Joystiq reports from the PlayStation.Blog that in an upcoming version of Home, users will be able to launch any game from Home. I really don’t understand why this is needed at all. On some Street Fighter IV night I decided I would try out Home and getting into a game but had no luck. If I want to play SF4, shouldn’t I just go find a match in SF4? Because not everyone else in Home is looking for a SF4 match, it seems like walking around in a virtual environment looking for a game of SF4 isn’t the best idea.
Sony really missed the mark with Home. Home itself is just a large, 3D interface for game lobbies, watching videos, and chatting. Game launching in Home is redundant when games can be launched, not surprisingly, from the XMB itself. Similarly, Sony could integrate some sort of section of the XMB under Video specifically for streaming videos from Sony and achieve the same effect without the clutter of an ugly 3D interface reminiscent of the 80s idea of future “cyber space.”

 
Of course, Home does have an additional feature – chatting and socializing. Again, isn’t there a simpler way to achieve this than through a horrible clone of Second Life? Besides the fact that there’s a browser built in to the system, how about adding an IRC client that defaults to a Sony server or simply adding a forum specifically designed for use on the PS3? While a forum could be viewed from the web browser, it could be nice for Sony to integrate one that wouldn’t need the clutter of a browser window around it.
To be clear, Sony has anounced other features of the Home update, such as taking photos, but I just don’t feel the need to address them. None of them are interesting to me. Additionally, it’s not that the features are bad, it’s that the whole system is needless.
Sources:
Locust_Star. PlayStation Home v1.3 Coming This September. PlayStation.Blog. 8/19/09.
Yoon, Andrew. Take pictures and launch any game you want in Home 1.3, coming this fall. Joystiq. 8/19/09.