PlayStation Home delayed again; PS3 video store this summer?

First, the good news: Word has it that the PlayStation 3 could—finally—be getting a video store this summer. Now, the bad news: The much-vaunted, "Second Life"-like PlayStation Home—originally slated to launch last year—won't open its doors until fall, at the earliest.

Let's tackle the bad news first. Sony announced Tuesday that "Home," which was supposed to go into open beta early this year (after being delayed from its original 2007 launch date), won't launch until autumn. A closed beta test of Home is slated for summer.

"The wait has been prolonged for PS3 users, but we plan satisfying entertainment by spending more time on development to improve the service," said Sony exec Kazuo Hirai (by way of the Wall Street Journal).

Meanwhile, remember the PS video store that Sony's been hinting at? Well, the Los Angeles Times is reporting that it could launch this summer, and that Sony is in talks with the big movie studios. The service would include both movies and TV shows, according to the report.

So, if the LA Times story is true and the PS3 video service launches before Home, it pretty much torpedoes my prediction that Sony would fuse the two together—or not initially, at least. I have to admit, I sorta like the idea of browsing for movies in a virtual, 3-D lobby, and maybe even watching movies in a virtual auditorium with chat, MST3K-style.

Anyway, that's the latest—and the news about Home is particularly disappointing, especially for those of us who just bought PS3 consoles thinking the Home launch was imminent.

So, anyone else bummed that Home's been delayed again? Or would you rather Sony spend its time cranking out more and better PS3 games?

Related:

Sony Again Delays Release of "Home" Virtual World [Wall Street Journal]
Sony to launch online video service for PlayStation 3 [Los Angeles Times]