The Amaterasu Yacht: Success or Failboat?
Simon Le Bon made me dress this way
God, I miss the 80’s.
The world felt analog; it felt real. And yet, at the same time, we were just starting to enter a digital age, with all the optimism of a culture that felt like it was on the brink of some great evolutionary transformation.
Things were new and exciting. The introspection and stagflation of the 70’s had given way to the relentless pursuit of improvement. Personal fitness. Bigger bank statements. Technological innovations. A sense that things were getting better, and you just had to work hard to ride the wave to success.
You can see it reflected everywhere in the culture of the day. Big, loud, bombastic blockbuster action films. A resurgence of performance cars. Fashions and hairstyles that bordered on garish, except nobody cared. And the music. God, the music.
For me, there’s one music video (another 80’s invention, no offense to Queen or David Bowie) which sums up the decade perfectly to me: “Rio,” by Duran Duran.
Oh, it’s not a remarkably deep and brilliant piece of work. Heck, it’s not even particularly coherent. I’ve had caffeine-crash dreams that were more internally logical. And, if we’re honest, the swimsuits used in the video are so wrong that even George Michael is shaking his head.
But the video does have one iconic moment for me: Simon Le Bon in a suit and tie, standing at the bow of a clipper ship cruising through Caribbean waters, singing, while his mullet blows in the wind.
If that’s not iconically 80’s, then tell me what is. It’s right up there with Lamborghinis, synthesizers and Robin Leach. And it had a profound impact on me when I was a kid.
Today’s culture dismays me a little bit. Kids today want to be “ghetto” and wear tank tops and jeans that show off about five miles of underwear. This is considered cool. Back in my day, all my friends and I wanted to wear bespoke double-breasted suits with the biggest shoulder pads Brioni would allow.
Even now, I watch that video on YouTube and I’m immediately transported back to being a child. Yes, I think to myself. I will grow up and become ridiculously wealthy – probably through stocks or something else appropriately corporate – so that I can wear a suit on the bow of a windjammer and walk dramatically along a beach in Barbados. Then I will meet girls.
Eventually, of course, you grow up and become cynical. Which, in this day and age of tweeting and blogosphere and Wikileaks and reality TV, is all too easy to succumb to. Every so often, though, something provokes a twinge of optimism in you.
I’ve been on Home long enough to not have rose-tinted glasses about everything, but overall I’m still very much an ardent supporter of it. Aside from being a truly clever business model, it’s a virtual reality that offers more sociological data in action than a Jane Goodall lecture. Still, Home has its flaws, despite its enormous improvements in infrastructure and content over the last year alone. So I don’t normally buy into just the image any more; I want to be assured of some substance first. Something has to be really unique to provoke me to act with rash optimism.
The Amaterasu Yacht is one such example.
Look at the promo video for it. Wow. The cinematography. The vaguely John Tesh music. The fade-in of the logo with the dolphin silhouette. The imagery. Christ, I’ve seen ads for Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis real estate that don’t look this good.
And, at first glance, the yacht itself looks rather astonishing. The streaming-media TV. The hints of carbon fiber in the hull. And that solar sail that makes it look like the Solaris from “The Mysterious Cities of Gold.” This is a good thing.
On the face of it, then, this space screams win harder than Bill Walsh’s 49ers. What had me falling out of my chair, though, was a comment by Locust_Star on the US PlayStation Blog:
“You have to see this space to believe it. From the ability to navigate the ship to the video functionality to the unlockable sea life, I have to say this is one of my favorite spaces to ever release in Home – personal OR public!” –Locust_Star, post #15, 12/8/2010
Whoa, hold on a sec. Rewind. “The ability to navigate the ship” is an option!? Boom. Sold. Done. Swipe the American Express.
You have no idea how excited I was by this prospect. In real life, we had a yacht when I was growing up. I’m Norwegian, for god’s sake, and we love being at sea more than we love certain parts of our own anatomy. The idea of the personal space itself being an interactive experience – not just elements within it – was, in my view, a giant leap forward in innovative design and thinking.
Dear lord, this was going to be such an epic-win space that it would make the rest of Home look like a leper colony by comparison. As I watched the Loot logo on the screen, signing in for the first time, my excitement was at a level not unlike the first time I viewed one of dad’s “special” VHS tapes when I was in high school. We were headed into uncharted territory. Let’s go.
As soon as I materialized on the yacht, I immediately noted two things: the ship was moving at an appreciable pace towards the nearest island, and the bow was already dangerously close to the channel marker. Crap. Where’s the damn steering interface? I don’t have much time left…
It was when the ship made its own turn to port that I realized the glum truth: not only does this yacht not come with any user interface for navigation, but it doesn’t even have a bridge.
Attention, Sony: could you program a “dumbfounded” emote for our avatars? Thanks.
It gets worse. The selectable video content on the big-screen is this personal space’s party piece, but the novelty of that thunder disappeared not long after the Hollywood Hills House came out, and the content offered doesn’t do much for me, personally. Further, in terms of usable space and overall layout, there really isn’t anything the Amaterasu offers that the Santorini Yacht didn’t already provide. And besides, the Santorini Yacht’s party piece – a built-in hot tub – is arguably cooler, anyway.
Is the Amaterasu Yacht a total waste, then? Is it the failboat of Home? Should it be renamed the S.S. Facepalm?
Well…no.
To be fair, its setting is infinitely prettier than Santorini, particularly since there’s no annoying prop plane flying overhead at regular intervals. The unlockable whales, dolphins and birds add a nice touch (even if it’s a somewhat cheap ploy to sell you a video game and get your friends to visit your space). The capers, like striking a pose at the bow, are cute. And if you stand by the mast while the TV is playing the promo video, you get that awesome background music while you sail. It’s just a shame that that background music doesn’t permeate the entire space. Background music and sound effects add tremendously to the sense of realism in any public or private space (imagine the Seaside of Memories Beach with some steel drums, for instance).
“The ability to navigate the ship,” though, is quite a stretch on what the space actually does. Yes, the background scenery changes. This is an improvement over the static backgrounds of every other personal space out there. And it’s a nifty innovation. But it’s a let-down, nonetheless, because of how it was presented. And now I sound cynical. Like I can’t enjoy the space for what it is, because I got disappointed over what I feel it should have been.
And the truth is, it’s a pleasant enough space. I’m sure a lot of people will enjoy it. It’s just…bland.
Put it this way: if I had to do it over again, I wouldn’t have bought it. But since I’ve already spent the money on it, I don’t regret it. And those are not contradictory statements. Next time, though, I’ll stick to looking at YouTube video tours of the spaces before jumping in with my wallet.
So much for being Simon Le Bon…
December 10th, 2010 by NorseGamer | 14 comments
NorseGamer is the product manager for LOOT Entertainment at Sony Pictures, as well as the founder and publisher of HomeStation Magazine. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, he holds a B.A. in English/Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and presently lives in Los Angeles. All opinions expressed in HSM are solely his and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sony DADC.
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Awesome read.
Was going to visit this space via invite from a friend, but ran out of time. Even without actual images (and am wondering why there are none), the article provides a pretty good feel for what to expect.
Perhaps Locust should hire you to write his blogs haha.
Thanks! I took pics of the space with my PS3, but as I’m recovering from knee surgery, I haven’t quite figured out the whole thumb-drive-from-PS3-to-computer transportation yet…
(Ironically, even without images of the space in the review, I think it kinda works. Sorta like how an ad agency would sell you a Toyota Paseo with images of girls in bikinis with a “WOMEN DIG IT” placard flashing on the screen.)
I have to admit, were it not for the specific comment Locust made on the official PlayStation Blog, I wouldn’t have bought the space. As it stands, I don’t regret it — but I’m definitely sticking to watching virtual tours on YouTube before committing money again.
Great Review and even a better read.
Thanks, Cyn!
I think what you are buying here is not so much the ship as the ocean. The sense of reality is incredible, and that Humpback whale is nothing short of awesome. If they sell the option to move the ship into different waters, I’m buying. Imagine the Amaterasu cruising the edge of the Arctic ice pack, for instance, or gliding through the Grand Lagoon of Venice. Especially if I can take my whale and dolphins with me.
In that regard, I would definitely agree. This is the first personal space that has changing scenery, and in that regard, it’s a massive step forward. I personally hope more spaces start to offer such variation — weather patterns, day/night cycles, waves lapping against a beach, and so forth — as it’ll go a long way towards providing a more realistic setting.
And for god’s sake: *more* background music. Where the Amaterasu comes alive, for me, is when I stand in front of the mast, at my cobbled-together flying bridge, and the EOD screen provides that wonderful music from below. Now, if it could just spread throughout the whole ship…
In theory, it should be fairly easy for LOOT to change the scenery; keep all the rest of the programming the same, just change the lighting and background scenery. I’d love to cruise New Zealand’s Doubtful Sound, for instance…
Yes, this may not be up to our expectations. However. It is a step forward. We are starting to get some video content in Home. Am hoping this trend continues to progress. The sea life is a nice addition to, as is the moving background. Home has come along way in the year that I’ve been on it. There are things that annoy the echochrome off me alot more than limited background music in Home, like the furniture limitations for instance. I don’t know if I’ll buy this space myself, since many on my FL have it already. That being said, I am still happy to see that Home is progressing. Even if it’s at a slow rate.
What’s interesting is to look back at where Home was twelve months ago; the infrastructural improvements alone are remarkable. Granted, it does mystify me why some features aren’t yet present in Home, but considering the development turnaround time required for Home, they’ve done a fairly remarkable job of maintaining forward progress. I totally agree with you.
Fun read…
Couldn’t help but notice the screen name, onetime808; which island were you on?
One thing I’ve noticed about the Amaterasu Yacht: if you place the Heavy Strike cannon behind the mast (where the two staircases meet up top), OH MY GOD the firing angles and ricochets are hilarious.
Trust me on this. Invite eleven friends over to unlock the caper, and start blasting them with cannonballs. It’s the most fun I’ve had in Home in ages.
Aloha Norse, I’m on Oahu in Waikiki. Thanks for the tip about Amaterasu, I’m going to try that! I’m also really enjoying your articles and appreciate all the hard work you put into the magazine in addition to the collaborative efforts from your staff. This is no easy task and I commend all of you for it! Good job and keep up the good work!
Malama Pono & Aloha
Mahalo from the Garden Island, brother! \m/
i had the same EXACT reaction that you described when i first entered. (Half the time you can never get into it anyway) Its nice, but i wouldnt have bought it if i had seen it first.
Yes the 80s were a magical time,because of the erroneous belief that nuclear destruction might b just around the corner many of us lived like the world was near its end,2012 seems kinda ho-hum in comparision.The illusion that our time might b limited made worrying about the future seem unnecessary,while we hoped 2 all live long lives we had as much fun as we possibly could,just in case.Then the 90s came,after the soviets went bankrupt we realized we had 2 grow up,buzzkill,the party was over,the really great music died and many of us retreated into the world of video games.Thanks 2 home and many games 2 numerous 2 mention,it feels like were in another magical time,a gamers shangra-la.The music is nowhere near as good but the visuals r getting amazing,like on this boat 4 instance,and im honored that i can say that i was present at both of these enchanted ages.