Uncharted 3 in Home: An Outsider’s Look In
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
I love to game, like all of you — but, like everyone, I have my preferences. My type of game is usually an RPG style, like the Final Fantasy series or Dragon Age. Red Dead Redemption was my first foray into a shooter type of game, as well as the first one I had ever played online with other people. I would have never even gotten it if it wasn’t third person, as an FPS is not for me.
The idea of using a space in Home to promote a game isn’t a new one; it has been going on for quite awhile here. Many times these are for in-game ones like Sodium Salt Shooter as demonstrated recently with their release of the public version. Even though we all get a private version when we first go to Sodium One, they chose to add a public with new rewards built in. Doing this has added a new dimension, for we are social creatures. This has sparked new interest in an older game, so much so that my playing it has caused me to buy it and play it for the first time — and I have been in Home for almost two years.
Once again Home has brought us a space to promote a game — only this time it seems like a dedicated space, not a temporary one like when they redo Central Plaza to promote something or other. That space is Uncharted 3, graphically stunning and well wrought. I must say it is a welcome addition to the games in Home, one I hope they keep here long after the game’s release.
I have never played an Uncharted game, except for a short time at a demo once. I tried it, decided it wasn’t for me, then deleted it. I felt the controls 
were a bit complicated at the time, though I might want to rethink that now that Naughty Dog has brought this new mini-game to Home. Though I am not one for shooters, I think that they did a great job with this one, and making it third-person was a smart move.
The intent here is obvious: to get us to buy the new game. Home exists, in part, to support the advertising and sales of video game titles, after all. But being someone who has never played this adventure game series, I would need to try the earlier ones first. That being said I must say that because of this space, I will probably do so. So in that, they have accomplished what they set out to do: create a new customer for this series. This means that at some point down the road I will end up buying a new one, like I have countless times when I get hooked on a game and can’t wait to try the next installment. I just did that with White Knight Chronicles 2; for that matter the reason I even bought a PS3 was for Final Fantasy 13.
Using Home to promote and allow users to try out a game in advance is a new form of advertising, one that is still in in infancy since Home is the first console-based virtual reality. I am not sure of the cost involved in this endeavor, but I would think that this sort of marketing is possibly in time going to be more productive than a traditional television advertising campaign, as it also has a captive and targeted audience of gamers to sell to. I think that this is smart marketing and a trend that I hope will continue as Home grows, which we all know will happen. I would love to see the numbers when this new addition to Uncharted hits the market; I wonder how many 
people will use that pre-order option that they have at the site and in Central Plaza or if there is some way for them to measure the effect this particular promotion has on sales.
There were many people who were extremely unhappy when the old Uncharted space, the Nepalese Village, was taken away. Why this happened I haven’t a clue, but I have heard many of my friends bemoan the fact as they loved the multi-player game at its heart. Now that Naughty Dog has brought a new space back into Home, I hope they let us keep it permanently, perhaps expanding upon it as time goes on to keep people coming back. Upgrading a space once or twice a year is always a good move when it comes to Home.
I wonder if they would even consider making this a new full game in Home. Like Salt Shooter and Sodium2, this might be a smart move on their part. It could be a freemium game like others are, where you can upgrade only to a certain point, then have to buy the full game or weaponry to make it easier for you to win. The space is already there, they would only need to expand it a bit and add some new missions. I don’t know if this is a possibility or not; I’m just extrapolating on the possibilities here. I must say with the economy in the state it is in, there would be the potential for quite a few more $5.00 or even $10.00 purchases than the larger price tags of full games.
First reward
Such a move could reach a hitherto untapped market for them, and I am sure that many who would buy the original game and love the series would plunk down another few dollars to play it in Home, especially if it could be made multi-player in some way. Just a few thoughts from an outsider who has never played but sees the potential here.
All in all I must say I am pleased with this newest installment in Home and I would say congratulations to Naughty Dog and Uncharted 3 for what I would say will probably become a major win for them.
October 15th, 2011 by Burbie52 | 10 comments
Burbie52 is a 62 year-old published author and founder of the Grey Gamers group within Home. Born and raised in Michigan, she has lived there her entire life, with the exception of a twelve-year residency on the Big Island of Hawaii. She enjoys reading and writing, as well as video games, especially RPG's. She has one son in his twenties.
I gotta say, I am SO glad I have to eat my words about Homes core not allowing VS action titles. I’m glad they were able to figure out how to sync us up. I wonder if it extends to the rest of Home.
Testing must be done!
I have enjoyed the public space tremendously, I had heard about the firs Nepalese village space and the cool awards they had but missed it as i was away from home at the time. I doubt this space will see much support from developers or even expand it as it is a marketing tool and they rather have you buy the full game then focus on micro transactions for the home space. If you haven’t played the series, don’t worry too much about playing those before you play UC3, it’s not necessary unless you really want to get caught up in the story. Subway is running their promotion, if you buy 30oz drink it comes with a code you can use for a voucher to get on the Uncharted 3 beta. It is a lot of fun and if you enjoy the home space you will love the dynamic motion of the real game. I was disappointed there was no co-op mode though like there was for Dead Island but it is still a fun game, and i can not wait to unlock the helicopter companion.
I am one for continuity, so I would buy the first one to get the storyline from the beginning. Stories are what make the game for me because I love to read and write and that is why I love RPG’s so much.
And what is this helicopter companion you are speaking of? Do tell!
Rumor is that one of the rewards is a little helicopter companion. Probably wont be available until they unlock the other waves.
It’s a nice looking game but the problem I have with it is those cursed inverted gun controls.When did down become up and up become down in the world of shooting games?To me this is the worst thing that can be done to a shooting game(along with crappy camera angles which happily this games doesn’t have).Can’t an option to toggle the gun back to normal be put on these games?I might actually buy 1 then.
Yes the controls were what turned me off to the game as well. Many games have an option to change their controls and camera settings, but I am not sure it this one does, you would have to ask an insider who has played the game. If it doesn’t and Naughty Dog gets enough people saying this, maybe the next one will have.
You can change the controls if I’m not mistaken in your pda. Settings – Controls – Invert Look UP/Down – Yes/No.
And I simply adore this game. Can’t wait for next week. I made a vid if you’re interested in looking at it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=_rltlukf8Ak
And I love your article Burbie!
I tried your advice and it worked as far as fixing the gun controls but made my viewing controls opposite from what they were so that up became down and down became up.This is less of a hassle than the original problem so ty for the tip but it’s still not a total solution to this problem.
Great article burbie i love the way you get to use your avatas in home games now more fun that way.
As Burbie said, Third person was the key. It was really neat to be able to play this game with your own Avatar. I hope we see more games like this in HOME.