SCEA continues freemium core game push for PS Home with new titles

Sony has announced three new free-to-play games for PlayStation Home, its free virtual world available on PlayStation 3, including a third-person shooter and a multiplayer RPG. This latest batch of exclusive titles is part of Sony Computer Entertainment America's efforts to position PS Home as an online space where players can enjoy freemium, multiplayer games that target "core" audiences -- an initiative the company kicked off with PS Home's redesign in November. SCEA will begin rolling out the titles this Wednesday with its internally developed Cutthroats: Battle for Black Powder Cove, a free-to-play naval combat title that the publisher describes as "the biggest multiplayer experience in PS Home thus far." It will follow-up with VEEMEE's No Man's Land (pictured), a team-based third-person shooter with a post-apocalyptic setting, this spring. And when summer comes around, Lockwood Publishing's Mercia, a fantasy-themed multiplayer RPG, will release to PS Home. Along with the new games, SCEA has introduced a new Adventure District -- districts are PS Home's virtual areas featuring a specific genre of games -- that serves as the launch point for Cutthroats: Battle for Black Powder Cove. Launched in late 2008, PlayStation Home has attracted more than 28 million registered users as of last August. The virtual world allows players to create custom 3D avatars, decorate personal spaces, chat with friends, and play games.