Google launches Lively
July 10th, 2008 Posted in Gadgets
Mihoko has been doing a little freelance translation work, and she recently pointed me in the direction of Google’s new chat app ‘Lively.’ Essentially an attempt to be PlayStation Home at its own game, Lively is a Second Life-esque chat application, wherein users can create their own environment in which to chat, using of course, their own personal 3D avatar. Details are pretty scarce (even on Google’s own Lively site), and apparently the service is only 20% complete. Kudos for Google releasing it in such a form, while Sony continually pushes theirs back. Knobs.
It may not be an attempt to combat PS Home, of course. The platforms are radically different and therefore the services are different. Of course, with the recent success of IMVU and the like, Lively is possibly targeted there… Still, for me, for gamers, and possibly for people my age, it seems like a wasted effort. Or maybe I’m just speaking for myself. I like the idea that in Home I can walk around a central area, talk to people, go back to my pad and watch vids, check out photos, or listen to music — all stored on my PS3, and then launch a game following some discussion. Focused. I just don’t see the need for these other utilities. But yeah… maybe that’s just me… And the truth is I probably won’t use Home much after the fist couple of attempts… hehe…
Anyway, just like GameTap, this is another service I won’t be able to download and test for you, due to my computer’s capabilities (or lack thereof)… I have heard tell that this app is pretty process-intensive, so user beware.
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