Life Support Mentality
by Phoenix, HSM team writer
Lately in Home, there have been public spaces that are empty, all but for the echo of my avatar’s footsteps.
It would seem Home is losing its throngs of avid users. Obviously we have only personal observation and anecdotal evidence to work from, and perhaps the service is still profitable, but next-generation consoles appear to be taking an enormous bite out of the visiting crowds that used to fill places like the Playground and the Action District.
Has Home come to its final leg of life? Is this change in populace due to the still unanswered question of Home’s transition to PS4? Or has Home simply lost its attraction? I have noticed this slow decline for weeks now. These spaces have always been stuffed with people in the three years that I have been on Home — but not any more.
One reason I surmised for the shift in crowds form some spaces has been the addition of the Challenges, introduced some three months ago. But I don’t think it to be the sole reason for the lack of Home users present any more. The general consensus is that Home is, at long last, actually dying; that Home has seen its heyday and is now singing its swan song — not because of the next generation of consoles, but because of hearsay and speculation.
True, there is a pervading feeling of languidness that the population of Home is feeling. I too have felt it. It is perhaps a helplessness that has been allowed to surface from the uncertainty of Home’s future. The attitude of, “Why bother?” is present. Why bother coming into Home if it will not appear on the PS4? Why bother if Sony won’t give a direct and conclusive answer?
Why bother, indeed.
Home was not created to last forever. Home had no set timeframe or limit for its lifespan. Home has suffered more than a few mishaps, which have perhaps scarred it irretrievably.
But for what it’s worth, Home is still here: perhaps for just a little while longer, perhaps for years to come. It doesn’t matter. The mentality that it’s better to abandon a sinking ship isn’t always the way to go. You don’t desert a dying friend. You don’t pull the plug when there is still some sign of life.
The reason I say that is because the major developers are still here. Sony, being the platform provider, could have pulled the plug long before now; that SCEA and SCEE Home regions continue to survive is a testament to their bottom-line profitability, even if they seem to be on bare-bones budgets compared to years past. Indeed, what HPG alone has deployed — the News Reader, the Challenges and most recently Trophy support — are a trio of features which, while perhaps overdue, are hardly the sorts of projects one would commit to a platform that’s about to summarily end.
Let’s look at third-party developers. Some, like Mass Media and Heavy Water, are gone. Most of the rest are focusing more and more resources on non-Home IPs — but they’re still creating content for Home. Much as the deflationary pressure of rampant sales events is frankly unsettling — are people clearing the shelves? — the fact is that new content is still coming in. I know some believe it is a last grab at money in Home’s dying days, but I chose to see it as viable life support. They continue to create and put out content weekly.
Let’s remember too that it takes time to create content; it takes time to go through Sony’s FQA process, and it takes money to create content. The developers are spending time and money. The developers here are not here for free, they have business needs to tend to. Contrary to popular belief, this is a job for them; it is a career and a means to make some sort of profit. Why begrudge them that?
So now Lockwood comes to Home with a loyalty program. A real first of its kind. This program will reward the owners of Dream Universe spaces with XP to accrue and acquire rewards from that XP. Sure, it will probably not receive complete applause or glowing reviews from every quarter in Home, but it is an idea that many have clamored for.
Has it come too late? We’ll just have to
see.
These spaces will receive updates that include a counter that logs the earned XP and a piece of furniture that displays the levels attained from the XP. Reaching new levels opens eligibility for different rewards. That’s a lot of republished scenes that had to be updated, at no small cost.
The concept is a simple one: if you own Dream Universe spaces, being active in them will net you XP. Knowing how much Home users love the idea of rewards and freebies Lockwood, has found another way to give them to you.
I’m not one that deals in numbers and business statistics. I can’t say if Home has been or will be a moneymaker for any of the developers. But I can say they have not fled the bedside of what maybe a dying Home — as some in the community have done. If they are still here to bilk the last penny from the piggy bank as some think, then so be it. Think of this as a way to give something back.
This loyalty program may just breathe some life back into Home. It could be for just a little while longer, but I intend to see Home through to the end. I don’t think Home will end tomorrow, or this year even. Whenever that end comes, I will be here just as I was when some of my favorite spaces disappeared. I for one feel some excitement towards Lockwood’s new venture. I think it will be a success. How big of a success? That all depends.
But I look forward to seeing what comes next.
March 19th, 2014 by Phoenix | 8 comments
Phoenix writes poetry and is a photography enthusiast, along with writing for HomeStation Magazine. She is currently studying for a BFA in Creative Writing and BA with concentration in Photography. psn ID phoenixstorm21
youtube.com/user/phoenixstorm21
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I have pretty much stopped logging into Home as I detest the UI now. When logging into Home, the first thing I should see is the last place I was. Not the UI selector -- it is meant to be a social environment, and they added a barrier to socialising.
Sony have dropped the ball badly with Home. Yes, new content is being created, and the developers are to be applauded. I listed a number of ideas on another website on what Sony should do with Home, which I reproduced below:
1) Should be region-free. As a SCEE user, I can only go on the SCEE home -- I should be able to visit US and Asia regions as a visitor. Maybe even buying some virtual tat to take “home”
2) Shopping mall should have a Sony store. The flagship Sony store in Tokyo should be available in all regions with the ability to buy virtual Sony goods (tvs, stereos, etc) for your apartment
3) Links to real-world goods. Ok, so there is the Diesel store and they could add the Sony store, plus any number of others. Clicking on say a Diesel t-shirt that you can buy for 79p, also gives you the option to go to the Diesel website and buy the real thing for yourself.
4) Market research. The demographic that uses Home is a high value one as they have money to spend. Use their browsing/purchasing habits as market analytics for companies to determine how popular an item will be before launching it.
5) Make it portable. Create a portal (PC, Vita) where you can find out what is happening in Home without being logged in (although not interact)
6) Dynamic lighting model -- use system time to set night/day cycles
7) More events: fashion shows, pop concerts, etc
All great ideas but one flaw: licensing.
Plus demand.
The region-free option was available in Home until users abused it with malicious intent, from glitching to hacking (ISE) items, especially the store exclusive items that weren’t in the proper regions.
Though the Sony Store idea in Home is good, Home is a separate application and everything still has to go through Sony for approval.
Market Research has been used on Home, especially when it comes to fashion trends and popular personal space designs.
Dynamic Lighting takes memory and space. If you’re prepared for in-Home crashes several times over, ten I’m down for it. That’s a risk I’m sure SCEA Home developers aren’t willing to take at this time.
Events take community effort. Whereas the social spectrum in SCEE is rather large, SCEA is divided in organizations. If no one is willing to pull for the community (but rather, in contrast to themselves), then it’s not much of an event at all. There are great websites (Alphazone4, this very organization, and Twilight Touch) that hosts quality events, but it’s up to the users to utilize what they have to see for themselves.
In my personal opinion, there needs to be a polish for Home to be accessible. Unless they give us back the golden days, we have to let that past go and move forward to greater possibilities. It’s not to say they aren’t trying. Not at all, but you have to at least appreciate what they are doing at least.
LKWD Life is a sure step-up towards bringing fresh air to a waning interest. I definitely see the program flourishing into new heights that’ll bring in sales and proper research to see where the money trails, while giving the community what’s being demanded.
tl;dr: give Sony a chance. They are, at least, listening, if not teh developers themselves.
Very good ideas I think. Never say never, so much has come and gone from Home that you don’t know what to expect truly. Maybe one or two of these things may get looked at and implemented by some new personnel at Sony, who knows. It’s never too late until Home is shut down.
Lockwood life is just a way of getting users to use dead Lockwood spaces and some new users to either buy or gift them. Good business decision. Does it do any good for homes declining user base I’m not so sure. It hasnt got me and my friends running back to home yet.
I will always love DCUO but Home has my attention once again.
And I’m loving it!
Daily scavenger hunts for polar bears and lizards?
Might have been fun when I was 6 years old.
Lol hunting for crabs though sounds so adult
Touché