Home Open Beta... Mistake or good call? - Blu-ray Forum

Uniquely · 12-12-2008, 11:25 PM

I'm not passing any judgements on Home itself. I can't. I haven't been able to get into it yet. Apparently I'm nowhere near the only one with this problem.

This begs the question..... was it a good idea to release Home to the masses before it was ready?

Maybe it would have been better to have kept increasing the size of the beta and continue to work out the bugs before unveiling it.

One the other hand....... Home has been talked about for so long..... many people were beginning to regard it as vapor ware.

Was it worth the risk to release a still buggy feature just to have something to feed the people who were growing weary of the wait? Or will the poor initial experience turn off users who might have been big fans otherwise?

garlad · 12-12-2008, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robinandtami

I'm not passing any judgements on Home itself. I can't. I haven't been able to get into it yet. Apparently I'm nowhere near the only one with this problem.

This begs the question..... was it a good idea to release Home to the masses before it was ready?

Maybe it would have been better to have kept increasing the size of the beta and continue to work out the bugs before unveiling it.

One the other hand....... Home has been talked about for so long..... many people were beginning to regard it as vapor ware.

Was it worth the risk to release a still buggy feature just to have something to feed the people who were growing weary of the wait? Or will the poor initial experience turn off users who might have been big fans otherwise?

well its still a beta, for a reason. its not perfect, sure, but its also good to give us a taste of what we can expect and it starts us thinking and asking for ways it can be improved! I think its a good thing, not a mistake

pEgLeG · 12-12-2008, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garlad

well its still a beta, for a reason. its not perfect, sure, but its also good to give us a taste of what we can expect and it starts us thinking and asking for ways it can be improved! I think its a good thing, not a mistake

Agreed

MuG · 12-12-2008, 11:49 PM

I am happy its out... not much to do yet but its going to be amazing when everything is up and running.

Uniquely · 12-12-2008, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garlad

well its still a beta, for a reason. its not perfect, sure, but its also good to give us a taste of what we can expect and it starts us thinking and asking for ways it can be improved! I think its a good thing, not a mistake

This definitely isn't my first beta... I know there will be bugs. But not even being able to run the program is a pretty BIG bug

Psx0005 · 12-12-2008, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robinandtami

This definitely isn't my first beta... I know there will be bugs. But not even being able to run the program is a pretty BIG bug

Not every beta has the same share of probs either. Be patient

Blu-Generation · 12-13-2008, 12:02 AM

A Mistake because people will always find something to hate on. And what better way then to hate on a beta.

A good call because it's better late than never.

I'd go with both of the above.

Icemage · 12-13-2008, 12:09 AM

I think it was a good call, actually. Sure, they could have waited, but more content will come over time, and they do need to get everyone used to the interface at some point in time.

I did manage to get into Home for a couple hours last night, and while there wasn't much to do, per se, there were plenty of people there (including one rather amusing Xbox 360 troll who I can only imagine was in there to get a rise out of people).

Picked up one of the clothing pieces for $.49 just to get a sense of individuality, and then hopped around to the different locations.

It's not a resounding success, but it has a lot of promise. Everything seemed pretty stable, lag was minimal to nonexistent, voice chat worked quite well, etc.

What Home really needs is specific themed areas for games. The best way to interact with people in games is to meet other people who want to play the same game, so I think it behooves Sony to make an effort and support an area like the Uncharted-themed Sully's Bar for every major multiplayer game (Call of Duty, Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Gran Turismo, Motorstorm, Resistance, etc.). Finding people who own the games you do in the Central Plaza is like playing Russian Roulette.

AlaskaDon · 12-13-2008, 12:14 AM

I'm pretty surprised that the open beta has had all the problems. During the closed beta everything was looking pretty polished. I figured the open beta was more like a formality. Sony probably figured the same thing i.e. started right off charging money to start a club. That was kinda strange for software that was still in beta, but not really if they thought it was problem free.

Anyway, it's a good thing they jumped into the Open phase since they obviously had hidden problems that needed to be fixed.

ThePhantomOak · 12-13-2008, 12:37 AM

The poll is missing a lot of options.

The roll out was going to go poorly nomatter how long they waited. Going from 100,000 users who are never all online together to 3 million people trying to download it and launch it all at once is not easy. Games dont even have that big a jump in users on the first hour or day.

From being in the beta, and seeing it work with absolutly no problems, and seeing that the open beta worked as well as it did for the first 12 hours, I think Home launch went well... Frusterating, but better than I expected.

Your poll is garbage, because it excluded the "Home was launched at a good time and works fine"

Wreck · 12-13-2008, 12:45 AM

Here is my theory.

They released it so fanboys can spread the news saying "Man, you should really get a ps3 it has this and this and that and it also has HOME, it just came out but it will be awesome next year!"

to help xmas sales.

STARSCREAM · 12-13-2008, 12:47 AM

Wasn't a mistake in my opinion. They HAD to get something out there asap, especially after those dismal sales numbers recently released and the 360 got its updated live service not long ago.

BirdManJr · 12-13-2008, 12:47 AM

i like the home beta...i think people should stop b**ching to much about small things and worry about more important aspects.

Uniquely · 12-13-2008, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThePhantomOak

Your poll is garbage, because it excluded the "Home was launched at a good time and works fine"

I'm sorry you feel that way.

I guess I could have included "Home works for me" and "Home doesn't work for me" options, but I really wasn't trying to get a percentage of how many users were having problems. That would be an interesting poll also though...... why don't you start it? I was more trying to get opinions on the strategy of releasing it now. Obviously, I could not have given a "Home works fine" option when it doesn't work at all for a good number of people.

silversnake · 12-13-2008, 01:12 AM

I was frustrated yesterday when I couldn't sign on , however, there was more than enough for me to see once I was finally in there. Anyone who thought that the launch would go super smooth with no problems is naive.

I look forward to next updates , but most importantly the game launching from home one. I really want that sooner than later. It's one of the only reasons I would really stay in for long periods of time is if I play some than walk around chat and than go back for some more gaming.

BirdManJr · 12-13-2008, 01:32 AM

Yeah i agree the poll is kinda bias....I mean theres not really a good option to choose.

I think its a pretty good thing for ps3 to have...that the other consoles dont have...the other consoles have miis that walk around...how great is that lol

If you think of the possibilites this could lead to...I mean if you can make friends that is...Then you can go hang out check out there stuff...And all this Home can do is grow GROW!!!

theres always a complainer / whiner tho

ThePhantomOak · 12-13-2008, 03:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robinandtami

I'm sorry you feel that way.

I guess I could have included "Home works for me" and "Home doesn't work for me" options, but I really wasn't trying to get a percentage of how many users were having problems. That would be an interesting poll also though...... why don't you start it? I was more trying to get opinions on the strategy of releasing it now. Obviously, I could not have given a "Home works fine" option when it doesn't work at all for a good number of people.

If you waited for everything to work perfect when jumping the number of users on the system at one time 500-1000% in a single hour, you would never get anything.

Happened with every major and minor online game that has come out this generation. Most had a lot less load than Home did yesterday.

Warhawk had these problems when it released with maybe 5 or 10% of the users. COD4 had these problems with maybe 25% of the users.

It is crazy that anyone would expect a beta to not have server issues in the first several days, and it is flat out stupid to say that any company can be set up for that kind of volume and the dynamics it brings. Any company that does not have those problems with this kind of load is just lucky, or the faults have not hit yet.

I will also point out that Home will likely never have as many users trying to be logged in at one time as they yesterday and for the next 3 or 4 days. EVERYONE with a PS3 is trying to get on in the first 12 hours, and maybe
10% or so will ever be on at any single time in the future.

A poll without an option that has options for

Should have waited until more bugs were worked out
Needed to show us something sooner rather than later

is not a poll. It is a sham. It leaves out the "it was the right time, and works as well as could be expected"

I had problems, read the main home thread. C-991 like a MFer. Crashes like a MFer. But I was part of all the load tests in the Beta leading up to it, and those problems never cropped up.

I think myopic users like you have no idea how a massive online system works when launched, and how many things could and do go wrong, and that they go wrong every time. Claiming that the options are that it is screwed up and should not have been released, and it is screwed up and should have been released anyway is a joke.

Petra_Kalbrain · 12-13-2008, 03:37 AM

I think that it has done more harm than good. People don't want to look beyond the 3 inches in front of their faces these days. As a result, I hear/read so many "this sucks," "this is pointless," "I'm never coming back onto this stupid app again" comments that I feel as though Sony has alienated most users. People don't care to open their minds to possibilities anymore.

Oh... and charging for the mall content at this stage? Ya... BIGGEST MISTAKE OF ALL!!! Especially considering how little is available. Should have given everyone a bit of free variety for the sake of personalizing their personal home spaces without having to pay.

As for me? I love the application! It's in a very deep infancy stage (and judging from most people that I encounter on there, it's in a very INFANTILE stage as well), but I can see some serious hardcore awesomeness coming within a year's time.

ThePhantomOak · 12-13-2008, 03:47 AM

I agree that people dont see 3 inches in front of their faces...

But that also means that they will forget down the road when it is working as intended.

I say that because it is free and when they see a friend on it, or a friend invite them somewhere in a month or two, they will go. One friend invites two, etc.

I do agree that with the limited amount of stuff, the charging ($5 for a club and one room summer house!?) is insane. Knowing what is in the summer house, there is no way I would ever pay for any other "property" in Home. It would be interesting to see the numbers once they are crunched and find out what the price elasticity really is.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

I think that it has done more harm than good. People don't want to look beyond the 3 inches in front of their faces these days. As a result, I hear/read so many "this sucks," "this is pointless," "I'm never coming back onto this stupid app again" comments that I feel as though Sony has alienated most users. People don't care to open their minds to possibilities anymore.

Oh... and charging for the mall content at this stage? Ya... BIGGEST MISTAKE OF ALL!!! Especially considering how little is available. Should have given everyone a bit of free variety for the sake of personalizing their personal home spaces without having to pay.

As for me? I love the application! It's in a very deep infancy stage (and judging from most people that I encounter on there, it's in a very INFANTILE stage as well), but I can see some serious hardcore awesomeness coming within a year's time.

un4gvn94538 · 12-13-2008, 04:18 PM

dont know the details on why it should have taken so long to be released but im glad its out now. was a beta tester for a few weeks and like the changes for the open beta. sure i can see things that need to change but changes are going to happen as they add stuff and fine tune it for the masses.

View Poll Results: Home Open Beta Too soon or needed to happen?
Should have waited until more bugs were worked out	16	26.23%
Needed to show us something sooner rather than later	45	73.77%
Voters: 61. You may not vote on this poll

12-12-2008, 11:25 PM	#1
Uniquely Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Sep 2008 Location:Mobile, AL Home Theater Gallery:14 Blu-ray collection:171	Home Open Beta... Mistake or good call? I'm not passing any judgements on Home itself. I can't. I haven't been able to get into it yet. Apparently I'm nowhere near the only one with this problem. This begs the question..... was it a good idea to release Home to the masses before it was ready? Maybe it would have been better to have kept increasing the size of the beta and continue to work out the bugs before unveiling it. One the other hand....... Home has been talked about for so long..... many people were beginning to regard it as vapor ware. Was it worth the risk to release a still buggy feature just to have something to feed the people who were growing weary of the wait? Or will the poor initial experience turn off users who might have been big fans otherwise?

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12-12-2008, 11:49 PM	#4
MuG Active Member Member since:Jan 2008 Location:White Bear Lake, MN Blu-ray collection:56 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:2	I am happy its out... not much to do yet but its going to be amazing when everything is up and running.

12-13-2008, 12:02 AM	#7
Blu-Generation Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Nov 2007 Trading Score:1	A Mistake because people will always find something to hate on. And what better way then to hate on a beta. A good call because it's better late than never. I'd go with both of the above.

12-13-2008, 12:09 AM	#8
Icemage Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Jul 2007	I think it was a good call, actually. Sure, they could have waited, but more content will come over time, and they do need to get everyone used to the interface at some point in time. I did manage to get into Home for a couple hours last night, and while there wasn't much to do, per se, there were plenty of people there (including one rather amusing Xbox 360 troll who I can only imagine was in there to get a rise out of people). Picked up one of the clothing pieces for $.49 just to get a sense of individuality, and then hopped around to the different locations. It's not a resounding success, but it has a lot of promise. Everything seemed pretty stable, lag was minimal to nonexistent, voice chat worked quite well, etc. What Home really needs is specific themed areas for games. The best way to interact with people in games is to meet other people who want to play the same game, so I think it behooves Sony to make an effort and support an area like the Uncharted-themed Sully's Bar for every major multiplayer game (Call of Duty, Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Gran Turismo, Motorstorm, Resistance, etc.). Finding people who own the games you do in the Central Plaza is like playing Russian Roulette.

12-13-2008, 12:14 AM	#9
AlaskaDon Special Member Member since:Jan 2007 Location:Tennessee Blu-ray collection:-	I'm pretty surprised that the open beta has had all the problems. During the closed beta everything was looking pretty polished. I figured the open beta was more like a formality. Sony probably figured the same thing i.e. started right off charging money to start a club. That was kinda strange for software that was still in beta, but not really if they thought it was problem free. Anyway, it's a good thing they jumped into the Open phase since they obviously had hidden problems that needed to be fixed.

12-13-2008, 12:37 AM	#10
ThePhantomOak Blu-ray Guru Member since:Nov 2007 Location:Reno, NEVADA. "Battle Born"	The poll is missing a lot of options. The roll out was going to go poorly nomatter how long they waited. Going from 100,000 users who are never all online together to 3 million people trying to download it and launch it all at once is not easy. Games dont even have that big a jump in users on the first hour or day. From being in the beta, and seeing it work with absolutly no problems, and seeing that the open beta worked as well as it did for the first 12 hours, I think Home launch went well... Frusterating, but better than I expected. Your poll is garbage, because it excluded the "Home was launched at a good time and works fine"

12-13-2008, 12:45 AM	#11
Wreck Blu-ray Guru Member since:Jan 2008 Location:H-town To Indy PSNetwork: HERETOWRECK Trophy Level: (12) Blu-ray collection:249 Blu-ray reviews:7 Trading Score:58	Here is my theory. They released it so fanboys can spread the news saying "Man, you should really get a ps3 it has this and this and that and it also has HOME, it just came out but it will be awesome next year!" to help xmas sales.

12-13-2008, 12:47 AM	#12
STARSCREAM Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Feb 2008 Location:Dagobah Blu-ray collection:148 Trading Score:67	Wasn't a mistake in my opinion. They HAD to get something out there asap, especially after those dismal sales numbers recently released and the 360 got its updated live service not long ago.

12-13-2008, 12:47 AM	#13
BirdManJr Power Member Member since:Mar 2008 Blu-ray reviews:3	i like the home beta...i think people should stop b**ching to much about small things and worry about more important aspects.

12-13-2008, 01:12 AM	#15
silversnake Blu-ray Champion Member since:Feb 2008 Location:Montreal Home Theater Gallery:22 4K collection:7 Blu-ray collection:498 Blu-ray reviews:6 Trading Score:32	I was frustrated yesterday when I couldn't sign on , however, there was more than enough for me to see once I was finally in there. Anyone who thought that the launch would go super smooth with no problems is naive. I look forward to next updates , but most importantly the game launching from home one. I really want that sooner than later. It's one of the only reasons I would really stay in for long periods of time is if I play some than walk around chat and than go back for some more gaming.

12-13-2008, 01:32 AM	#16
BirdManJr Power Member Member since:Mar 2008 Blu-ray reviews:3	Yeah i agree the poll is kinda bias....I mean theres not really a good option to choose. I think its a pretty good thing for ps3 to have...that the other consoles dont have...the other consoles have miis that walk around...how great is that lol If you think of the possibilites this could lead to...I mean if you can make friends that is...Then you can go hang out check out there stuff...And all this Home can do is grow GROW!!! theres always a complainer / whiner tho

12-13-2008, 03:37 AM	#18
Petra_Kalbrain Blu-ray Archduke Top contributor Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Vancouver, BC 4K collection:5 Blu-ray collection:561 Blu-ray reviews:3 Trading Score:20	I think that it has done more harm than good. People don't want to look beyond the 3 inches in front of their faces these days. As a result, I hear/read so many "this sucks," "this is pointless," "I'm never coming back onto this stupid app again" comments that I feel as though Sony has alienated most users. People don't care to open their minds to possibilities anymore. Oh... and charging for the mall content at this stage? Ya... BIGGEST MISTAKE OF ALL!!! Especially considering how little is available. Should have given everyone a bit of free variety for the sake of personalizing their personal home spaces without having to pay. As for me? I love the application! It's in a very deep infancy stage (and judging from most people that I encounter on there, it's in a very INFANTILE stage as well), but I can see some serious hardcore awesomeness coming within a year's time.

12-13-2008, 04:18 PM	#20
un4gvn94538 Blu-ray Knight Top contributor Member since:Dec 2007 Location:Limbo (Bakersfield, Ca.) 4K collection:143 Blu-ray collection:811 DVD collection:54 Digital collection:1494 Trading Score:277	dont know the details on why it should have taken so long to be released but im glad its out now. was a beta tester for a few weeks and like the changes for the open beta. sure i can see things that need to change but changes are going to happen as they add stuff and fine tune it for the masses.

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