14 DAY TRIAL // Sony has promised everybody that a Second Life-like experience would be available on their PlayStation 3s once they launch Home. The true open-world experience was first scheduled for a "late 2007" release, then pushed back to this Spring and now it seems that we'll have to wait like forever until Home becomes available since the closed beta has been extended and the open beta delayed until Fall 2008.
According to a recently released press statement, Sony CEO Kaz Hirai, said, "We understand that we are asking PS3 and prospective PS3 users to wait a bit longer, but we have come to the conclusion that we need more time to refine the service to ensure a more focused gaming entertainment experience than what it is today," he said. "Our overarching objective is to provide users with new gaming experiences that are available only on PlayStation Home. Spending more time on the development and on the closed beta testing reaffirms our commitment to bringing a quality service, maintaining the PlayStation tradition."
Although this is bad news for the PlayStation 3 fans and everybody who was expecting the Home experience, I think we should all agree to the fact that instead of receiving an "unpolished" product, we'd rather expect a bit longer for the best experience. We're going to get Grand Theft Auto 4 soon, anyway, so it's not a huge loss. The only thing that matters now is that Sony keeps its promise regarding the closed beta (the company said that more people would be invited) and the open beta for Home will come this Fall, not later.
According to the press statement, the main reason for the delay is the fans' feedback (as it should be when it comes to any project in the games industry) and Sony's desire to continue the refinement of their project.