PlayStation Home E3 2012 Survival Kit
By Gideon, HSM team writer
Well, it’s that time of year again, E3 is upon us and all of Home is a buzz with excitement. For those of you who have not had the pleasure and pain of attending the E3 festivities of PlayStation Home, there is one thing that should be kept in mind. There is one tried and true rule that has been proven time and time over the past few years of excitement and disappointment. If the rule isn’t understood and respected, many of you will inevitably miss out on that exclusive must have item that you were so hoping to get. Even if you do everything right, there is still the possibility of missing out on that one coveted item, leaving your well prepared outstretched hand empty for your efforts. Much of the E3 event rewards of the past have been as much about luck as they have been about diligence.
That being said, the one rule that needs to remain paramount while you prepare for E3, and throughout the four days festivities, to help you maintain a small semblance of insanity is as follows:
Codes. Are. Limited.
This doesn’t mean, however, that all hope is lost. There are precautions you can take. To increase your chances of obtaining one of the coveted exclusive E3 codes you’ll need to put together your very own trusty PlayStation Home E3 2012 Survival Kit! Remember, preparation is key!
Twitter Accounts
By far the number one resource you are going to want to have in your survival kit is Twitter. If you don’t have an account, click the picture above to get one now. Then proceed to follow twitter accounts of the biggest Home developers and fan-sites. Keeping tabs on this resource is paramount in your success during E3 festivities.
See these links to go to a few of the top twitter accounts to follow.
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Facebook Pages
After Twitter, the next most valuable social resource for any PlayStaiton Home E3 fan is Facebook. While much of the information released on Twitter and Facebook will be redundant, it’s always a good idea to keep your eggs in multiple baskets. You never know if a developer will decide to publish an opportunity on one medium and not the other. Image is linked to sign up if you need to.
Check out these links to go directly to a few of the most valuable Facebook pages to like and/or befriend.
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Forums
Home forums, both official and unofficial, are full of likeminded users who will be searching for E3 exclusives. These resources can be infinitely valuable for split second code-grabs. While it could be easy to get lost in the barrage of posts that will no doubt be piling in, you’ll want to keep these sites up and refreshing to try to catch any posts that might contain valuable information in your quest for code glory!
Follow the links below to navigate to some of the most robust forums in the Home community.
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Friends
Perhaps one of the greatest resources will be your Home Friends. Together you can lead a synergistic attack by presenting a united front against the impending frenzy of E3. Check your messages often and keep an eye on comments. If you find a code and have verified that it is still active, feel free to spam your friends to try to give them access to whatever treasure it is that you’ve found.
A Trusted Friend or two
This is a tricky one. The E3 event will last four days and many Home players won’t be able to be able to log in for 12+ hours each day. There is a real chance of codes coming and going without the busier among us ever knowing any were offered, until friends show up with that codes reward and that sense of longing and desire settles in. This leads to the gnashing of teeth, clenching of fists and throwing of controllers, and none of that is the desired result of the E3 festivities.
There is, however, a way for users to maintain near constant access to their account whilst they go about their day to day lives performing the varied tasks of the day. Be the task a job, taking care of fledgling gamers, or whatever other life obligations most people usually have, not everyone can be at the virtual E3 for the duration of the event.
But first, a disclaimer:
It is recommended that you never give your PSN password to anyone for any reason whatsoever. Doing so could result in your account being stolen and permanent loss of access. HSMagazine.net nor any of its writers or editors condone or encourage such practices be observed.
If you MUST give one or two of your absolute best and most trusted friends access to your account so they can enter codes for you in your absence, there are a couple of things you should do to protect yourself. It’s nice to remember: a little paranoia can go a long way.
First you’re going to want to remove any and all personal information from your account. This includes credit card and address information. While you may trust your friends explicitly, it’s always better to remove temptations so that there are never any questions as to what your friend was able to do with your account.
Next, empty out your PSN wallet; or at the bare minimum, note the amount it contains. This way, you know if anything was purchased under your account while it was out of your direct control.
Lastly, change your password to something new and completely different from any other password you have ever used. This password should only be used for this temporary power of attorney you are granting your most deeply trusted friends over your PSN account. After the E3 event has passed, it is recommended that you once again change your password to something new so that access can once again be retained by you and you alone.
Remember, even if you’re follow these tips, giving anyone other than yourself access to your PSN account is explicitly recommended against.
PSN on PC
If you’re the type of Home gamer that has a laptop handy it is highly recommended that you have it near while you enjoy the E3 events. You can log onto the SEN through your web browser and have it up and running while you remain in Home on your PS3. This is by far the most efficient way to redeem your codes as soon as possible without having to suffer through the arduous task of re-loading Home after each and every code redemption.
Just click the image to the right to sign in to the SEN.
Virtual E3 Booth
Since Sony will yet again be hosting E3 at the virtual booth in PlayStation Home this year it is recommended you set up shop early and remain put. You should disperse your friends to as many different instances of the virtual booth as possible, all the while maintaining a direct line of contact through the Group Chat features of Home. With the magic of virtual space you can spread your presence to as many E3 Home booths as possible, just in case there’s that stray code that gets released in one and not the other.
Keep in mind, it’s possible that the 2012 E3 regalia will be different from the years before and this E3 event could feature openly available codes that are offered in unlimited quantities. It’s impossible to know exactly what Sony, Home, and its developers have in store for us.
Thankfully, With these tools you will have at your disposal a near complete PlayStation Home E3 2012 Survival Kit. This kit, if used properly, should dramatically increase your chances at having a successful E3 this year. However, it is important to remember that not every situation can be planned for and any other tools and developer or community websites you can add to your kit will only increase your chances of winning.
If you know of any resources that weren’t mentioned in this article please leave them in the comments section below.
And remember: Have fun and be safe. See you at the PlayStation Home virtual E3 booth!
June 4th, 2012 by Gideon | 8 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.
I understand from a pretty reliable source that there will be no voucher codes this year to grab from the Home booth, but other Home swag will be available That also doesn’t mean to say that 3rd party Home devs will not have codes are something awesome and exclusive to give out
I really hope that’s the case Homeboy. of course, if that IS the case then some of the excitement of the E3 Home experience will be lost. It’s a double edged platypus really.
Either way, having a kit such as this at your disposal will keep you informed and up to date during the E3 events, as well as throughout the Home year!
E3 looks like a lot of fun again. I loved that commercial it was funny. I will keep your ideas in mind Gid, as always you are on top of things in Home. Nice read.
Thanks Burbie. I agree about E3. I can’t wait for the festivities. I REALLY hope the codes aren’t limited this year. As much as I enjoy the hunt my schedule is just far too cramped to put the time it took last year and the year before to get codes.
Also, am I the only one who raised an eyebrow at the commercial suggesting a kid who is obviously younger than 13 hop on Home to visit the E3 booth?
At it now, just watched a long game-play trailer for The Last of Us and maaaan, it just blew me AWAY! I cannot WAIT for this game!
AND you have four more days of Home E3 festivities!
Good point Gideon, I guess the only response to that would be “WOOOO-HOOOO!” LOL
Last night’s live streaming of Sony’s E3 presentation was fun. Although I found it somewhat odd that Sony merely re-skinned nDreams’ Musicality personal space to make the Forum space. I guess they felt having it in one of the theatres wasn’t special enough.
Also, the rewards unlocked after 30 minutes and one hour of viewing were unexpected, and quite nice.
Looking forward to exploring the virtual E3 booth later on today. Rewards, ho!