For years, Jack Buser has been banging the drum for PlayStation Home -- Sony's free social service on the PlayStation 3 where players create an avatar and wander the world. Now, the director of the social networking service is admitting Sony made mistakes with the program.

"One of the things we learned in those early days is that if you take a bunch of gamers and stick them in a room together and tell them to meet one another and talk, they don't necessarily do that," Buser said. "You got to give them something to do. And specifically, you got to give them games to play."

With that in mind, Sony is pulling the plug on the PlayStation Home you know this fall and replacing it with a game-driven experience. When the update goes live, the Central Plaza -- the main gathering area for Home users since the app launched in 2008 -- will be removed. In its place will be "the Hub," a transportation center packing games and quests for players as soon as they start Home.


"Today's news is all about a total redesign of the core of PlayStation Home to elevate these games and put them front and center on the platform," Buser said. "When you come into [the updated] Home, it is obvious where the game content is and how to get there."

The quests will be things as simple as playing a specific game in PlayStation Home, and content will be updated daily. Buser points to this as the evolution of the platform. For the first time, Home will be a game itself and not just a platform for games. The app will be able to support branching narratives via these quests; it's going to remember what you did the last time you visited and apply that to your current status.

From the Hub, players can travel to one of four districts that will each pack social games tailored to a given genre. Here are Sony's official descriptions of these areas.

• The Hub: The new, futuristic Hub brings games directly to players with a featured game front-and-center upon login, the Activity Board where players can engage in quests and community activities, and a direct path to free games via the teleporter.


• Action District: A gathering place for the hardcore demographic, the Action District has a gritty, urban feel reminiscent of a first-person shooter level and provides a direct travel point to action and horror games.


• Sportswalk: The Sportswalk has an exciting outside-the-stadium feel with instant major league sports scores, headlines and highlights, ample space for sports-themed games and provides direct travel points to sports-related games.


• Adventure District: The Adventure District drops you in a lush island jungle with an air of mystery, hidden treasure and discovery, where players will be able to launch directly into adventure-themed games.


• Pier Park: A waterfront boardwalk leads players to carnival, puzzle, outdoor and arcade games. Take a ride on the Pier Park Ferris wheel or visit the arcade for some bright entertainment.

The districts and their content will change as time goes on, always providing players with new games and experiences. An additional update to Home will streamline the experience so that players go directly to the area they want upon launching the app and will give users the ability to create their own in-Home events. Buser wasn't ready to give solid details on the program, but he did say, "In a nutshell, it'll allow you to come in, create your own event, basically tell people what it is, and spread the word."

What'll happen to the movie theaters and shopping centers in Home? Buser wasn't ready to divulge the master plan, but he said that the details will be revealed as we get closer to the Home updates.

What do you think? Are you excited to see games get more of the limelight in PlayStation Home? Are you sad to see the Central Plaza fade away? Let us know in the comments below.

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