Home Closed Beta Kicks Off... In Europe
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has officially started the closed beta. Update: North American PS3 owners can get in on the action, too.
Published: May 1, 2007
Without a doubt, two of the higest-profile PlayStation 3 announcements this year have been the absolutely adorable and genuinely creative LittleBigPlanet and Home, SCEE's attempt to merge the social environment of Second Life with the Wii's Mii avatars and Microsoft's Achievements system. The one-two punch of the dual unveiling at the Game Developers Conference this year surprised people -- not only because they're interesting products, but because they represented evidence that maybe Sony didn't have their head in the sand with this whole PlayStation 3 thing after all.
Unfortunately for everyone who saw the teaser video, it wasn't entirely clear when people would get their hands on the game. Months were mentioned in the same breath as the beta -- hell even seasons as the final realease -- but short of hammering the F5 button on the official beta site, there was no way to tell when it would all go down (in fact, you still can't tell by way of the beta site).
Well now we know: right now.
Though it's currently limited to European PS3 owners, the closed beta pool of invite-only testers have begun diving into Sony's virtual world, exploring what looks like the same basic set of options seen in the GDC presentation. If you're in the EU and you've gotten the e-mail, congrats. If not, well, there's always forced comas to help speed along the wait until the game finally hits open beta in a few months, right? For the whole skinny on just why someone would go all Rip Van Winkle, you must (yes, it's an order) read our preview on the game. It'll explain everything, trust us.
[Update]
Apparently with this week's PlayStation Store update, a select few people have uncovered the Home Beta download buried under the Blu-ray Movie Trailers section of the Store. It appears that a small chunk of the folks that got invited to sign up for the beta a week or two ago are actually being allowed into the program with no actual word from Sony that they've gotten in. If you're a Gamer Advisory Panel member (it's a sect of the PlayStation Underground and -- bah, it's complicated; if you're in, you'd know it), check the Store to see if you too will be joining the ranks of testers. The download is apparently being rolled out slowly, so if you don't see it at first, check back in a few hours.
Good luck!
Unfortunately for everyone who saw the teaser video, it wasn't entirely clear when people would get their hands on the game. Months were mentioned in the same breath as the beta -- hell even seasons as the final realease -- but short of hammering the F5 button on the official beta site, there was no way to tell when it would all go down (in fact, you still can't tell by way of the beta site).
Well now we know: right now.
Though it's currently limited to European PS3 owners, the closed beta pool of invite-only testers have begun diving into Sony's virtual world, exploring what looks like the same basic set of options seen in the GDC presentation. If you're in the EU and you've gotten the e-mail, congrats. If not, well, there's always forced comas to help speed along the wait until the game finally hits open beta in a few months, right? For the whole skinny on just why someone would go all Rip Van Winkle, you must (yes, it's an order) read our preview on the game. It'll explain everything, trust us.
[Update]
Apparently with this week's PlayStation Store update, a select few people have uncovered the Home Beta download buried under the Blu-ray Movie Trailers section of the Store. It appears that a small chunk of the folks that got invited to sign up for the beta a week or two ago are actually being allowed into the program with no actual word from Sony that they've gotten in. If you're a Gamer Advisory Panel member (it's a sect of the PlayStation Underground and -- bah, it's complicated; if you're in, you'd know it), check the Store to see if you too will be joining the ranks of testers. The download is apparently being rolled out slowly, so if you don't see it at first, check back in a few hours.
Good luck!
