It's no April Fool - as promised by Sony, as of March 31, the PS3 virtual world PlayStation Home has closed its doors for good.
Those trying to access the game will be given the following message: "We'd like to thank each and every one of the 41 million people from around the world who helped to make PS Home what it was and we hope you have enjoyed the ride as much as we have!"
You can watch activities that took place on its final day, as well as its closing messages, below:
PlayStation Home was an ambitious and applaudable effort to provide PS3 users with a virtual living space (a second life, if you will) packed with all kinds of weird and wonderful ideas.
To mark its closure, we present its best moments and brightest ideas following more than five years of countless updates and redesigns.
1. PlayStation Home opens its doors
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After undergoing extensive testing and one or two delays, PlayStation Home officially launched in 2008, offering fans a chance to interact with fellow gamers, pimp out an apartment and randomly dance at strangers. As an added bonus, it was completely free to join.
OK, so there wasn't much to do - and Home would arguably never recover from the disappointing launch - but there was nothing else quite like it on consoles, and Sony deserves a lot of credit for the amount of time and money it invested on something so unique.
2. Introducing spaces for Uncharted and Assassin's Creed
It may have taken slightly longer than planned, but Home would eventually introduce many unique spaces, the best of which paid homage to video games like Wipeout, Assassin's Creed and Uncharted.
Residents could solve puzzles in Abstergo Labs, go on an Uncharted-style treasure hunt, fight the very best from Street Fighter and Tekken and even repel zombies on a replica of Banoi from Dead Island.
While not all hangouts and mini-games were worth the time, this interactive approach to marketing new games was way ahead of its time and one of the better uses of PlayStation Home.
3. Free movies for everyone
OK, so Crackle wasn't blessed with the greatest selection of films, but it was free to PlayStation users and available within PlayStation Home.
In fact, Home users were able to host their very own movie parties for multiple people, giving friends a great excuse to meet up, watch a flick and order some virtual pizza. It had great potential to revolutionise the way we consume content, but was never deeply integrated enough to truly take off.
4. Harry Potter brings the magic
Pottermore on PlayStation Home gave fans of the boy wizard a chance to immerse themselves in locations and activities from the popular film and literary franchise.
You could visit Diagon Alley, explore the Hogwarts Library and enter the Great Hall. With quizzes, duels and broomstick races, Pottermore was one of the more magical additions to PlayStation Home, giving residents the chance to escape reality and actually interact with a world they'd only ever read about or seen on film.
5. Dressing up as Doctor Who
While you'd probably get a few odd looks for dressing up as the Time Lord or his assistant in real life, PlayStation Home was a judgement-free zone and a place where you could live out some of those long-held fantasies.
Doctor Who fans could even retire to their very own Tardis living space, uploading adventures to YouTube with the LOOT Active Camera. It was pure escapism, and a great way for fans to meet, mingle and potentially discuss the latest episodes.
6. A real-life NASA broadcast
PlayStation Home tried its best to offer an out-of-this-world experience, as evident in its broadcast of shuttle Discovery's live launch.
The live stream was viewable at Home's Sunset Yacht, alongside images from past NASA missions, something which summed up the unique experiences offered by PlayStation Home.
7. Sony's E3 conference is broadcast live
Speaking of livestreams, Sony would also broadcast some of its E3 press conferences live (beginning with its 2011 conference), and would offer fans a chance to check out publisher booths in its Virtual E3 booths.
Not only was this a chance to check out updates from publishers such as Activision, Ubisoft and Blizzard, but fans could earn rewards and access to games, including early access to the beta for Killzone: Mercenary.
It was a great way to foster a community and to make fans feel like they were involved in the biggest gaming event of the year, without having to leave the house.
8. PlayStation Home undergoes a redesign
Proving that PlayStation Home was here to stay, Sony redesigned the virtual space as a theme park of sorts, complete with areas based on the likes of Tomorrowland and Adventurelands from Disney World.
The redesign aimed to make the PlayStation Home experience more immediate and easier to navigate, with districts resembling genre games like Call of Duty and Tomb Raider.
It was probably the experience that should have been offered at launch, because not only was it a visually more appealing and diverse landscape, but there were now lots of activities to take part in, such as death matches, gambling and more.
