Sony’s PlayStation Home is shutting down in Japan

Can you remember the last time you logged into PlayStation Home? Neither can anybody in Japan, apparently. According to a statement released on the Japanese website, the 3D social space will permanently close in March of next year. Sony didn’t give a reason for the shuttering, but it’s not too much of a surprise, the online hub — an avatar-filled playground often compared to Second Life was never very popular, and seemingly fell short of the company’s expectations.

After closing its doors to new content last August, Sony has decided to turn off the lights on PlayStation Home in Japan entirely. The PlayStation Home social network will end in March 2015 in Japan, Sony announced on the Japanese Home website. A translation of the message indicates that the Home service maintained by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Sony Computer Entertainment America is exempt from the shut down. Sony’s PlayStation Home service, a 3D-environment social network for the PlayStation 3, first launched its beta test in Japan in August 2008. The service was powered byadvertisements, tricking other users, and dancing with hamsters.