shit like sony has where they even charge you money to litterally buy a better house and shit in it… my house cost enough im not paying money for some digital stupid shit.
no microsoft, your just going to fuck it up.
I agree with Kate loire
why not microsoft shit sony has copied your online too many times now its time to take something bad they have and make it look good.
Wasn’t a selling point for the PS3 (no matter what you might say Bot). Ain’t a selling point for the 360.
Kinda indifferent to the whole thing, couldn’t give a shit.
lol @ microshit
lol @ everything that comes from your uninformed fingertips.
Still no reply bot, how about you stop acting the little bitch and just admit it’s because you can’t come up with a reply for it.
no it’s because i never read it. and i love how much it gets to you.
AUGUSTUSBOT everytime I come to this website, dude everysingle time, I see you here, I see your name and I see your hate comments about every single thing that get posted here, WHY dude? why? go to playstatic or something…
he does, and they hate his ass over there too.
It doesn’t actually get to me in anyway, all I am doing is drawing attention to the fact that your opinions mean shit as you can back them up with nothing.
As illustrated by the lack of your reply to my post.
“all we want to do is crash cars and eat hookers…” -M.Bison
If its an optional free downloadable feature that has the capabilities of streaming movies and music with your friends, just like sony’s home, than it would make sense to do it. If there going to charge for it and try to profit, there gonna be really really disapointed.
i’ll 2nd that
PLEASE MAKE THIS OPTIONAL.
I may be the minorty, but home looks like utter trash. It looks like a peice of shit, and I’m quite happy with the way things are done right now with Xbox Live.
2nd that
I’m sure you’ll have to sign into such a service. I’m also sure that it’ll only be available to Gold Members.
Yeah, I meant that I hope it’s just an available download. Not a update that will take up room on my HDD.
live is superior to this raving bullshit sony has plopped on the table where the sony fanboys are there to sop it up. and they like it!
I don’t give a shit about HOME. I just want to play online with my friends the way I do with my 360. Wanna do more for the live service then just add a room for a private chat so you can invite a few friends if you want to discuss something or talk about a tournament but do it wisely! Don’t fuck up the service and charge more for it!
You know, back several months after my friends and I stopped playing Halo2 very often, we still used it for a 16 person chat room. The lobby in Halo2 (and now Halo3) works so well that it was a simple way to do multi-person chat, although you had to only do that, not like the guide button chat where you can play another game while chatting with ONE person.
GTAhome would rule.rob and kill eachother.no NPCs just real people.cool.