YPSH : Over a year ago, we sat down with Paul Gold, Supervising Producer for Digital Leisure, a privately held developer, to get the lowdown on DL and The Casino in PS Home. Today, I'd like to welcome back Paul to YourPSHome to discuss the new Personal Casino and the forthcoming Western themed space. Good to hear from you again Paul and thanks for coming by. PG : Thanks for having me. YPSH : When we first chatted, we talked about Digital Lesiures long history in gaming and how got involved with DL. So bring us up to speed. How has The Casino project been going for you? PG : Well, we're about to cross the 1.5 millionth served customer - so it's been quite a wild ride! Honestly, we couldn't be happier with how the space has been doing. Between new game releases, constant reward updates and jacket ceremonies for our leaderboard winners, it has been an awesome experience. PlayStation Home users are some passionate people and we've had a great time interacting with them and with another huge space coming down the pipe, we think users will be blown away by how far Home has come since 2008. YPSH : Since the introduction of The Casino, Digital Leisure has introduced some other products. Fish tanks, pets and a few clothing items. How have those been received and are you planing to do more items? PG : I think Home is all about interactive experiences and people were always complaining that once you have a personal apartment there isn't much to do with it. So, we wanted the Aquariums to be something you would want to come back to take care of. Also to highlight the social aspects, there are a bunch of rewards that you could work with other friends achieve. The general feedback was positive, and we definitely plan on making more pets and clothing items available throughout this year and next. YPSH : That brings us to current day and the recent release of the Digital Leisure Personal Casino space. For those who haven't seen it, it delivers just what it says : Your own Personal Casino in PS Home. I've talked to many Home users and they have given me lots of questions to ask you about it. Let's start with this, any plans for a club version? PG : It's certainly something would could add in the future, but the main thing we have been trying to get across is that the personal space is a bonus for purchasing the games. The Personal Casino Games are what are for sale so you can technically add them to any personal space or clubhouse you want to. YPSH : Does the space have all the games that are in the public casino? PG : The purchase of the main games bundle will include all of the individual or small group games like Poker, Blackjack...etc. The larger group games like Keno and Bingo are not included. You not only get these games in the included space, but you get them as individual active items to place in ANY scene. YPSH : Do the games have the same rewards as the public casino or do they have their own? Do you still have to buy chips to play? PG : You DO NOT have to buy any chips to play these games. They are completely separate from the casino public space and come with their own set of new rewards. Since the public space released, we had heard from users that they would rather simply play our games in their personal space with friends - and now they can! YPSH: The space comes bundled with stand-alone versions of the games that you can use in any space, correct? PG : Exactly! Games bought individually or in the bundle may be used in any space. YPSH : The Personal Casino is expensive ($50). Some users have been put off by the price tag. I can only imagine that games of chance take time to make right (time is money) and then you have to squeeze them all into the memory one space allows. I added up the individual game costs and it comes out to way over the cost of the Personal Casino plus I don't think you can use all of the stand-alone versions in one space due to the 100 slot limit. PG : I can see how some users may see $50.00 and say "What, that is crazy for a Home item". But these are individual games that you can play with friends in your own space at any time of day for an unlimited amount of time. Certainly games are a larger time investment for us internally, but people need something to do once they have their dressess and tuxedos on! Everyone also needs to remember that we are simply making this available for users who want that type of experience for themselves in Home. You don't 'have' to purchase anything on Home you don't want to own. YPSH : The space comes packed with many games, and still leaves you room for personalization. Are there any future updates planned for the Personal Casino? PG : Yes, as with all of our Home endeavors you can expect to see updates to Personal Casino space. YPSH : While on that subject, what about the public casino? Any more expansion plans there? PG : We've actually been so focused on our new Western Frontier public space that we don't have any more expansions planned this year. But there will certainly be fresh reward updates! YPSH : People are asking if the hotel rooms (including the Penthouse) will see any changes down the line? PG : Well we certainly had a fun time destroying the hotel rooms, but I believe it has run its course. At this point it's unlikely we'll see any new updates to those rooms. YPSH : Digital Leisure has released some nice clothing items. Any more in the works? PG : There are a ton of clothing items that will be released when our Western space launches this Fall. We're talking hundreds of new clothing items, both male and female that we think are seriously impressive. I don't want to give anything away, but our artists have really outdone themselves for this release. We're super excited to share it with you all. YPSH : Since Paradise Casino, Digital Leisure released the Pet Store. How is that project going? Any more to come? PG : The Pet Store was tied to The Aquarium release and is our main hub for all things pet related. We hope to add some fun new sidekicks and with the great feedback we received on our previous sales, we'll probably have another one sooner than later, so check back often! YPSH : The large fish tank is one of Home's largest items. I own it, and I must say it's very cool. It's only drawback is the amount of slots it takes up. Is that something that we might see updated or is it a limitation of Home itself? PG : We'd love to squeeze that item down further to release some more slots, but it's literally at the smallest size it can possibly be. The more horsepower an item needs to run, the more slots it naturally takes. We're always very conscious of the space needs for apartments and if in the future the Home client allows for a reduced amount of slots, we would certainly update the items.YPSH : We keep seeing your teasers for a new Western themed space. DL already has an Old West Saloon personal space. Is this new one expanding on that idea? PG : Well expanding is certainly the right choice word! Our all new Western Frontier public space has been a massive endeavour with almost a year of development work going in to it. This public space has so much to do, we think most of the Home users will be hanging out in the Old West this Fall and through 2014! I know you're thinking "developers always say this stuff", but we really mean it. We've taken all of the suggestions that have been emailed or posted on forums for what would make the most social space in Home and rolled it all in to one. There is literally something for every type of Home gamer in the Western Frontier and we are so excited to share it with you. YPSH : Tell us what features the new space has. Mini-games? Special features? PG : As we've been teasing each week on the PlayStation Home community forums, this space has a ton of features. I don't want to give away too much, but you'll be mining for gold, stagecoach racing, having showdowns with friends, trading for goods and even going up against some odd folks in town's saloon. YPSH : Does DL plan to release any furniture or clothes to go with the new space? PG : Of course! There are hundreds of all new rewards to go along with each of the new games, plus users can pick their own rewards from the Trading Post. But we know people want new outfits right away, so all new Western themed outfits and bundles will be available for purchase as well. YPSH : When can we expect to see it? In NA and EU? PG : I would show it off to you all this week if I could! We're currently saying "Fall", which I know is ambiguous but we want to make sure it's perfect for launch. As soon as we have an official date from Sony, we'll definitely let everyone know. Yes, we are targeting a release for both regions simultaneously. YPSH : It sounds great. Here's to Digital Leisure's continued success. I hope to be speaking with you more Paul about DL's future Home releases. Thanks for sharing with our members. PG : Thanks so much for the continued support of the entire Home community. Here's looking forward to another awesome year in PlayStation Home! This article is covered under International Copyright Laws and may not be reproduced in any form without the express consent of the author.
Great interview. I'm not much of a betting man, so I don't spend much time in the casino. But I think we can all agree that DL does great work on their goods and rewards. I am really looking forward this, as it's more my style. p.s. It's too late now, but DL should have tired to make an all pachinko casino for JP. Who knows? They could have saved Japan? lol
I'm personally looking forward to seeing just what the new western space is like and all about, plus DL have a track record of keeping spaces fresh with new rewards whats always a good sign.
Love the interview it was very detailed. I love the casion space and also the public casion I'm always there can't seem to get enough of it . I'm so excited about the western space oowee I was impressed with it from the way it was explained in the interview and from the looks of it ill buy it no question asked I'm the kind of person who looks forward for new personal spaces I have so many lol I can't help but to add more to my collection and this western space will be one of them .. I'll be looking out on this one :0)
I'd have to agree with everyone, here---that was a great interview! This Western Frontier public space looks real promising! I can't wait to see what Digital Leisure's got in store for us!
