What can seem a tad outdated about Home, that literal interpretation of community, might yet be a killer feature. Before long, games won’t even exist as discs and boxes; maybe a renewed sense of physicality really is the future. Then again, maybe everyone will just see this as a kind of Second Life Lite and move on. Has the team looked at other virtual worlds or MMOs? “No, actually,” says Hill. “We’ve not distanced ourselves consciously, but we haven’t really taken them into account.”

“And it’s so different from that,” insists Van Der Meulen. “I guess people might have that concept at first glance, but once you play it you appreciate a substantially different experience. There’s a lot of value in us as Sony PlayStation having all this content from us and the thirdparty publishers.”

To elaborate, we’re shown another Home space dedicated to events like E3 and Ubisoft’s Ubidays, stressing Home’s uniqueness as an MMO that’s not in a bubble, but instead driven from the outside. There’s a stage for keynotes and presentations, screens for trailers, cubicles for further minigames and two limited-access areas: Backstage Pass and the VIP room.

Of particular note is the suggestion that developers might individually take to the floor and mingle with the crowds, listening and maybe stopping for impromptu Q&As. It’s Microsoft’s ‘Bringing It Home’ concept taken to extremes: you attend the conference, do the interview, watch the trailers, discuss the highlights, download the demos and play, your hands never leaving the controller.

Next comes a thirdparty space that Sony’s particularly proud of: Red Bull Air Race. An aggressive advertiser even before its eye-opening takeover of Wipeout 2097, the drinks brand now owns a glimmering beach resort within Home, the rocky stacks of which act as gates for aircraft buzzing overhead. This entire spectacle is a game, it transpires, and if you’re on the sand watching then chances are you’re in the queue.

Taken, says Hill, “from concept to build in three months,” it’s the first significant product of the  HDK, a versatile toolset derived from Sony’s rapidly  maturing PS3 middleware. “Creating tools to make sure our friends at other publishers can create what they want, that’s a big part of it,” Hill continues.

“Air Race sets a benchmark – it’s one of the things that best expresses what Home can be in six months or a year’s time.” Of course, quite how it copes with a million guests coming through the door is key to that expression. Home uses four levels of detail to ensure smooth performance under load, and there’s a simple answer to the question of population caps: there aren’t any.