Gamertell

Recently announced during Gamescon 2009 in Cologne, Germany, and confirmed on the Sony PlayStation blogs, Sony Home will have a major overhaul with the release of version 1.3 in September 2009 with tons of updates and much welcomed additions to make the experience more fun.

Sony PlayStation Home v1.3

Launching Simplified

According to the recent blog post, players will find they will be able to launch into any PS3 games that support launching like Street Fighter IV and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift without having to leave Home to start the game. An icon will appear above the player’s avatar to allow friends to join the game as long as it supports multi-player functions. This will be made easy to set up just by loading the disc into the system while logged into Home and following the directions to get started.

Photo Opportunities

Another new feature, everyone in the community has been begging for in the forums, is the new camera function. When the update takes place in September players will be able to take photos of their favorite areas or pose with friends for a picture they can hang in the personal spaces. The photos can be taken in first person or third person view to make the photos more personal with a few new poses or action emotes to choose from to make the photo interesting. All images will automatically be saved onto your PS3’s XMB.

Improved Experiences on Home

To improve the Home experience there will be a few new portable items much like the irritating bubble machines we find everywhere. But this time, players will now have the option to block another player’s portable items from their screen to avoid the annoyance. Speaking of irritating players you may run into, this same function will also allow players to remove the offending player from their sight by simply blocking the player. So that you can not only mute what they are typing, you don’t even have to look at them, they will be gone completely from your area. Can we say Hallelujah?

A Shop-aholic’s Dream Come True

For those of you who like to shop as much as I do, a new function will be added to the shopping mall that will allow players to try the clothing items on their avatar before making a purchase to avoid downloading an item that will sit in the inventory never to be worn again ... ever. Or even preview how the furniture will look in personal spaces before the final purchase. Because once the item is downloaded all sales are final. But luckily players can always suggest adding that function in the PlayStation blogs where Sony they encourage players to post ideas and suggestions so they can improve the gaming experience everyone wants.

New Spaces Coming Soon

SingStar and Audi Space

Once the new version has been released a new space will open for all SingStar fans. This club-style space will feature a dance floor, video jukebox and a SingStar Music Quiz mini-game.

No further information about the Audi space is available as it was just announced, but you can check out the video below for a glimpse of the SingStar space and a glimpse of all the additional features mentioned and more coming to the Sony Home in September:

Sony Home Update

For now until the updates take place here’s what is new on Home today:

At the Theater

For those who visited the theater for a chance to win more Criss Mindfreak items and be entered for a drawing, this is the last week to claim the coffee table and be entered for the drawing. For the military buffs roaming the Home community stop by Auditorium 2 to watch clips from Army Ranger to unlock an Army Strong t-shirt for your avatar.

At the Shopping Mall

Threads 2 (located on the second floor)

Males Only:
• Skullcap Helmet cost 49 cents
• Steam Punk Goggles cost 49 cents
• Grim Bandana cost 49 cents

Costume Shop (located on second floor)

Males Only:
• Motorcross Helmet cost 49 cents
• Motorcross Gloves cost 49 cents
• Motorcross Boots cost 49 cents
• Motorcross Jacket cost 99 cents
• Motorcross Pants cost 99 cents
Females Only:
• Burning Girl Bead Bracelet cost 49 cents
• Burning Girl Work Boots cost 49 cents
• Burning Girl Camo Top cost 99 cents
• Burning Girl Quilted Skirt cost 99 cents

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