Playstation Home gets a makeover, again

It’s time for another episode of Extreme Makeover: Playstation Home Edition.

Sony has just released a newly refreshed version of its virtual world that allows players to create an avatar and socialized with other gamers.

Playstation Home, available as a free download on the PS3, has faced one major question since the day it launched more than two years ago: what is it?

While the virtual world lets players roam around various environments including rooms and spaces themed around the latest PS3 games, there remains no clear “goal” or incentive to continue visiting on a regular basis.

Home takes a lot of cues from The Sims in offering players an open-ended experience but it loses the “game” aspect of The Sims since there is no way to win or lose – your avatar is a stale character with no defined purpose.

With the redesign, players can now choose to explore the vast digital world based on which genre of game they like the most – so all the action game environments are in one area while the shooter game environments are in another section.

There are also a bunch of brand new mini-games including trivia, poker, and sports games.

So Playstation Home remains a vast, virtual playground. Even though many question the point of it, many others have found enjoyment out of the experience; it attracts millions of PS3 owners every month.

Here’s a look at the redesign: