PlayStation Home hits 19m downloads

Sony has announced that the number of PS3 owners who have downloaded and booted up PlayStation Home at least once has reached 19m.

Director of Home Jack Buser wouldn’t confirm how many users are actively using the service, however, though he did say that 1.6m people in North America played racing title Sodium in its first six weeks of release.

The average Home session lasts 70 minutes and the total number of games accessible has now grown to 230. The number of virtual items available to purchase grew 110 per cent last year.

Going forwards, Sony is planning to increase the multiplayer capabilities of Home via some networking infrastructure updates.

"Developers will be able to take full advantage of the improved network mechanics to create fast-action multiplayer experiences such as online racing games and first person shooters within PlayStation Home," a GDC statement confirmed.

"Also included in the update to version 1.5 is a revamped physics engine, providing developers with augmented control over collision, mass, velocity and other physics elements, for an even greater level of realism and more intricate gameplay experiences."