Last week saw the inaugural launch of Playstation Home: Sony’s long-awaited collection of online services into the realm of social networking. So what’s it like? First impressions and general musings below…

Let’s get this out of the way first of all: Home is late. I know that, you know that so let’s move on. Ok, so with that out of the way we can focus on the highs and (unfortunate) lows of the service to date. It’s Monday morning where I am so let’s ease into the review with the positives:

• The visual style of Home is great. A current gen imagining of Second Life that makes good use of the graphical grunt provided by the PS3. I like the flexibility of the avatar creation system. You get just enough control to make it personal but not so much that it crushes the experience.

• The potential is enormous. Few other opportunities exist in gaming to create a meeting place for gamers that integrates with an entire console’s infrastructure. Think of it like the pre-party before the main event. And potentially the after-party as well. Home will be (note: future tense) the launch point for gamers to meet, chat and prepare for a game. It will be the new waiting lobby… (but with bubble machines).

• The user interface is polished. As you would expect from the people who designed the XMB, the UI for Home is fluid and easy to use. The closed beta clearly provided some useful feedback for the developers as the former virtual PSP is no more. The main HUD features simple menu options that are available with the minimum number of button presses.

• Home is ambitious. Creating a social network, it’s not a game remember; from scratch is a difficult task. Given the huge success of the competition’s online service it is a bold move to pour so much developer time and money into this venture.

Alas it’s not all sunshine and doing the robot dance…

• Server error C-931. Now, I understand that big online launches do not go with a hitch. Any server will fall over if sufficient traffic hits it. However, this is not the first time that a big online service has gone live so it’s not unreasonable to ask why the servers weren’t better prepared. Given the hype surrounding Home’s launch they should have done their homework. Anyone remember the Metal Gear Online launch fiasco?

• To be free or not to be free. Given the investment in Home’s development it’s great that Sony are providing this free to PS3 owners. Unfortunately it’s a tricky road they’ve chosen to walk down. For a micropayment system to work it requires a careful balance between what is provided for free and what you charge for. Your starting apartment is shall we say sparse, and your wardrobe equally so. The model for DLC clearly works given the ongoing success of GH:WT and RB2 track updates, to give just two examples. But incremental add-ons for games imply something you can use / engage with. Charging me a dollar or so for a lamp is a somewhat tougher sell.

• Being a non-game, as some would say, you are reliant on continued support from your user base. To keep gamers coming back to Home there needs to be a hook, either through regular content updates or an integration aspect that brings everything together in one place. If my online gaming experience can begin, take place and wrap up in Home then that encourages me to use it. I want something that I cannot do anywhere else.

• Communication is key. One thing that alarms me slightly is the fact that “I don’t have a keyboard” is one of the preset chat phrases. Saves people time of course, but I think it speaks volumes about the gamer demographic we have on the PS3. It’s true to say that many PS3 fans do not use a keyboard or headset when playing online. I would include myself in that category. We all have our reasons for not wishing to communicate but in a space where interaction with your fellow gamer is so crucial it will be interesting to see how the chat ebs and flows over Home’s next few months.

Looking back through the above I’m left with mixed feelings about Home so far. I like it but I’m frustrated by it. The rather disappointing lack of content available upon opening the doors doesn’t help to enamour players to its potential. If "beta" becomes the byword for “not ready yet” then Home may struggle to build the core userbase that is its lifeblood. I hope the PS3 community gives it enough time to grow into the social media butterfly we know it can be.