The Call For A Choice
by Gideon, HSM team writer
Home has undergone quite a few changes over the past year. The loss of IREM still aches in the hearts of many. The major overhaul that brought us the Hub continues to be marred by residual longing for Central Plaza. The removal of a few of the most beloved spaces — Red Bull, Ratchet and Clank and Gamer’s Lounge — left sour tastes in the mouth of more than a few. Now, not two months after the loss of those spaces, the Home community prepares for what could be described as an expulsion of some of most historical spaces within this beloved virtual world. The continued deletion of the most treasured public spaces seems to be salting a festering wound of shredded sinew that has been ripped open by a steady cadence of revisions to Home under the banner of much needed change.
Right about now, many who are reading this are likely thinking that change is inevitable. That Home must grow and evolve as a program to remain viable and fresh. That in this digital age new and exciting content is what keeps customers coming back to any entertainment medium time and time again. That space must be made on the servers for this new content. That Sony is delivering new and fresh content that will be better than before. That no one was using these spaces anyway, so no one will miss them.
To these arguments, and others in the support for the so called evolution of Home, I say: poppycock.
While change itself is inevitable, Home needn’t change destructively.
Some clarification might be in order: let’s consider, for the purpose of this article, that there are two types of change, constructive and destructive.
The loss of the Resident Evil 5 Space is going to hurt
Constructive change causes an entity to develop into more than it was, without disrupting its original purpose, state, or intent. These changes usually occur in our lives in ways that enrich and enhance our world. With constructive changes, we feel our world expand and envelop even more possibilities than before. This can readily be seen in document addendums, additions to structures, or the learning of a new skill. Even modern videogames benefit from the constructive change of DLC. By adding to the available modes, maps and features, videogames have become a more robust experience than ever before.
Destructive change removes and/or replaces portions of an entity and is intended to encourage growth and offer improvements upon the original. Many times, the destructive changes in our lives can be difficult and painful. Pruning a plant, upgrading a computer, or the training of a soldier could all be considered destructive change. Sometimes such change is necessary; demolishing a condemned building to construct a more modern and safe environment for workers is an example of how destructive change can be ideal.
Whether it be constructive or destructive, change in the physical world is inevitable. It is the way we delineate the passage of time. It is how we measure our successes and failures. It’s how we grow and it’s how the world develops.
But, that’s in the real world, not Home.
I really REALLY like the The Pixeljunk Shooter space, despite it never changing.
Home has the distinctive pleasure of being part of a virtual landscape that, for the most part, needs little in the way of change to exist. Unlike the real world, if Home were left alone, it would not evolve, it would not develop. It has no underlying forces that are driving it forward to change. This can be seen in the agelessness of the avatars. There are many who have been on Home for years that choose to use the same avatar each time they visit. This virtual representation of themselves is unaffected by tide of time and changes only through the whims of the user.
However, Home is influenced by the inevitability of change of the real world. Home must adapt to the changing desires of the consumers, the industry, the developers, and Sony. The question of change becomes moot. Without change Home would effectively die. So the question becomes: What kind of change is best suited for a program such as Home?
For the first few years, the changes within Home seemed to embrace the ideals of constructiveness. Home seemed to be a world that would grow to envelop a massive and eclectic gathering of spaces, games, and players. Building upon its base, Home evolved from Closed Beta to Open Beta with little destructive change, except for the different Central Plaza and the removal of voice chat. It wasn’t until the removal of the Warhawk space that the Home community began to understand that there was a very real possibility of regular destructive change within PlayStation Home, that their beloved spaces were susceptible to outright permanent removal from their virtual world.
Contract over? More like K.O. :(
While there certainly are valid reasons for the removal of spaces within Home, chief among them being the ending of contractual obligation, there is no reason that destructive change couldn’t be met with constructive change to lessen the impact on the Home community. After all, it is the community that supports Home and pumps small stacks of PSN cards into its coffers on a consistent basis. By not revering the Home community enough to embrace the very real sense of affectionate nostalgia many feel toward this virtual world, Sony is washing away part of what has made Home so enticing to so many of it’s devoted players, a sense of belonging.
Many players enjoy Home for the history they have cultivated between its pixilated walls. There have been clubs founded, marriages performed, and random encounters that developed into what will be life-long bonds between people on the opposite sides of the globe. Each space that is introduced into Home offers more than a couple of rewards and a place to casually dance — it offers a place where memories can be seeded and experiences can be sown. By removing any space permanently from Home, Sony is forcing destructive change upon the community, removing from its users the very spaces in which they have found memories, laughter and tears. A place that could have been a haven from the coldly cruel changing nature of the real world ends up offering the same disappointing longing for what once was.
Sentiment aside, it is unreasonable to suggest that Sony keep every single space that is ever introduced into PlayStation Home open and available to its Home users. While Home is a free service that has been the birthplace for an entirely new community and culture, it is also the foundation for business and must remain a viable profit source in order to survive. Each space that is available consumes resources and resources cost money. There is, however, a middle ground. The Home community has long called for public spaces that have reached the end of their significance to be offered up for sale.
Would you buy Sully’s if it were up for sale?
If the impending removal of a public space were accompanied with the release of a private version of that very space, Home would experience a constructive change that would not only satisfy the needs of Sony but also the desires of the community and the individual Home user. There is, however, the question of how the space would be offered as a purchasable item.
As a Private Space, these spaces would offer a new way to be experienced and enjoyed. Many Home players would giggle with delight at the opportunity of decorating Central Plaza with an array of digital furniture and virtual knickknacks.
As Clubs, these spaces would be open to all members of the club at all times. This would effectively simulate, for club members, the accessibility of the public space while allowing the club owner to add their own flair and decorations.
As Historical Spaces, a concept conceived for this article, these spaces would retain the integrity and accessibilities they possessed as public spaces, only privately. Historical Spaces would require the owner to be present for others to visit and would not offer the decorative abilities of Private Spaces. The trade would be that Historical Spaces would retain their user cap, enabling owners to invite sixty of their friends to private gatherings.
Yes, even this space deserves preservation!
Public spaces being offered as private spaces in any way would be preferable to their outright removal. Sony could even offer them for a limited time so that the personal space / clubhouse market doesn’t get saturated with previously public spaces vying for the walleted dollar of the casual Home shopper. After all, the appeal of previously public spaces for private purchase would primarily be for those who were present for the spaces’ public showing, and those numbers would decrease with time. A limited release would also allow Home to grow in whatever direction its financers deem necessary. The release of the Hub might not have been met with distain and dismissal if Central Plaza were available for purchase.
If this were the practice, PlayStation Home would experience constructive change in the wake of destruction. Instead of forcing what could prove be an unneeded change that could negatively impact the culture and profit model of Home, Sony would ensure both the success of Home and the satisfaction of its users. Veteran users who may have become attached to specific spaces would remain content and Home developers would be free to offer new spaces to entice fresh players into the virtual world. This constructive change in the current method of handling outdated spaces would offer Home users the one thing they aren’t currently being given: a choice.
June 18th, 2012 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.
HERE HERE…Bravo! Thank you Gideon for this direct and insightful article. I couldn’t agree more with what you wrote. A choice would be wonderful. I went by the listed spaces on the “virtual wrecking ball’s” list. These spaces are dear to me. I am sorry to see them go. It makes you wonder which ones are next. Soon there won’t be any of the first ones I visited when I came to Home.
thanks again Gideon
My pleasure Phoenix. I had actually had this article in the back of my mind since the Warhawk space was removed. I loved that space and would have gladly dropped ten bucks for it. Luckily I have the personal space that sates my appetite for Warhawk in Home.
The removal of the Closed Beta spaces really surprised me. I really thought those were mainstays. Sort of leaving the origin of Home alone for posterities sake. I guess I was wrong on that one, eh?
That is an extremely interesting concept. I love the idea of being able to buy a space that can house 64 of my friends for events and parties. That would be a huge boon to clubs that have outgrown their clubhouses like the Grey Gamers has. It would also prevent trolls from interfering when you are trying to do a fashion shoe or something. Great idea, hope someone is listening.
Yep, part of my point is there is a good chunch of earning potential that is being ignored.
The real question is, would the juice be worth the squeeze? Would Sony make the money back from the conversion process?
I guess for these spaces, and those removed before, we will never know.
Fashion Show*
LOL, *fashion shoe!
Yeah, good idea there Gideon. That’s exactly the way my brain went when I got about halfway down your article. I’d imagine you couldn’t have as many people in there as the official public space could accommodate but it would be nice to be able to visit these lost spaces from time to time. I can’t say I was ever attached to the Home Square or Central Plaza quite as much as some of my Home friends though, I don’t get the lamenting of its loss really. Even Granzella (which I enjoyed) has passed from my mind now, maybe it’s just part of my coping mechanism lol. Great read BTW.