Taking (Yet) Another Look at the Hub
by Gideon, HSM team writer
By now, everyone and their brother’s sister’s nephew’s cousin (thrice removed) has given their view of the Hub, so I figured I’d throw my opinion into the heap of glowing reviews and positive feedback to muck up the waters a bit. While I completely understand why people have been excited about this update, and I can comprehend why Sony thought it a good idea to make the changes they made, I simply fail to understand the advantage of the Hub. This isn’t to say that I disliked the Hub update; it’s more as if I found very little about the update to like. So, please bear in mind as you read this article, this view is a decidedly critical look at the Hub from someone who was never much impressed with it from the get go.
Before speaking my mind about this new PlayStation Home experience, I decided to take some time to get used to the Hub. I didn’t want my initial gut reaction or my lamentation over the loss of Central Plaza to interfere with my assessment of the new space and content. I am, however, surprised to find that my first impression of the Hub seems to be a lasting one.
From the first moment I warped into the Hub I was struck with an immense feeling of being completely underwhelmed. For an update which was supposed to be part of the evolution of Home, I didn’t see much that had actually evolved. It had changed, yes, but change isn’t an improvement in and of itself.
The very first thing that concerned me about the Hub was its size. When compared to Central Plaza, the Hub seemed to be about half the size of our previous social center. An interesting side note: in comparison to the original Closed Beta Central Plaza, the Public Beta Central Plaza was considerably smaller as well. Let’s hope this isn’t a trend that continues, or we will be looking at a Harbor Studio-sized Hub in a couple of years…
Hope you like the music, because you can't change it.
Aesthetically, the Hub comes across as cold, static and sterile. Central Plaza had bees and butterflies fluttering about, a bright sunshiny sky for the majority of the time, and distinctive areas where groups could congregate. It truly had the feeling of being a courtyard or a quad. The Hub feels more like an airport or hospital. Aside from the separate dance/music area, the Hub comes across as one large cramped space. It will be difficult for people to go off and find an area where they can hang with friends without feeling like they are in the middle of everything or being crowded by passer bys.
The dance/music area in the Hub is of particular note because doesn’t include the same music selection capabilities as Listen@Home. The removal was likely a reaction to the throngs of complaints received about the lack of updates to Listen@Home and the inclusion of personal space music boxes. Even though the dance/music area is outside of the body of the Hub, it still seems to have that claustrophobic sardine packed feeling to it.
This COULD have been in Central Plaza.
However much I enjoy Cogs (so much!), I wouldn’t consider it to be an actual change. Within Central Plaza, a game area did exist. There was the Saucer Pop pond that hosted a myriad of games over the years. If the same games that were in Central Plaza were released in the Hub, they would feel forced and cramped. There just doesn’t seem to be enough room within the Hub to successfully host the sorts of events and activities that were hosted in Central Plaza. Then again, it’s likely that this is not what the Hub was designed for.
There is only one actual functional upgrade to the Hub: the Activity Board. This is a very welcome addition to PlayStation Home, but the implementation of it was handled haphazardly. Its half-hearted inclusion prevents it from being a core aspect of Home. It seems to me that it would have made a fair bit of sense to allow players to view the progress of their current quests and somehow keep a schedule of events on their Menu Pad. It would have been nice to have had a scheduling function added to our toolset that would give us customizable alarms so that we can be reminded when events begin or when new quests are available. The Activity Board functionality being restricted to the Activity Boards themselves makes the questing experience feel apart from Home, not a part of Home.
This guy has NO idea what hes getting into.
Navigation from the Hub is no better. Players can traverse to the other core spaces of Home using the teleporter or the weird Willy Wonka-esque magic elevator. These two methods are spatially situated somewhat close to one another, not on opposite ends of the Hub as one might expect. Perception-wise, it seemed as if Sony couldn’t make up their mind of whether or not they wanted to make the Hub feel physically connected to the other districts, or if they wanted us to feel as if we were all part of some virtual world in which we can whisk from one random place to the next with absolutely no actual connecting pathways between them (sarcasm intended).
One of the major differences between the Hub and Central Plaza is the inclusion of stores. I wouldn’t consider this a functional upgrade in any way, since shopping has always been available within Home, in one way or another. That being said, I genuinely like the addition of the stores on the outer walls of the Hub. I like the products of Home getting more face-time in public spaces. I have no qualms with Sony putting more of a focus on advertising to try and get our attention and our spare change. In fact, the embracing of more product-focused marketing makes the Hub feel more real than if it were without. I am, honestly, glad to see that the huge video screen perpetually running ads has survived the Hub transition.
Could this has been more lively?
When considering all the changes made to the Hub, its smaller size, its less dynamic appearance, the activity board sending us off to other spaces on quests, the removal of the Listen@Home and advertising screens, and the multiple ways to leave the Hub, it’s easy to get the impression that the Hub isn’t meant to be a place of social congregation. When one warps into the Hub, they are expected to shop or get a move on to one of the other spaces within Home. With the inclusion of the stores in the Hub, one could also get the distinctive impression that it is the first floor of a mall, which would speak volumes of Home’s current product-driven focus. This leaves Home without a core social meeting place for everyone to gather, and because of that it feels as if Home has lost something with this update. Something that it desperately needs.
While there is more about the Hub that could use some discussion, I think the critiques here highlight some of the more glaring issues with the new space. There is also the analysis of the Theater, Mall, adjoining spaces and games that were released with the Hub that could use a look as well, but I think it’s best to leave those for another article.
December 18th, 2011 by Gideon | 7 comments
Gideon is a team writer for HomeStation Magazine and likes cheese in all its forms. Whether it be block, slice, cream, wheel, log, string or aerosol, Gideon cant resist the pungent bitter taste of good cheese. Heck, he'll even take mediocre cheese, as long as its slapped between two pieces of whole wheat bread with a little bit of mustard.
The Hub looks to citified for me (not that I know that much about the city).
I expect I’ll get used to it though. Sometimes change takes time. Maybe if I pretend it’s science fiction? (I wonder what a city shopping hub really looks like.)
I agree about the sterile feeling,I’ve seen hospital operating rooms that had more personality to them,and with the questionable removal of the Listen@Home function.It seems as if they intentionally created the Hub to be nothing more than an entryway to other rooms of Home while Central Plaza seemed more like a living room unto itself.Basically what this has done,IMO,is taken the crowd of ppl that used to congregate in one place and forced them to split up and congregate in different areas according to each individuals tastes.Is this necessarily a bad thing for Home as a whole?I’m not sure but from a community building standpoint it seems like Sony built up the suburbs at the expense of their Main Street.The truth is,since we’ve been able to shop through our navigators I haven’t understood the need for storefronts or the mall spaces at all.I realize some ppl hangout at the mall and maybe there are good reasons for that but Idk what they are.I’d be quite comfy with navigator access to stores being the only access to them which would free up some acreage for other things,both in the Hub and in the spots where the malls floors are.I’m just not sure having all these access points creates anymore sales than if the navigator were the only way to get in the stores.In short the Hub has the feeling of a policeperson telling me to “move along nothing to see here folks” whereas the Central Plaza had the feeling of a pleasant gathering place,again IMO only.
I think the Hub is truly meant to be only a place to pass through to other spaces. Like has been mentioned before in articles it makes you feel like it is a focal point not a staying point. I agree with your assessment that it has a very sterile non -- Homey feel to it, and I truly only go there if I see a friend hanging out to talk.
An outdoor Hub might have been a better choice, like the ones that EU and Japan got, they are larger and more welcoming than ours, and still have many direct connections to the other areas rather than an elevator. But since we have this I guess we need to take it as it is and move on, which I guess is Sony’s point.
Good analysis Gideon. I liked the design of The Hub when I first saw it, but after a couple of months I really miss the warm and welcoming Central Plaza.
For the first few weeks after The Hub rolled out I found myself thinking that I wanted to go to CP, then remembered that it wasn’t there.
I think we need a central location that is more warm and welcoming and gives Home the feeling of a small town.
I’m amazed when it’s said that people don’t congregate in the Hub. Whenever I’m there (as little as possible now) it’s crowded, mostly with noobs. The dance “floor” always seems packed. If every felt a desire to be trolled, that’s where I would go.
That’s kind of what I was getting at,the ppl that used to hang-out in Central Plaza are hanging out in other areas while the Hub is full of ppl that are totally new to Home.I didn’t mean to infer the Hub was a ghost town just that the interesting ppl I used to run into in CP aren’t hanging out in the Hub.
I love your airport analogy! The new hub totally reminds me of Orlando International Airport, a big white building with glass ceilings,stores and a subway/tram thing. The new hub, like the airport in Orlando is kind of a place you pass through to get to better places.