They say there’s no place like home, but what happens when you can’t find it? 

Sony Computer Entertainment announced Tuesday that it will extend their Playstation Home Network closed beta until at elast the fall. Sends the public release date back to sometime in 2009 by all estimates.

“We understand that we are asking PS3 and prospective PS3 users to wait a bit longer, but we have come to the conclusion that we need more time to refine the service to ensure a more focused gaming entertainment experience than what it is today,” said Kaz Hirai, president and CEO of SCE. “Our overarching objective is to provide users with new gaming experiences that are available only on PlayStation Home, spending more time on the development and on the closed beta testing reaffirms our commitment to bringing a quality service, maintaining the PlayStation tradition.”

The Home network, being called a mix between Xbox Live and Second Life, lets players customize avatars and interact with other gamers while downloading and exploring a virtual world, is no stranger to delays. After its initial announcement in March 2007, it was supposed to be released late that same year but was pushed back to spring of 2008.

This is a setback for PlayStation 3, which has been on a surge since the Toshiba conceeded the HD-DVD versus Blu-ray format war.

Sony has sold about 10.5 million PlayStation 3 units, fewer than the 20 million Nintendo Wii consoles and 17.7 million Xbox 360s sold worldwide.

About The Author

Joe Sinicki is Blast's Executive Editor. He has an unhealthy obsession with Back to the Future and wears cheese on his head. Follow him on Twitter @BrewCityJoe

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