The clock is ticking on 2008, but Sony has once again asserted that its PS3 Home service will be opened to the public before the turn of the year.

Speaking to IGN, Home director Jack Buser stated: “Like we've said, we're excited about moving PlayStation Home into its open beta stage this year. Once we make the move to open beta, everyone will have access to PlayStation Home.

“PlayStation Home is nearing the final stages of our closed beta. Last week we successfully moved to our 1.0 client, which places us on schedule for the launch of open beta this year.”

Sony has never wavered in its insistence that Home would meet its 2008 release date, and despite the fact that previous deadlines have been missed, few must now doubt its imminent arrival.

There’s been some significant progress on the Home front recently, firstly with the arrival of the Home 1.0 beta, and then the mailing out of 100,000 additional closed beta invites.

Elsewhere in the IGN interview, Buser also praised third parties for their support of Sony’s Home platform: “We couldn't have asked for more support from our third party developers. Interest has been strong and the pipeline is packed with content from every major gaming and consumer brand out there.

“We're not only going to have a strong line-up at launch, but PlayStation Home is designed accommodate rapid expansion. PlayStation Home provides endless developmental possibilities for our partners and they see the true value PlayStation Home provides – an extension to their games and franchises, a place for their communities to gather, and a direct link to their fans.”