14 DAY TRIAL // The Xbox 360 long held an advantage over the PlayStation 3 because of the fact that Sony could not provide any meaningful alternative to Achievements and to the Xbox Live service, with its social service. Home is supposed to be a social network for PS3 users that will offer a wide variety of ways to present yourself to the world and to interact with other users. The problem is that Home is still pretty much in development, even if Sony wants it out as quickly as possible.
Martijn Van der Meulen, who is a producer on the Home project, stressed, at the Games Convention in Leipzig, that there is a "100% guarantee" that Sony would launch Home, which has been delayed quite a few times since its original showing in early 2007, by the end of 2008.
The public beta for the service has been pushed back well into autumn, which means that there's a very tight schedule which needs to be respected if we are to see a release this year. At least one of the features which was initially designated to launch as part of Home, the Trophy system, has already been implemented by Sony and other pieces of the Home puzzle might also be implemented early via firmware updates.
Van der Meulen also sought to address one of the most talked about subjects, the question of whether Home will cost users money. He was pretty adamant in saying that Sony will never charge for Home as a service available for PlayStation 3 users. There will be some premium content which will come with a price tag attached, with clothing and furniture being the main examples, but the service in itself will not cost anything. Sony says this is proof of the commitment that the company has to delivering a complete social experience on its console.