LOOT Portable Radio: and There Was Much Rejoicing
“Wow…somehow you’ve managed to cause some Home-drool with absolutely no specifics whatsoever. Again.”
–johneboy1970
by NorseGamer, HSM Editor-in-Chief
I’ve had to rewrite this opening paragraph three times, because I keep looking at LOOT’s latest PR for their portable radios, and the English language suddenly consists of only three words: HOLY F__ING S___.
I even tried rearranging the words to come up with deeper meanings, subtexts, double entendres and a reference to Chauncey Gardiner. But then I went to the fridge and found all my Red Bull gone after a sixty-hour work week, so screw that. You get a normal opening.
It’s not that the portable radio is necessarily some great revelation; it’s been a matter of public knowledge for about half a year, and I was allowed to see it fourteen months ago when I visited LOOT’s offices last year. Keep in mind that what I saw was already in development (and likely had to be reworked due to some of the core updates which have taken place in the interim), so that gives you some idea of just how long it takes to develop complex virtual commodities and work through the blizzard of paperwork and QA involved. Remember that the next time you see someone going off like Baby Herman over at the Sony forum, “Whine whine ive been askin fr stuf fr liek frever an nbody listns home sux yall dont care bout us lol” — because those people need to be beaten. Beaten like the club owner in Cabaret. Make it happen.
The purists amongst us will point out that LOOT Radio still falls short of Ye Holy Writ Phil Harrison Promo Video from 1878, when it was proposed that Home users could stream their own music into their personal estates. Yeah, and you know what? We also haven’t colonized Mars, cured anything since polio, or gotten Lindsay Lohan the hell off my TV. So it’s an imperfect world. Wake the frak up and be happy for the progress we have made, dammit. You can’t imagine the licensing headaches involved with this.
I’ll give you an example. One of the businesses I used to manage received a letter from ASCAP, demanding licensing fees roughly equivalent to the GDP of China for the next eleventy-billion years, because our employees were playing legally-purchased music from their iTunes accounts in a retail environment over the establishment’s speakers. So rather than go through a bank reconciliation from hell, we simply turned on the radio — because radio stations have already paid for blanket broadcasting licenses in commercial retail settings.
So yes, it’s a big deal that we have RadioIO in Home. And it comes as no surprise that LOOT is the dev team behind this.
Look, all development houses are not created equal. Yes, it’s amazing what a one-man show can pull off in Home (which is one of the many aspects of it that makes it so lucrative). But let’s be frank: LOOT’s got some amazing resources at their disposal, not the least of which is its personnel. I’ve met these guys more than once; hand them a cardboard tube, a straw and a bit of tinfoil and they’ll have a radio telescope set up by lunch. More importantly, though: at a time when every Home developer ought to be looking at what resources should be committed to a future beyond Home, it’s exciting to see such major projects coming to fruition for what is currently Home’s golden age.
“25 item slots!? OMG it’s so unfair!!!!!”
Is there a drawback to the LOOT Radio? Sure. It takes up twenty-five furniture slots. Which, when you consider that we’re in an era where active items can be coded down to the smallest memory footprint possible, gives you an idea of just how massive this thing is. And some of the same aforementioned troglodytes are going bugnuts on the Sony forum, issuing forth proclamations without much of any actual knowledge as to how Home functions behind the scenes. No, I’m not saying I’m an unquestionable expert on the subject either, but spend a couple of years as a Home journalist, getting to know various development teams, and even helping to enhance a Home game at Sony VASG’s offices…you get a somewhat decent look at what’s on the other side of the curtain.
(Even if we take all of that out of the equation, though, let’s not overlook the obvious: if it were possible to shrink the memory footprint for the radio down any lower, LOOT would have done so. Why? Because it would make it easier to sell. Like, duh.)
Besides, complaining about the hefty memory footprint for being able to play loads of music in any personal estate of your choice is a bit like refusing to watch Emmanuelle because there’s too much plot. You’ll survive.
Let’s take this one step further. LOOT Radio is one of the most hotly-anticipated virtual commodities in the history of Home. So let’s assume that the price tag for it is some ungodly high number. Let’s say it’s fifty bucks. Let’s say it’s a hundred.
SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!!
…you’ll buy it anyway.
END SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!!
Why will you (spoiler) anyway? Because it’s that awesome. Because you’ve waited for it longer than Godot. Because you’re sick and tired of playing the R2 game with a headset jammed up against your laptop, trying to pipe in some Van Halen and it sounds like Harvey Fierstein in a blender. So stop whinging before I set you up on a therapy session with Terra_Cide.
(No, for real. Even Chopper Read would think twice about that.)
What you should be thinking about, right now, is where you’re going to place your new LOOT radio. What estates you own that will benefit the best from music. Because you’re probably not going to gut your furniture arrangements for every single estate just to shoehorn in the radio; you’ll probably have a few estates in which you decide music is appropriate for how you use it, and those are the ones you’ll have to play furniture Jenga with.
Again, though, we’re dealing with details, and details are those annoying things in between the Michael Bay explosions. Because here’s the bottom line: you’re about to have LOOT Radio in Home, which you and I and a whole lot of other people have been waiting for — for a very, very long time. The only people who should really be complaining right now are all the other Home developers, because LOOT’s radio has effectively eliminated an entire market segment — musical items — with one Alexandrian stroke. Just as Juggernaut effectively killed active beds with their decorative lounger, so LOOT has rendered obsolete the need to ever again develop a music item in Home.
In billiards, we call that a bank shot.
Well done once again, LOOT. Your reputation as Home’s bleeding-edge technological innovators, who consistently break the fourth wall and narrow the distance between our world and the virtual world, is quite secure.
November 18th, 2012 by NorseGamer | 18 comments
NorseGamer is the product manager for LOOT Entertainment at Sony Pictures, as well as the founder and publisher of HomeStation Magazine. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, he holds a B.A. in English/Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and presently lives in Los Angeles. All opinions expressed in HSM are solely his and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sony DADC.
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A Radio really IS useful because it really does bridge the gap between the virtual and REAL. Music is a great way for people to socialise in your private space.
It just helps in conversations too ‘You like that song?, is this the kind of music you listen to?’
It’s also something of which illustrates your own individual personality that little bit more
Great read! The Cheekster LIKES
I was among those hoping for a lower footprint for the radio than the tv had. As you said, it’s obvious that if LOOT could had done it thats what they would had done. I love the jukebox. I looked for one for a long time and I know I’m not the only one. The reel to reel is simply a genius idea. but but but… I dont know if I can fit a 25 slots item in my “party place”, the Neptune suite.
I just finished re-furnishing the place with the new rock beat box from nDream. Finally the (huge) place look nice. The music is good enough to be there an hour without being annoyed by the repetition like the old playground radio.
If I really want a long party I’ll just use my LOOT space station I think. It’s no one fault and congratulation to LOOT for the remarkable look on their radio. But right now, with the current 100 slots limit. Theres just no place I can install it.
I can’t wait for this. I will be adding it to my club houses, that is where it will be used the most. If I want personal spaces to be used the first one that comes to mind is the Silicon Lounge because it is to huge to completely decorate anyway. So I will make a dance floor out of the dance floor. I already have the Yacht and Hollywood Hills for music in personals when it comes to that, but I think every club owner on the Home planet will be buying one of these. All I can say is FINALLY!!!!Thanks Loot!
And that’s exactly my problem with all this Burbie, you *think* you have a radio in your Hollywood House, and your space station and your yacht, but you DONT. Not anymore anyways. Go on, have a look at the “stations” they’ve replaced the actual radio with.
It’s obviously possible to have BOTH at the same time, which I’m sure we’ll get eventually, but not until they’ve sold 50 bazillion radios first. Count me out, I’m protesting with my wallet here. Unless, y’know, I get drunk and REALLY NEED TUUUNES! *ahem*
Till that happens, put me with the whingers and idiots in their chorus of complaint.
So cynical! Heh. The potential for this is huge! And in decorating terms the applications endless -- what if we could buy a piano with only classical or modern jazz piano songs attached? Or now with the new emotes we could buy a guitar our avi could actually pick up that actually plays our favorite guitar music- solving the licensing issues alone is phenomenal! Having a bunch of musician friends I am all for an artist getting paid- but the ambiguous legal issues concerning music licensing are ridiculous- at some point for all parties concerned there will need to be revisions and clarifications that address new media outlets like Home. Artists have got to balance exposure with intellectual property rights and payment -time and time again I have seen articles written about how exposure actually increases sales- and yet we are all stuck with an industry standard that is stifling and archaic- kudos to LOOT for actually taking that on!
Now if we could just actually increase the capabilities of the personal mic in home- or even get a foot pedal opperated R2 button that would allow us the abort to hav a “hands-free” talking/sound experience I for one would be thoroughly delighted!
Norse this was an awesome article -great news for someone that looks on music as a staple closely akin to water or food. Please tell the staff at Loot that I am extremely grateful and will be snatching up their product as soon as it hits the shelves!
Stupid auto correct !
*opportunity to have
Not
Abort to hav
To quote the amazing (but cynical) Mr. K, auto-correct makes me “look like a tool”
I like your idea of solo pieces attached to interactive items Riff, that would be very VERY cool but what I’m saying here is that DESPITE their large item-slot Hollywood Hills, Space Station ans Sanitori Yacht ALL had a working TV *and* radio built in. I always thought Loot’s Space Station had a sub-title of “plugged in” as a delicate hint that it also gave you access to what, 20 streaming radio stations as well as all the other Crackle stuff.
If they’re going to remove these “plugged in” functions they should reduce the price of the spaces. Would you keep paying for Sky if they kept removing channels?
Listen if they have to sell the radio to pay for the research and attny fees or pay BMI or ASCAP I am all for laying down my dollar- I am fortunate to have a disposable income and enjoy the fact that my dollars are going to an industy that provides jobs to artists, musicians, writers and some of the most savvy and innovative computer techs this day and age has to offer- for me that is an added bonus. I just think that there there is probably a deeper reason for that separation than we are aware of… Perhaps it has to do with licensing rights.
That’s a fine and just reason to part with your dollar for Home stuff Riff, and I know you’re a strong supporter of the arts -- which I applaud, but it can’t be a licensing thing since they had the functions built in from the beginning. It’s only since Loot decided to separate the two and sell them off as individual items that *my* regular streaming content has begun to slowly disappear. I’m not having a go at you here, please don’t think that; what I’m saying is (to me) it’s pretty obvious Loot are cashing in, but they seem to be ruining their own creations in the process.
I’m happy about the radio’s and TVs being made for other spaces, that’s great, but what I don’t get is why they have to take away the functionality of the really great spaces they’ve made themselves. Surely they could leave those alone? What this now means is that even though I’ve paid for these functions in THREE spaces already, I’ll now have to loose 25 item slots of meticulous decorating AND pay AGAIN, just to get back the ORIGINAL functions of the space when I first paid for it. I know as a Home user I have no official rights to even complain about this, but I won’t lie about feeling like I’ve been taken for a ride here.
I never look on a differing opinion as a personal attack.
I dont really mind someone “taking a go” at me I think I am wise enough and intelligent enought to hold my own in a good debate -As long as it is not an attack on my character and I think the magazine tends to foster that attitude. And that is “For the Record” thank you very much. I dont have a problem with LOOT “cashing in” and here is why: Businesses are out there to make a profit. (most of them anyway). Not only do they create jobs and pay current employees with their profits but in this case they channel money into developement and research to make cool new items. As this is BETA there is no “ENTITLEMENT” -Much like testers our role is to experience new things and let the developers learn by what sells and what doesn’t -They also learn from forums like this.
I can say this -If there is anything on god’s green earth I would give up 25 slots for (This is so ta-da! in comparison to real life matters lol! heh) and would pay twice for with absolutely no buyer’s remorse -It would be Music.
And the item is flippen PORTABLE so you can have it in as many spaces as you desire not just designated spots… so maybe you dont have it in Hollywood Hills instead you have it in Harbor Bay were 75 itmes goes quite a bit farther. I guess I am just not the guy sitting in the lazy boy recliner, flying at the speed of sound, complaining because the stewardess has not yet brought me my peanuts. heh. Instead I see what this means for the future of social programing on Playstation- and they may be behind the times with some of their abilities but honestly I know xbox players come here to socialize…so…my consumer loyalty has not taken a hit because a business wants to make a profit. I understand why there is a contract we agree to that allows companies to make changes because we are on a BETA. I think that Playstation and Sony and LOOT have an innate understanding that there is room for improvement and that is why they read forums like this and listen to their consumers.
In fact we were asking for portable radios and now one of the developers did create it- and now to whindge and complain about what we asked for seems quite selfish and demeanding -even petualant… but I am not “having a go at anyone’s character” when I say that. I am just saying I am thrilled that they are progressing in what they know and what they can do. LOOT is as Norse says is “F--king” astounding at pushing the tecnological envelope- Lets not forget that they brought us EOD and without that we would never even have had the room to have a sense of entitlement about a PORTABLE soure of music.
That’s fine, I agree with you about what you’ve said. I just dont see why the radio had to be removed from the spaces that had it already built in. I’m happy to have portable radios in my other spaces, but why should I have to juggle the furniture in 3 of my spaces to accommodate something that was already there without any fuss in the first place?
Maybe I’m being a whinge about this, but we had both things at once before without any problems. I guess it comes down to the hand that feeds just says no? I’ll deal with it, but I’m never gonna be happy about it.
Yeah we did have both and now we don’t- In the immortal words of the Stones, “you can’t always get what you want… But if you try sometime you just might find you get what you need.” I think we will all survive.
It feels like I’ve been waiting for this since Homer was a pup. And now I’m all bouncy-bouncy, planning what to do with it. Way to go, LOOT developers! And Sony legal department!
As I have mentioned to anyone who stands still long enough to look like an audience, my low bandwidth issues make video in Home impractical for me. So I was glad that LOOT decoupled video and audio, especially since the combined package would have been a staggering 50 slots, or close to it. I can do 25. Not everywhere, mind you — some spaces are all about the furniture. But others definitely have the space, especially if I’ve been using a 22-slot item to provide music up to now. The hard choice will be whether to replace a Brimstone Dancer with a radio. The soundtrack will be better with a radio, but the dancers add atmosphere to a place, and their music can stand a lot of repetition. I may have to swap them in and out, according my current social and decorating needs.
Which leads to my next “gimme please” request — furniture arrangement save slots! If I have an apartment with a private-time furniture configuration and a party configuration, it would be nice to be able to swap them in and out like we currently swap clubhouse skins. Want the radio? Go with the radio arrangement. Prefer a private evening with Dusty the Golden? Load that furniture set. And so on.
But meanwhile, thank you LOOT coding ninjas! And also the Sony legal sharks-in-suits… I know you were involved in this too. This is epic stuff. We now have all we want for Christmas.
Oh, one thing more — is there any chance for an in-home Internet radio receiver? For picking up all those other Internet radio stations out there? The ones that have already handled all the licensing stuff so you don’t have to. Sorry — it was just a question. I’ll go back to drooling now.
…
I have been waiting for this to come out for months… since I had first heard about it.
We all love music and need it in our lives. How wonderful is this… that we can now listen to the music we love while we decorate and enjoy the company of our friends in Home.
Thank you!!!! Finally.
I’m looking forward to the LOOT radios even though I don’t know what music will be able to be played. If they’re the same stations as the LOOT TV on the LOOT Yacht, I’ll be able to turn on the 50s and 60s music or any other. (The LOOT TVs for private spaces have a radio station that plays Frank Sinatra, Michael Buble, Diana Krall style music).
If we can buy songs in the same manner as iTunes works that will certainly be interesting.
I’m not concerned much with the size 25 slots they apparently will take because for a long time we’ve bought boom boxes of that size without much complaint. Yes, we have smaller slot size music players and that’s great. I;ll just remove some 25 slot music players like the Playground boom box or the Grand Piano “Moonlight Sonata” player and replace them with the new radios (assuming I like them). There will always be a place somewhere for the Grand Piano however.
I’m looking forward to this, the future, almost the present.
This is very tempting, VERY tempting! I love the idea, but as a deco guy, I can’t spare 25 slots. Long ago I gave up on active items. The 22 slots was too much for a ‘crowd-a-holic’ like me, as anyone who has seen my Vigilaium can attest. Maybe I’ll get one when I see one in action, but the slots economy is rough, though kudos to LOOT, this is a great idea, mostly. 25 slots, rough for a deco guy. I’m tired with a headache, so sorry for repeating myself. 25 slots, hmm, I’m gonna think on that a lil’
In a world where other social applications like IMVU allow over 900 internet radio channels and your own music playlists to be played, home is very much behind in this area. Bear in mind that these will only work in NA and Canada and will probably switch off if anyone outside them regions visits your space. Same issue as original EOD sorry friend but your not from this region so I cant invite you to the party