Comments on: How Important Is “Community” to Home?

By: riff

riff — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 02:18:41 +0000

Economics is a very interesting subject and one that you always seem to capitalize on Norse (forgive the pun there. -Just a little sick bean counting humor). There are such “Choice” comments on this article I think that I add to this line of power commentators only as an afterthought.

However, I am what is the most growing demographic in PSH- not that I am “average” (except maybe in math) to any stretch of the imagination… but if we use me as a Marketing Rodent -I could enlighten you all on a few things:

1. I started Home maybe coming up on two years ago now.

2. I had no interest in gaming at all- not what-so-ever.. not in the least- or as our dear friend Krazy would say “not even a wee bit.”

3. I bought my PS3 because of the fact that it had a blue ray and if I ever decided to try a game I could.

4. For a good solid year and a half I never even touched a game on Home except maybe orb runner or some promotional thing… to get free stuff -heh… but only if the prize was something I was interested in (more marketing advice).

5. With the help and encouragement of friends I actually started playing some games in the space- except most of them did not much interest me as I am not into shooting for fun or in racing all the time.

6. After meeting some friends that were mature and into gaming I found myself more and more curious about this little subculture of humanity. Do grown-ups really play games? -“why, yes Mrs. Flintstone they do!”

7. I was so curious that I actually bought Journey and Little Big Planet2 (which is an artist’s dream- and should be what Home is really like). Talking talking and moving mouths and everything… very nice.

8. Why did I buy these two games? Because after surfing around PSH and playing a few social games with friends on PSH that were helping me learn how to do so, I felt confident enough to want to play. I would have never bought them if there had not initially been that social aspect of a centralized platform.

9. Mercia was over the hump for me. When you can go into a game and play it with other people and talk about the events of that game with them that is the next step… but I would ask Marketers who am I going to play Mercia with if I have not already met friends I want to go with? Sure I could meet people there but what if I want to go with other people that I meet and do things with elsewhere? How am I gonna find them?

10. Conclusion- The social part of Home is very VERY important for bringing my demographic in. I am a professional woman and selling me on gaming from the outset is just a ridiculous thought. -More than that I have disposable income to spend on fun. I could go down to the local jazz joint and have a cosmo with the girls instead. But lets say I want to socialize in my fuzzy housecoat instead… wow that is a lot easier.

Glass of wine and chocolates- flannel jammies and tank top- mud mask on my face and I am socializing -gotta love it! BRB I gotta scrub my mask off

By: Gary160974

Gary160974 — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 04:22:09 +0000

It makes good business sense to have, the have and have nots. but its not just that its also the people that cause grief to others by various different means to make themselves feel better. You cant go on home without seeing it. most things on home happen in real life but arent as in your face as they are on home, the haves and have nots dont wind each other up in the front of the X7 club in real life. Its whether you go on home to enjoy yourself or to enjoy yourself at the expense of others enjoyment and currently it feels self centered and geared towards enjoyment at the expense of others. which plays to the gamer in us all. but doesnt make the community important.

By: ted2112

ted2112 — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 22:16:53 +0000

Great Article Norse, I think community is very important to Home and games in general. Game come and go, and the big thing now, usually isn’t down the road. A community gives a game like Home, an infinite shelf life. I feel with many people they come to Home for the games and stay with the community.

By: KrazyFace

KrazyFace — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 18:37:27 +0000

I see what you’re saying Gary, that there’s a divide between the have and have-nots but, like most places even in the real world, this will come about anyway. Some choose to just not spend in Home, I was one of those who chose to use Home as a purely social platform. Hell, I even laughed at those who spent money on anything for the first two YEARS of my Home-life! But then I found more time for it in my daily life, and began investing in it to make my time spent there a little better. Now, there’s no stopping me! That’s why I came across to the US; better deals on better items and even (dare I say it) a better community.

I do think that Home’s differing community would greatly benefit from spaces geared towards music themed demographics though, that’s an excellent idea. All we have right now is that rage place that I visited once to erm, yeah, get the free stuff lol.

By: gary160974

gary160974 — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:03:52 +0000

A lot of micro community’s have been born due to them having to, homes not very well set up for social users. Gamers play games is a given but if you wanted to meet users that liked say country music where would you go. If I wanted to meet users that were my age where would I go. Music and age play a key part in most social groups. Look how many hang around areas that have music. But say we had several hubs one for teens 20s 30s over 40s or even better different hubs for music as most people that like a certain type of music fall into similar demographics. That would give home a wider social appeal appeal than its got. But as a previous article said we have become reliant on freebies too much. The mediocre games are going to have a short shelf life either because users have got all the rewards or the hysteria around them has gone. So us as social animals make our own community’s. But that breeds a sort of misuse, ie fams which on home seem to sent up like the mafia but the original fams before home were more like a virtual family. There seems to be a competitive edge on home that perhaps comes from being a gamer. A competitive nature that gets brought out by someone wearing or not wearing a gold suit. Homes there to make us all feel better about ourselves just currently it’s geared towards I feel better than you, so we as users either embrace that. Or do our own thing.

By: Godzprototype

Godzprototype — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 22:29:23 +0000

How important is community to Sony? This platform offers much more than other platforms that offer a metaverse. Games.
Yes people relate to the games offered because they like playing these games together.
Purpose in Home depends on the community you either sample, or become a part of. I am sure there has been a lot learned from this business model, that will carry on in the next iteration of whatever metaverse is created.
It will have as much soul as the users that frequent give it. If Home lost it’s community, I venture to say it would collapse.
Betting on new users without giving them purpose is a losing hand. Market deeper experiences to those that find Home to be more than a game. A place to call Home.
You will win everytime, and create something people WILL want to break out there wallet for. To have, and share those experiences. Home really is much more than a game, no matter what it is being marketed for. I would have to say, that is it’s strength. So to KrazyFace, I agree!
How that white square box is presented is something Playstation Home has in their hands.

By: Burbie52

Burbie52 — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:31:20 +0000

I agree KrazyFace. We are social creatures and we need to have that in Home or it wouldn’t last six months. There are many varied interests in Home, many represented by clubs or other social groups, some gaming related some not. Decorators clubs, the Grey Gamers, the fashionistas,the glitchers, the Homelings are all things done outside the gaming part. These are totally social, and I believe they would exist outside the games in Home.
If you put a bunch of gamers in a room for awhile with nothing but some string, paper and glue, many would come up with their own games to pass the time. It is the same with the people in Home, they have come up with their own meta-games and done it in a social setting, thereby creating their own little communities. Great article Norse, you bring up some important points that need to be looked at closely by those involved.

By: KrazyFace

KrazyFace — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 07:46:14 +0000

It’s a double edged sword though, isn’t it? On one hand you need people to get into a trend or game to make back the money invested, and of course, generate more money for the next installment. On the other hand, you cant do that without a decent kind of following (or community) behind said endeavor. Delicate balance indeed. Poke that jenga tower with the Stick of Competition and we can see why the Home businesses do what they do.

However, humans are social creatures by nature, and need little to no provocation to form groups and social circles. I dare say if you stripped Home down to nothing but bare white rooms leaving nothing more than interaction with each other there would still be regular users coming in each day. There’d be a MASSIVE exodus sure, but like me, there are people who use Home first and foremost as a way of ‘getting out’ and meeting new people. All the bells and whistles are just pleasant distractions to folks like me I’d say, but then, I’ve been into Home since the start and have cone from having nothing more than a purely social experience with it, and watched it turn into the bikini-fest it is today.