Console video gamers are demanding the same kind of dynamic, connected online interaction that's taking off all around the PC world; Microsoft's implementation of Xbox Live Arcade for its 360 console turned out to be a stroke of genius, letting gamers create profiles, share leaderboards and make their achievements visible to everyone, in addition to enabling them to download demos and play multiplayer gaming. As the Xbox 360's major competitor, Sony's upped the ante with PlayStation Home, which envisions the console gamer in a full-scale virtual world, avatar and all, and in sneak peeks shown off at recent gaming conventions, promises to allow socialization as well as dynamic 3D representations of all of the essential features of connected gaming, all against the backdrop of a fleshed-out virtual world.

PlayStation Home began beta-testing this summer, shrouded in secrecy; though Sony has showed demonstrations of Home, few journalists have gotten up-close-and-personal with it, and what demonstrations were given have historically been tightly controlled. But recently, game news mecca IGN got to chat up an anonymous mole who's been participating in the beta testing, and that informant dished tons of dirt on how Home is progressing -- and how it's not.

First, the mole tells IGN that Home is currently still limited to the four areas Sony showed at last year's GDC: The user's apartment, of which there is still only one layout available; the lobby, which is apparently "quite large," with places to sit and chat and screens to watch; the movie theater, where users can see game and movie trailers on 10 different screens (at present), and the game room -- according to the mole, the most popular room, with 6 pool tables, 4 bowling lanes and arcade machines.

Sony had promised that gameplay and socialization could connect seamlessly; users could invite one another in the game by way of pop-up invitations from friends. However, this feature is apparently not developing according to plan; the mole tells IGN: "This feature has not been implemented yet. None of the new features or areas outlined at E3 have made it into the beta. None. There is no support for in-home parties."

What about the avatars? Home's look is on the cutting edge of next-gen graphic vividity, so it should be interesting to see how individual looks roll out. The mole says clothing and hair selection are still limited, but that face creation is highly detailed, with the entire facial structure fully customizable -- the way he describes it, it sounds similar to what we found when we visited Entropia.

The mole also found that you can't yet play back hard drive content like music and video in your apartment as Sony'd projected, either -- "You are restricted to pre-set photos for picture frames. The ability to play back video and audio of any type has also not yet been included. TVs or Stereos do not appear in the list of available types of furniture," the mysterious informant said.

There's also no "trophy room," the Home equivalent of an achievement display that had been promised, where titles users play would generate awards that pop up inside it.

Just about everything else that appeared in the GDC demonstration is available in Home now, though, reports the mole to IGN -- "This includes arcade games, bowling, pool, furniture placement, character customization, etc. The features that are in home do work well. All the games are fun to play, and promote communication. Placing furniture is relatively painless and there is a good assortment of furniture to choose from. The physics work as promised."

Communication tools are also good, it seems, supporting both Bluetooth voice headsets and keyboard, with a voice volume that, quite pragmatically, depends on how close your avatar is to the speaker's.

And the informant's overall rating? Despite the issues the mole cited where Home still seems to be lacking, the dirt-disher likes it overall. "Home works," he told IGN. "What I mean by that is it's easy to go in and socialize and have a fun time doing it. People generally have a good time. It has a very open atmosphere, so you can pretty much walk up to anyone and start chatting with them. I've made friends in Home that I play online games such as Resistance or MotorStorm with. The Home beta has left me very excited about the final product, as it should be even more enjoyable when everyone I know has access to it."

[Via IGN]