Neotopia isn’t PlayStation Home’s official follow-up. According to Sony there won’t be one after PS3’s virtual hub experiment shuts down once and for all early next year. It is, however, absolutely a PS4 spiritual successor made by vets of the original — for better or worse.
Here’s how its development team, made up of PlayStation Home and PlayStation Home game vets, describes Neotopia:
” neotopia is a virtual world for PlayStation 4; an ever-evolving online space where you can meet, interact, play and share – a next-generation blend between the world of gaming and social media.”
“Free from the off, neotopia will allow you to be part of a rich and expansive social environment, brought to life with Unreal Engine 4 and the power of the PlayStation 4. You’ll create and customise an avatar – your conduit to neotopia. There will be public spaces to explore, people to meet, events to attend and activities to get involved in. You’ll also be able to purchase a range of private neotopia apartments, redecorate them, share them with your friends and rate those of others.”
“You are at the very heart of this new world. neotopia is built around community, and as a citizen you will have your say in how the world evolves. You don’t just get to be a visitor to this world, you get to help shape it; neotopia is supported by us, but created by you.”
Your new virtual home away from home (and Home) will come with all the standard amenities: customisable avatars, your own private space, public areas with events, groups and clubs, a kudos system, and regular updates.
Neotopia will be free to play (or whatever you’d call what you do in virtual treehouses like this), but — in kind of an odd twist — you’ll have to pay for the right to, er, vote. For now. Players will be able to help decide what features and events the creators tackle next, but only as citizens. You’ll be able to earn that status once the game comes out, but you can purchase it right now in order to vote on a series of potential launch themes like zombie, interstellar, western, and steampunk.
So it sounds like this will have many of the same (noble, though questionably achievable) goals as PlayStation Home. I can’t fault Neotopia‘s creators for that. While the reality of PS Home bored me to tears, I admired the spirit of the thing. Who knows? Maybe a team with more freedom will be able to build the place that PS Home yearned, even ached to be.
Neotopia is — wait for it — on Kickstarter, jangling a very big cup in the air in hopes of catching £250,000, which comes out to about $456,500. Chump change that ain’t. And of course, there’s the $456,500 question: Do people even want a PlayStation Home-style virtual hangout on PlayStation 4? So let’s start here: Do you?
Comments
3 responses to “Sony Won’t Make PlayStation Home For PS4, But These Guys Might”
For the love of God, no. I can’t stand people in real life, let alone online.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t think these lads should give it a red hot go. In my wiser, slightly-better-than-twilight years I’ve learned not to channel my inner 14-year old and start screaming about what Devs should and shouldn’t make. If they make their game, good on ’em. If they’re successful, even better. I’m not going to back it, and if they make it, I probably won’t bother to download it – but someone might, and that makes it worthwhile (if not perhaps fiscally dicey).
Don’t we already have an ample supply of “a next-generation blend between the world of gaming and social media” in the form of Twitch, Facebook, Twitter and whatever else integrations? Good on them for having a go or whatever, but both Home and Free Realms never really went anywhere so I’m not sure they’re focussing on the right market. Of course, if they angle it right, they might just capture the interest of the Animal Crossing/Fantasy Life/etc. audience.
Simple answer… Nope.
In detail: Nope…. Because I would rather do the same thing already in destiny(or any game that supports it) but actually have a game I can play after I’m done with the social aspect.
Hi There. I have a question with regards to playstation home me and my wife have spent
almost £1000 between our to accounts does the apartments and other stuff we have payed for automaticly transfer over to this new playstation home on ps4 or do we get a refund of our money thanks…………….
Only Sony can handle that. Neotopia have nothing to do with PS Home it will be totally different.