Those that have been following the development of
Home should not find it surprising that the ambitious online program was
delayed to next year. Troubling signs
from the beta suggested that the project simply wasn't moving as quickly as it should. Even more telling, a quick look through
Gamasutra reveals that there's still a crucial job opening specifically for Home has still been unfilled.
The Home Content Producer will be responsible for:
- Developing content strategies for Home to achieve Home business objectives.
- Coordinate development efforts of Home content.
- Act as a liaison between first and third party game publishers/advertisers and external developers of Home content.
It appears that this is a serious position that is crucial to the development of
Home. It's interesting to note that not only is Sony concerned about getting the service out to the masses, but is focused on getting third party content (including advertising) into the platform. Qualified individuals can apply for the job
here.
{ Sep 26th 2007 at 6:15PM } 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
TRUTH @ Sep 26th 2007 6:22PM
So Sad.... ;(
sectionz @ Sep 26th 2007 6:35PM
I applied for this job ;) Maybe if PS3Fanboy gave me a referral it would help speed things along ;) FYI, if you have been following the development of Home you also know that this is an SCEE spearhead .. this is an SCEA position.
Andy @ Sep 26th 2007 6:36PM
That would be a fun job. But balancing revenue and actually content could be tricky. If there is too much advertising some people will avoid the service. If there is too little it won't make a profit.
In math today we worked out a similar problem. Chapter 3.6 in MathPower 11.
revenue=people*ads
But for every ad 1000 users decide to leave home. If there are 100000 users to begin with how many ads can Sony put in before losing a profit. Lets say ads bring in $2 per user who is in home.
let x=ad increases
revenue=users*ads
revenue=(100000-1000x)(2+x)
If they could actually figure out real statistics instead of my phony ones this could be very useful.
wonway01 @ Sep 26th 2007 6:42PM
Maybe they are adding a few position to speed things up!
Consolcwby @ Sep 26th 2007 7:22PM
This appears to be a real 'problem child' for Sony - especially since they haven't even filled a critical position yet (or the position has become vacant, which would make more sense)! Developing something like this isn't easy, and looks like it will NOT become the thing Sony wanted. If I was asked which I prefer (Home or VOD) I'd have to go with VOD. It's very very do-able with the system and would make great sense. =/ It's too bad that this is where the emphasis is being put...
Kspraydad @ Sep 26th 2007 8:37PM
This isn't troubling at all...now that the SCEA is looking for this kind of position in means the SCEE is that much further along in development. Seems like a good thing.
marklar @ Sep 27th 2007 1:20AM
ah, how i miss the sony fanboy optimism
animekid3515 @ Sep 27th 2007 1:43AM
if people left something because of ads, the internet would be empty by now!
Ian @ Sep 27th 2007 3:55AM
I don't think this is a serious position crucial to the development. This is a position regarding content extension and expansion primarily with third parties. If you remember Harrison's keynote from a way back (possibly GDC) Home was portrayed as having central content developed by SCEE but also additional Home content supplied by other providers - be they software developers such as EA, or other companies such as Gap, Universal or whatever. Home is meant to have a central hub that connects to other hubs designed and produced by other companies.
I think it's clear that Home is undergoing some stresses at the moment for sure, but I don't think this position is critical to the completion from what I understand of the job description. Although the internal beta at SCEE has differing content to the external betas (outdoor world vs indoor lounge, etc.) it seems the central concepts of cinema, bowling, apartments and so forth have not changed.
This is about extending Home beyond that so that you'll have, say, a plaza dedicated to Gran Turismo and racing for example.
I could be wrong and the producers could have walked, but I doubt it.
Egster @ Sep 27th 2007 5:22AM
They are just recruiting developers, every software developing company does this. You think there is only one content producer for the entire Home project? Making news out of non news is popular these days.
Brian Spence @ Sep 27th 2007 7:26AM
This isn't that big a deal, guy. It's basically a marketer, and home can "ship" without it.
finelicker @ Sep 27th 2007 7:35AM
I think Sony underestimated the complications involved in developing seamless online platform integration. This is Microsofts strength, (put the pitchforks down peeps, this isn't a poke at Sony) Microsoft are on their second console where online has been a keystone in their strategy so they had strong foundations to begin with. However, Sony have an ACE up their sleeve that Microsoft will be aware of. Sony have seen what Microsofts ideas have been, using peer 2 peer online methods (causing limitations to devs regarding online components in games) and microsoft are so far down the line, that in order to change the online components of xbox live would mean massive overhaulage (is that even a word?), Sony on the other hand, have seen all this and can use Microsofts method as stepping stones, Sony ability to innovate in all aspects of entertainment has always been their strength. Using a much more dev freindly approach of letting them decide what online method can be used is much more open and limitless. It is more complicated to implement from the off, but the benefits will be reaped down the line.
The benefits of letting the competition go first has given Sony the upperhand, in that they can use Microsofts ideas to overcome problems that would normally have arisen after hindsight sets in.