Home Has Been Downloaded by 3.4 Million People

Sony has used the Consumer Electronics Show 2009 to present some data related to its newest big project: Sony Home, the PlayStation 3 based virtual world on which the company is pinning a lot of hopes.

Kaz Hirai, who is the boss of Sony Computer Entertainment, told the audience that 3.4 million PlayStation 3 gamers downloaded the application and were using it. Their activity in the virtual world has also led to selling millions of virtual goods, which range from avatar clothing to entry to various social spaces.

Sony also has big plans for the future, hoping to attract most game publishers to Home, where they can create game specific spaces for players to get information on their titles and compare Trophies, while watching trailers and getting demos.

Recently, EA Sports announced opening a space in Home, where various mini games could be played, despite the fact that the demos would not yet be integrated in the new area. There were also rumors that Microsoft would be using the Sony created virtual world to stage meetings, although these were denied later.

Sony is likely to be the biggest investor in Home. The concept was unveiled quite a while ago and was supposed to deliver the Trophy feature, but various issues held Home back until the final days of 2008.

Now, Sony is sure to capitalize on it and use it to attract attention to the important releases coming to the PlayStation 3 in 2009. Killzone 2, the shooter set to launch in February and to be the killer app for the gaming console, is already present in Home through various costumes and a game space. Costumes and objects priced between 49 cents and 4.99 dollars are the best selling objects in Home.