The PS3’s Home virtual world service is now 7 months old. Peter Edward, director of the PlayStation Home platform group, reported at Brighton’s Develop conference that there are now 7 million Home users – and that a typical European visitor spends 56 minutes in Home per session. The service also generated $1 million in micro-transactions in its first month, a statistic that will presumably excite potential advertisers and content providers.

However, many internet forum commenters note that the service still has a bare-bones feel – especially the European service where new content is often delayed due to localisation issues – and many areas feel like little more than advertising for full-price retail games. However, nDreams’ complex alternate reality game Xi managed to establish a small enthusiastic community and clearly there are exciting possibilities for a virtual world with an inbuilt userbase. Only time will tell if Sony are able to capitalise on Home’s full potential.

Via Edge online.