Indeed, by far the most interesting attractions within Home concern people rather than products or places. On one studio PC we glimpse a spreadsheet devoted to that most charming of pastimes, online ‘griefing’. Incredibly, stalking is one of the entries submitted from the beta, along with several citing racial and, yes, sexual harassment.

“You can make some pretty hot ladies,” admits Hill. “It happens, unfortunately. Home’s really interesting from an anthropological perspective, just watching people behave. It’s a challenge, but we’re already doing more than we’re legally required to. People are just pushing the boundaries because they can. Its own code of behaviour will develop, and people who try and come in and do that whole thing will be knocked down by the old hands. But it’s down to us to update the tools that kind of self-policing requires. It’s kind of been developed with a mind to preventing that kind of physical proximity abuse, you know – common sense stuff.”

The positives, he says, clearly outweigh the negatives, though how people respond to Home’s version of the high street ‘chugger’ is another matter. Don’t be surprised if you’re virtually accosted by someone brandishing a virtual clipboard, even if Sony’s beta-testing hardcore have supplied more feedback than anyone could hope for.

A look at the private beta forums reveals tens of thousands of posts from just hundreds of users. “We’ve got some fantastically useful, particularly vociferous community members whose raison d’être is to try and break the thing, and they tell us all the time,” Hill explains. “That’s one of the things that’s useful for thirdparties as well – they can physically talk to that demographic.”

Assured that Home can be experienced smoothly on even the worst connections – “We’ve built so many buffers and mechanisms to avoid lag, which is why we needed such a polished version,” says Van Der Meulen – we’re left with both a promise and a warning. That polished open beta is just the beginning. In other words, it’s not everything. Home does feel more like a venue than an event right now, though the ability to interact within in it feels satisfyingly complete, its interface slick.

But some of what was shown and suggested at previous Sony events – “Maybe a little too much,” Hill admits – will happen later, if at all. Will it succeed? That’s for its micropayment-driven free-market economy to decide, though in terms of pure attendance – and technical disasters permitting – it’s hard to see it failing. Its old-fashioned virtual reality feels deceptively attuned to the modern consumer, while its other apparent flaw – its proposed flood of trinkets and disposable content – is anything but trivial.

It comes down to that earlier remark: “…while waiting for the other parts of the PlayStation experience.” Pop in to any gaming forum and what do you see? People waiting for the new, embracing novelties and feasting on tidbits in the meantime. In Sony’s brave new world, there may never be a shortage of any of them.