New details of the PlayStation Home online service have emerged via
semi-official PlayStation blog Three Space, which has details of the current limits on the number of users and other technical information.
The website lists a number of short questions, answered by an unnamed Sony source, the first of which indicates that the lobbies shown in the promotional videos at GDC last week currently have a maximum of sixty-four concurrent users.
It is also indicated that lobbies will be created by country, but that users will be able to choose which they wish to use – unlike massively multiplayer online games such as
World of WarCraft. Currently it is planned that users will be able to build and use a single avatar per account, but that it will be possible to maintain more than one account (there was no indication of whether this would incur a charge).
According to the comment, it is not possible to launch a game directly from the Home service, with the lobby and private areas only being used to arrange a game rather than initiate one.
Finally, the website indicates that Sony’s policy is not to actively police private areas, but that complaints will still be possible if users are upset by content or activities in such an area.
Further information relating to PlayStation Home has also been revealed on
Sony's developer website. In an extended questions and answers section, it is indicated that the service will go live in October, with a download of under 500MB. A closed beta for 15,000 users will take place between April and August, with the open beta beginning at the end of that period.
