An Englishman In North America Home
Here I am, on a lazy Sunday afternoon, drinking tea outside a Cafe on Muswell Hill, overlooking Hampstead Heath.
Suddenly, via my PS3, I’m transported (north) to an all-screaming, all-shouting Liverpool, with their colourful dialect that’s just a tad running too fast. “Excuse me, run that by me again?”
(This is why the Beatles had elocution lessons to slow down for you Americans when they arrived in 1964.)
So you can imagine my excitement and my bewilderment at being in a new part of this digital world called Home.
I never thought of myself as a “region hopper”, but I was more than a little curious when an article in the Official European Playstation Magazine reviewed an area known as “Sully’s Bar” situated in US Home. It got me thinking.
After watching untold amounts of tutorial video guides, I just had to make that jump. And I’m glad that I did.
I really didn’t think I could be making any new friends, much less stay out here. Now, US Home has become my official home in Home.
I am living my long boyhood dream: to emigrate and live across the pond, travelling in a mere few seconds. Beat that, Richard Branson.
One of the first comparisions I can make is just how open you guys can be out here. On EU Home, some people can get defensive — or, dare I say, suspicious.
“Yes? what do you want?” Is a common response there. It’s really quite shocking.
The bowling alley is a little more relaxed in Europe, I’ll have to admit; and you will find the usual perverts and trolls that will inhabit any virtual space you care to come across. It’s not that much different to US Home in that sense, except for some language barriers.
(I really wanted my translator device from Second Life to be working, in order to get me through the language barrier; sadly, I realised I left it behind…)
I suddenly found myself wishing I’d sat through my language classes back in high school, instead of getting into fights and, well, generally misbehaving throughout.
In Europe Home, you will find a ton of German or Italian avatars crowding around the bowling alley. I’m not prejudiced, but this was one of my many reasons for heading to US Home: it was just too difficult to understand everybody. Which is a shame, because there could have been more options, programmed in by Sony, allowing you to talk to a foreign friend. Imagine typing something in your native language and being able to select a translation into multiple other languages, right there on your screen.
Although I spend most of my time in North America Home, I’ve been back to Europe a few times. The layout of the Home Square and shopping areas have been updated and changed, which is a welcome improvement. I like the football (or soccer, as you call it) game in the shopping mall. Its just a shame you have to pay to play the game itself out in the mall.
Meanwhile, I like that in the US Home, there is a public dance area that you can all hang out in at Central Plaza. Europe doesn’t quite have that yet with Home Square.
Maybe I just don’t quite fit in on my own Home, or that I have spent so much time in the colonies — er, US Home — that I have largely stopped using the European Home.
Some things don’t change, though. I’m back to drinking my cup of tea, for instance. We shan’t let our standards slip, after all.
February 8th, 2011 by CheekyGuy | 12 comments
CheekyGuy is a loveable, mischievous Brit who first entered virtual reality via Second Life, and now frequents Home as a Grey Gamer to keep in touch with friends. In real life, Cheeky is a video editor who has just completed a Master's degree in screenwriting from Liverpool John Moores University.
Same here,on regular base I used to be on UK/EU home for like 4-5 months.After creating a US account, i only pop on the UK/EU to see the new updates.So far the most of my friends are on my US account for almost 2 years..Funny is how sometimes people complain that UK/EU home is much better. it seems to be more relax, I guess i was just bored after Xi.i never regret i made that jump to the other side of the world,in a virtual way.And who knows maybe sometime….
Maybe sometime… what? You might physically make the jump?
Am like to suggest the Canada portion of North America.
The hooms are pretty decent (for the most part) and there is pretty good health care. Heh heh.
Stop by for a spot of tea while you’re in town, and we’ll go for coffee
o.O
Very interesting, sir.
Us westerners might be inclined to think the UK/EU Home would be more polite and hospitable. Go figure.
There is some scientific truth to the aphorism that “the grass is always greener on the other side.”
When grass is viewed from an above-down perspective, you see the gaps between the blades. So it looks sparse. Whereas when grass is viewed from an oblique angle, you don’t see any of the soil underneath the grass. So it looks greener.
So, when viewed from a distance, SCEE Home looks more appealing (and I’ll admit, I’m sorely tempted to region hop, because in real life I’ve always felt more comfortable throughout western Europe than I have in much of the United States) — just as, when viewed obliquely, SCEA Home looks more appealing to a lot of Europeans.
Crap, I need to water my lawn…
Excellent read Cheeky. I am so glad you are here in Na Home, otherwise we would have never met and become such good friends. I agree with your assessment of the two different Homes. I have been to EU, and it has its good points and bad just as NA does. I love the article, you are a welcome addition to the team as well as a great friend. YEE HOY!!!! As you yell when we play RDR together. Thanks for being my friend and a Grey Gamer as well.
Interesting article. Cool to hear your take on things. Cheerio!
I am surprised -- I would expect a non-U.S. resident to be shocked by the inability of so many U.S. teens in Home to spell, to write a complete sentence, or to express a coherent idea. The ‘dumbing down’ of the U.S. public school system is becoming apparent to the entire world thanks to Central Plaza exposure.
Amen.
Nice story Cheeky….I to am very happy you come to US to hang out….Your a awesome friend and I love when you ask me if you make me randy….lmao
My excursions into EU Home have been decidedly negative, from the suspicion that Cheeky mentioned to folks screaming at me to “go back” to NA Home--I wasn’t wanted, so they said. For all the hostility in NA Home, I was shocked to find it in greater abundance in EU Home, as I’ve also felt more “at Home” *ahem* when in Western Europe than amongst many of my fellow Americans.
Strange disparities…much worth further study.
Sometimes when we add up the negatives in the u.s.,and there r many,we forget that in the known history of mankind there has never been a country that has had it so good as we have it right now,and in this is included city-states,principalities,empires,and any other group of politically connected configurations.This is not entirely a new or domestic realization,the earliest version of that statement ive encountered was from an englishmen written b 4 the u.s civil war by a man named Edward Creasy.That was in the very middle of the pax Britainia and queen victorias reign,a time often viewed as the high water mark of 1 of histories largest empires and written by 1 of the smartest men alive at that time.Having said that i 2 see many areas that could b improved upon in this country,2 strive 2 do better no matter where we r atm is a trait i hope isnt dead in this country yet but it often seems that if its not dead then its on life support.