I think what a lot of people don't understand about HOME is that it can give users early -and interactive - access to content.
Take a hotly anticipated game: say FFXIII. Now let's say Square releases a website for it. People may head over there, take a look, maybe see a few pictures, movies and features and move on.
Now lets say that Square releases a Home space for FFXIII. Here you can get a realtime look at what kind of environments, 3d models, music, whatever is in store for the game. You can check it out, discuss the game with other visitors (who obviously have the same interest), try some interactive section if Square chooses. Maybe even take a piece of the game with you via a t-shirt or trophy. That makes the place so much more alive then a website.
I could see hype for a homespace be almost as big as when the game itself gets released.