Cristiano

Citing quality concerns, the release of Sony's virtual world service for the PS3, called Home, has slipped until 2008. It was originally set to go into beta in April with a release this fall. Home has often been compared as a competitor to Second Life, but given Sony's continued missteps with the PS3 and other products, it remains to be seen if it will ever launch.

http://www.news.com/Sony+delays+PS3+...l?tag=nefd.top

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* slu stuff *

ZATZAi

Remember, the PS3 was built for a 10 year product lifetime...

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Aodhan McDunnough

My phone's a Sony-Ericsson. Sony's really good in designing their electronic products, but I'm not as confident about their larger system-think.

A system like SL is inviting hell on earth technologically, anyone who will try it is bound to feel the same suffering. News comes as not much of a surprise.

Verkin Raven

Nothing can compete with SL unless it's capable of letting users develop/import content with relatively minimal regulation. I don't see anything that does, since even in "There" your content has to be approved.

Aimee Weber

Second Life is the sole occupant of its own market. Unless a platform gives users the the unfettered creative license you described, it's not a Second Life competitor.

FlipperPA Peregrine

Agreed with all the above sentiments.

I was really excited the first time I saw videos of Sony Home - it looked beautiful.

Every time I find something else out about it after the first time, I get less and less excited. It is now completely irrelevant in my eyes. WTG, Sony.

Regards,

-Flip

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ZATZAi

Sonyny has a history of impotence, hyping things up and bungling the delivery/product.

Walker

Agree. Sony Ericsson phones (and indeed a lot of Sony products) excel from a user interface point of view. They tend to be so intuitive that your great granny could pick up the basics quite easily. At one time I considered intuitive UIs a major factor in the success of any software, but then Second Life turned up and proved me wrong.

I've never come across such an unintuitive interface in my life, but for those that get beyond such issues, the appeal is more about the platform's extensive range of possibilities (which I'm still discovering after 16 months in game) than gimmicks, shiny stuff and ease of use...which we typically get bored of after a few weeks/months.

Tranquility

Sure Sony would be able to come up with a visually stunning SL-like environment, but Sony doesn’t have a very good track record of providing its consumers restriction free content. Any large company probably won’t wet their feet with a SL competitor due to the liabilities and keeping in line with the company’s public image. I would gander that a significant portion of SL’s success is due to mature content. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo (not that nintendo really apply) won’t even let third party developers release software with explicit adult content for their consols.

Tsukasa Karuna

Playstation 3 launch anyone?

That, and for some reason, first gen sony products always seem to have issues.. (PS2 laser problems.. think they got a lawsuit on that one.. PS3 1080I support.. and lack of games..)

Luv my ericsson though, best phone i ever had

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jacqueline trudeau

Agreed. And we will never see that from the likes of Sony, IMO. Unrestricted content leads to what we have in SL. Would any "large" company want their name associated with ageplay, virtual humping, gambling, and of the other... umm... perversions that make SL SL? I say this tongue-in-cheekily, but it's much easier for "the concerned mothers of (insert name here)" to mount a noisy boycott/media smearing of someone like Sony than LL. Linden Lab???? Who are they?

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Aodhan McDunnough

Sony makes video recorders, DVD players, hard disks, TVs, computers and still cameras. Oh I'll say they're pretty much involved already.

Seriously, yeah they'll definitely be pretty conscious about image regarding material that is at least indirectly under their control.

But within the Japanese market that might be another story at least as far as nudity is concerned.