Sony Unveils ‘Game 3.0′ 3D Universe - ‘Home’ and ‘LittleBigPlanet’

In the wake of virtual worlds like Second Life and such file-sharing stalwarts as YouTube and Flickr, Sony Computer Entertainment is using its PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable to usher in its own virtual online-connected community.

The initiative, dubbed "Home," will allow gamers to create virtual avatars and congregate in 3-D homes and halls to socialize via text, audio or video chat; watch movie trailers or feature films; and play casual games. Gamers will be able to do all this via a free download that will be offered in the fall in the U.S. and Europe.

Reuters - Sony builds "Home" for Net denizens

Gamers can buy furniture and clothes, while publishers and retailers are also expected to offer 3D spaces. [Sony's Phil Harrison at the Game Developers Conference, in San Francisco] said the games industry had to learn from the success of the web 2.0 movement. "We want to start a movement called Game 3.0. It’s about emerging entertainment, powered by the audience at the centre of the experience."

Home is similar to Second Life, the popular 3D universe for PCs and Macs. Gamers can create avatars - online versions of themselves - and buy new clothes and create their own homes. Mr Harrison described Home as a 3D social networking service. Dynamic advertising - including high definition video - can be pushed into the 3D universe.

BBC - Sony unveils its new 3D universe

Demonstrating this vision of Game 3.0, SCE today unveiled a new real-time 3D avatar-based community and communication service for the PS3 platform. The new service, Home, puts users into a real-time, networked 3D community, where they can interact, join online games, communicate, share content and even build and show off their own personal spaces. Home will be available this fall as a free download from the PLAYSTATION®Store.

Sony - Press Release