Is the PS3 Finally Getting Cross-Game Voice Chat?

NGR writes: "When it comes to features wanted by the PlayStation 3 user base, the ability to chat with anyone on your friend’s list at any time, regardless of what they’re up to on their system, has been the one the users have been craving for the longest time. This feature has been literally asked for since the very first days of the PlayStation 3 release. And don’t kid yourselves if you don’t want this feature saying it’s not useful or effective at all, there’s a reason why it’s been and currently is the most wanted feature of all times."

[DaThreats]

Be interesting, if you are able to play games on the PS3, while using the cross game chat on VITA....
Problems solved! ;D

[longcat]

Laptop - skype - uninterrupted chat with video - srsly

[nveenio]

I'm not sure why they'd bring it to Vita and NOT to PS3 (or at least PSN+). I'd say it's a safe bet that we'll get it...just not sure why it's taking so long, or why they'd wait to release it with/after Vita.

[EXID]

i don't know why the disagrees w/ pedobear... i actually use skype to talk to friends while gaming and it works REALLY well. though, i guess not everyone has a laptop or ipad/ipod touch at their disposal. but yeah, x-game chat would still be nice to have on ps3.

[Therealspy03]

last night my friend and i had to turn on our xboxes to chat while playing ps3...how sad is that?

@adaminy: probably cuz if i had to use my PC headset to chat while on my ps3, the sound would be muffled through my headphones. and if you're just using the mic and speakers of the laptop, you'd have constant background noise. either way, this is a feature that should simply be built into PSN and it's amazing to me that it still isn't.

[BeOneWithTheGun]

I just want party feature. idont need to talk to frieds in other games i want to talk to friends in my game withou listening to all the other dinks in the room.

[lil Titan]

i hope but if this is just ANOTHER rumor no harm done

[FragMnTagM]

@therealspy, I have done that several times in the past to keep up with friends on the PS3. Text chatting while playing different games is just plain painstaking process even with a typing pad add on.

If the PS3 got that feature, I would sure as hell play my PS3 more. Lately I have been playing my PC and XBOX a lot more. I give the PS3 love from time to time, but mostly for single player games. Multiplayer for me is on the XBOX or the PC.

[SupraDOHC]

Skype probably isn't an option anymore since Microsoft now owns it.....

[khamvongsa09]

So your assuming that everyone has a device that is capable of Skype right next to them when they are playing PS3? I don't really find this point valid..

[Oxymoron028]

I'm fairly certain they announced the Party system to be part of PSS, which if so then that means yes, CGC is coming to the PS3.

[WhittO]

I thought PSS was just referring to the games..like PS1/Minis etc, not actual network features?
Can't see them having cross game chat on the Xperia Play which is a part of the PSS.

[Persistantthug]

PS3 has had a vast array of CHAT FEATURES for quite some time, some of them are better than the XBOX 360's (13 total user VOICE chatroom for example).

If you go into almost anygame I have now, UNCHARTED 2, BFBC2--I just Bout Red Dead for $20 2 days ago, so I'll check the online today--and others like GTA4, Orange BOX, I guarantee if any of you or myself go into those games, LESS than half the people will be using mics. Many PS3 folks hardly even use the VIDEO and VOICE chat.

So if PS3 users in general and as a majority, don't use chat features.....Why should Sony spend more resources giving us MORE chat?

That just doesn't make sense to me.

[Biggunz]

maybe because some people want party chat so it can also be used as private chat. The only games I play online are ones that have a private channel for friends only.

[FACTUAL evidence]

@Persistantthug

How in the fuck do you know who uses the chat room or not? Show me the statistics....I'm not going to say a lot does use it, but I have 100 friends on psn and more than 60 of them uses the chat room...

I sort of blame sony a little for the lack of chat on PSN...Maybe if they did a smart bundle with bundling the mic with the ps3 then it wouldn't be a problem for most...Anyway a lot of people tend to have mics. I notice no one really uses them unless they are with friends, instead of just using it to blast music like XBL.

[Ravenor]

I end up muting 90% of the people in almost any game except MAG on the PS3. But I can tell you cross game chat would probably fix that, instead of listening to two people jabber on in french or whatever they can have their own private channel.

[kikizoo]

Most of the time the one who ask for that features "when when when ??" are xbox fans without ps3... :)

most of the games have a party chat, and most of the gamers don't want to be disturbed when they play by people who are not playing....but it's a good thing if you can choose to use it, not an important thing, but another evolution (like video chat, etc)

by the way, if it's "the more wanted feature", it's just because ps3 has all the others..

[ChronoJoe]

@Factual Evidence

Sony frequently bundled mics with popular games in the past, like MGS, Warhawk and Socom.

[TBM]

Usually my friends know not to bother me when im gaming with usless stuff that can wait till im done especially if im playing a great single player game.

Usually ill just chat to them before I play, and if we happen to play the same game then we can talk while playing.

They can implement if they want but personally wont be using it.

[FragMnTagM]

I guess some people are a-social, or just get that wrapped up in a game. I do sometimes too, but chatting with friends and catching up with them is something I can do while I enjoy my games.

Multi-tasking is hard to do. I often don't have a hell of a lot of time to game and it is nice to be able to chat with my friends that are overseas serving in Iraq or accross the country.

It is an awesome feature for me and millions of other people.

[mastiffchild]

Just as many dislike it though and, I suppose, having game settings where you can disable it entirely for people like me who find it KILLS team games like TF2 or allow it for a full group of people who like the feature. the ghosting can also effed off for me and I still never understood why nobody can wait five minutes to talk to a mate thereby giving them their full attention and their full attention to those they game with. From my angle XGC IS the anti social option as it divides your attention which is, to me, plain rude. Just the way I feel about it and I dread it turning up on PSN.

People are tending only to look at their positive view of it and ignoring those that either don't use or actively don't like the feature. It's not something EVERYONE ants invading their gaming or that they enjoy on Live you know? Some gamers just aren't capable, either, of chatting with mates aND playing well. And as for those who use it to cheat...they're another species entirely.

[TBM]

@frag

Sorry dude but im complete opposite of anti social its just that I talk to a lot of people during the day at my job (sanitation) some how are complete nutbags and the last thing I want to do when I get home after a long day of work is talk to more people (even my friends); I just want to relax and game for a bit before talking to anyone.

There is nothing wrong with that. Also I don't like having my single player experience interrupted im a story heavy kinda gamer who likes all his attention focused on the story.

[marinelife9]

Did anyone bother to ask Sony about it?

All those "journalists" there with access to the Sony execs you figure someone would have asked them directly.

[Biggunz]

you would think so.

[showtimefolks]

i was very surprised when the psvita cross game chat was announced. I think ps3 owners will get it soon enough now i read in gameinformer that EA is the reason sony doesn't have cross game chat.

i am not sure why EA but that's what i read

[The Great Melon]

I think the EA situation you were talking about had something to do with an many of their games being incompatible with the implementation of CGC that Sony wanted. This rumour is however really old I think, so who knows if there is any truth in it.

[dantesparda]

Aint happening, forget about cross game chat! Sony just cant do it on the PS3. This and trophies for MGS4 will never happen.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

needing a second device to do cross game chat is not problem solved. That is merely a work around.

[nopunctuation]

If NGP can do it so can ps3.

[Gamer_Z]

Better late than never

[Max_Dissatisfaction]

Yeah. . .no

[M-Easy]

I think its a misconception that most users want CGC. I sure the hell have no need for it and no one on my friends list would be dumb enough to try to chat with me while I'm waist deep in Uncharted 3. CGC is mainly just a bullet point fanboys pointed at to disregard PSN. If I wanted to chat with someone I'd call them.

[PirateThom]

This. As long as you're playing a game and it has built in clan/party chat, I can't see a need for CGC... it's sort of a pointless extra. I'm open to suggestions for why I'd need to talk to someone playing a different game to me, certainly not for tactical reasons.

[-Alpha]

First, the large majority of users on the PS Shareblog want CGC.

I can just as well say that fanboys disregard Cross Chat to act as if XBL doesn't have that feature to add to the bulletpoint. Excuses like "Just use a phone" are clearly silly in that you don't know the numbers of all your PSN friends nor is holding a phone convenient when gaming.

As for uses, it's simple: if you send text messages or carry conversations to anyone on your friend's list while in-game or joined a text party (and I'm sure you all have) then Cross Chat (and voice messaging) is the logical, efficient evolution of that.

Getting pulled out of a game to load up the XMB to text is not an ideal way to send messages when compared to popping up a button to initiate a chat and having a quick, fast conversation.

You may not want cross chat, but it's clear the majority do. Not all games have a built in party chat either, and there are many other scenarios where it's simply a great feature to have

Sometimes I have friends who want to chat about E3 or guys who want to join clans, and it'd be such a timesaver to multitask/speak with multiple people at once.

[PirateThom]

I never said the large majority didn't want it, I just said I didn't have a use for it. I'm all for implimenting it, for people who do want it, but I think there's way more important things that could be implimented, really.

[-Alpha]

You may not have personal use for it, and that's fine, but I think it's about time we get it: using text rooms and text chat is all rather archaic and slow. It's just a matter of efficiency. There'll always be features more important, but they should start somewhere, and why not with the one feature that is not only most requested but also one of the most helpful for common use

It's clear that they want to-- text rooms are blatantly used for the lack of voice chat. If Sony could I'm sure they would have already. What's holding them back, I'm sure, is MS patenting. Which is why the cross platform Vita integration could work for them

[Optical_Matrix]

I used to say the same thing. I got an Xbox in december. Its one of the best features on the machine. It's just convenient. Whats better? Having to bring up the XMB during a game to talk to a friend, or having a party where you can just talk via headset when you see fit? This is coming from an avid PS3 gamer (you all know I am). Cross game chat is a great feature and I can't wait for it in PS Vita.

I use it to just talk to my friends. It's like a jam. We sit back, play our own games, and talk to each other about anything. It's just a nice comfortable social backdrop to enjoy gaming.

[Elwenil]

My issue with CGC is the effect it will have on teamwork in games. Sure, the people in your chat can work together but what about other teammates in the game that are not on your channel? Why not leave the chat in the game where everyone can benefit from it. My son has a 360 and 9 times out of 10, he will have 6 or 8 friends in chat and 2 of them are playing one game, two are playing another, etc, etc. If it were used more for the actual game I might have liked it but it seems the majority of users just use it for a cheap telephone to BS.

I've used Teamspeak and Ventrilo on PC gaming for years and RogerWilco before that, if any of you is old enough to remember it, so I know what a distraction random chat can be. It has to be structured in some way to prevent cheating, distraction and just general stupidity. If this crap is implemented, I sure as hell will not be using it.

[nnotdead]

while Alpha makes some good points, i don't get the text is archaic thought. even with CGC i would use it more, just like i text more than i call friends using a phone. write out a message, and when they get to they can return the message, and when i have time i can check back. i don't want to be in the middle of an important story point when someone randomly asks a dumb question, which causes me to miss what is being said on screen.

the only time i thought a use for CGC or party chat could be help full, is when i was play with a large group of people in MAG. that was just bad design, and has now been fixed.

i do agree Sony needs to get it done. it really does seem it's the one thing a lot of people want, and even though i say i don't need it, i bet i still will end up using it at some point.

[Elwenil]

I don't think it's the actual text that archaic, it's the way it's done on the PS3. As big of a fan of Sony and PS3 as I am, I do have to admit the XMB is very clunky while in game and the whole text keyboard on the screen just takes forever to get your point across. I think we need something better, just not CGC. I do wish we could leave voice messages like on XBL, but no CGC.

[admiralvic]

I disagree its the most requested feature second to none but maybe ps2 playability (which HD classics basically killed.). The thing I dont get about CGC is why its so popular? Unlike the xbox which for as long as ive known came with a mic... the PS3 doesnt and several users dont bother with a mic.

[Hellas13]

Several users don't bother with a mic beacause they don't want to speak to you (not you personaly).They want to speak to their friends.

[thebudgetgamer]

i can see why people would want it, but not me. i barely want to talk too my friends on the phone let alone while i'm relaxing after a long day of work and school.

[phantomexe]

Seeing as nintendo doing it on there new consul, I'd bet sony gets on it now. I'd love to have it.

[Oldman100]

I hope so. Cross game chat, Universal game invite/join system (Every game having a different join/invite system is annoying), and a simple and responsive in game UI is all i want.

[trounbyfire]

PS HOMe has those features

[Infernostew]

CGC would be a nice feature to have on PS3 but I would never use it.

[5119ent]

but home is slow

[ASSASSYN 36o]

Sony gamers have the oddest excuse when trying to justify not having such a feature. A lot of you claim you don't or can't talk while playing a game. I bet some of you talk on the phone while driving or walking. What is wrong? Can't multi task? Hell, I talk on my phone with a blu-tooth headset while flying a plane, and using dead reckoning for navigation. Gaming is a social and private activity. You play online then you have entered the social arena. I have used cross game chat to stay in contact with people who have dropped from games, help with a game, or coordinating all my friends to join my lobby in a game.

It is funny that this website is the only place I have ever seen a consensus that is against cross-game chat on psn.

[sikbeta]

I really don't have an excuse, I'd not use it all the freaking time and I know the more features the PS3 can have, the better, but there is a reason of why it's not implemented and I don't think it'll be on the PS3, so crying out loud for it seems worthless, maybe the PSV will be used as a workaround for the PS3 to finally have XGC or maybe the guys at Sony will update the PS3 OS, free-up some Ram and implement it, thing is, I can live without it.

[Drekken]

You are absolutely right... why anyone would be against this feature, bash you for wanting it, or defend sony for not having it is plain wrong.

Being a supporter of a company is okay... be a blind supporting sheep of that company is nonsense.

MS has it, we want it on the PS3... give it to us. Its been 5 friggin years, Sony. Enough is enough. We don't want a new music graphic, we don't want party text chat rooms, we don't want new video apps, we the gamers of your system want to be able to talk to people on our friends list like on ventrilo. Thank you.

[HSx9]

@ASSASSYN 36o

On this site there are many PS3 Fanboys, and mentioning an ONLY Xbox feature is like an insult to them, so to make themselves feel better they lie about not wanting the feature, when in reality it helps everyone communicate a lot easier. Did your member lag out? Instead of wondering why he left or lagged out, he can just communicate directly to you via Cross Game Chat, but Sony Extremists think that is unecessary... And to people comapring this to a cellphone call, how stupid can you be?
Obviously when your friends invite you to the corss gamechat you don't have to accept it, no one is forcing you to accept that invite....

PS3 and Xbox 360 owner.

Proof for the PS3 FANBOYS
http://screensnapr.com/e/jw...

[RevXM]

What exactly is it proving?
Your picture I mean...

[HSx9]

incase they call me a Xbox fanboy or anything like that, I showed the picture to prove I own both consoles, so I'm not just taking sides or whaever

[dragon82]

Not really any different than Xbox Fanboys saying they don't mind paying for Live when it should be free like PSN. People will always try to justify the features/lack of features on their console of choice. It somehow makes them feel like their purchase was justified.

PS3,360,Wii,PC,PS2,PSP,DS owner.

[khamvongsa09]

Well said sir..

[negroguy]

Do i need it? No
Would it be a nice feature? Sure

[vicechris]

CGC on the ps3 could ruin online experience for players.
interruptions can happen then you have to pause go to xmb and mute. vita is different since it has no HC games yet.

[AdventShadow01]

I think they are going to save that feature for ps4. They went 6 years without it. It's not like ps3 really needs it. Plus ram is a big problem. The only reason why npg got it is because it has more ram than ps3. Ps3 only two seprate 256 mb ram pools, and only 60 mb of is usable in game. If in game xmb lags do you honestly think ps3 can handle cross game chat?

[FragMnTagM]

I for one, would welcome them to do away with nearly everything on the pop up XMB. To me it is really stupid to have everything on it. Why does it need to have everything on it making it slow as hell to pop up?

I am sure if they would tone that down to essential features on the pop up one. i.e. friends list, quit game, maybe trophy one, and a couple others it would load a hell of a lot quicker.

Then they even might have some room for party chat.

[thehitman]

CGC is the most needed feature PSN is missing to finally seperate itself from XBL. Without it XBL>PSN and gamers will continue to choose xbl over psn until Sony figures out how to bring it to the PSN.

@ all the people saying its dumb and not needed stop fooling yourselves and get your heads out ur ass. CGC is an EXTREMELY great convenience when playing w/ friends I remember back when CoD4 released and all my friends bought a ps3 who had a 360 already we tried to party on CoD and we couldnt chat or talk unless we entered the party and we had to actually call each other on the phone to figure out who was leading what match types we going do etc. thats pretty ridiculous. They had fun on the ps3 version but since they had XBL also they never went back to multiplats on PS3 because playing with friends became annoying and tedious on PSN. Sony looses a lot of software sales for that 1 feature and why the PS Vita will have it before the ps3 does is like WTF!

[Series_IIa]

I would love cross game chat on the PS3, the only people who say they don't want it have never used it or have any idea what its all about.

Comes in real handy for when you're playing BFBC2 and you're in a party with more than 4 people since you can only have 4 people in a squad one of you is going to be left out from the squad voice chat.

OH and Socom 4 with that STUPID tap to talk for a few seconds and then getting locked out for about 10 seconds, so if you're getting ambushed and you've just used voice chat... You can't inform your mate that he is gonna get hit next, that being said it should be like on COD where you can only enter certain modes when in a party since it gives you a distinct advantage.

[SuperStrokey1123]

I wonder if friends list/ trophies will transfer over to both systems.

ALso, why didnt keighly ask the question right to Jack Trenton when he had him on his set after the conference? Would have preferrred that question to the Agent one...

[Spenok]

I would imagine they would simply because there is going to be cross platform multiplayer gaming. So friend list for sure, and trophies as well seems like a for sure simply because what if i bought a game on both consoles, and played half the game on each console with the data transfarring feature, but had to earn 2 separate sets of trophies? That just doesn't seem right to me.

Again, I'm pretty sure both are set to be cross compatible.

[akiraburn]

Actually from what I had heard, that question was already answered by the Playstation Europe Blog. They said that your friend list, PSN ID, and trophies all do transfer over to the Vita, and that any trophies earned in Vita games are added into your overall total trophy count. I'd imagine there will be some form of separation between the two, but that's my own speculation.

Here's the exact quote and the link, hope this helps:

"Q: Will the Trophy system on the NGP work towards the same trophy amounts as we currently have on the PS3?
A: Definitely. All trophies you earn on PlayStation Vita will add to your total trophy count and level across the PlayStation Network!"

http://e3.gamersguidetolife...

EDIT: Just wanted to make sure, you were asking this about the Vita, correct?

[Spenok]

This article pretty much mirrored my thoughts exactly. First thought was, wait...what about PS3? Then I thought about it and I guess you could say I'm more then hopeful atm.

[rwarner174]

This is a technical problem. I don't think people have respect for how hard it is to implement something on a system that was never intended to function in that way. XMB was not designed as a multitasking OS. That is the reason there is no cross game chat and its the reason in game XMB feels so slow and clunky. I can't believe they were ever able to get in game XMB to work to be honest.

[thehitman]

your obviously have no idea on what your talking about. In-game chat and xmb was actually showcased before the ps3 released but went M.I.A for unknown reasons Sony doesnt care to admit to us or say whats going on with it. I believe this is far from technical and more legal.

[CNXN]

I heard that they have tried but not all games functioned properly when used or something like that. Not sure but I havent seen anything crash with my own eyes so anythings possible

[rwarner174]

I am a computer engineer. The reason the in game XMB is so cluncky is that they are doing transfers from RAM to the Hardrive to load the xmb icons. There is not enough reserved ram space during game play for a few simple bitmap icons, you honestly think that implementing a audio streaming program with that amount of limited ram resources would be easy. Of course they could implement cross game chat. That is of course if they had enough foresight to reserve the necessary amount of ram for the OS. Now that games have been programmed to use x amount of ram its hard to back annotate it in.

CNXN, that is most likely why games crash. Memory faults.

Please once again explain how I don't know what I am talking about. I would love to here from your extensive expertise.

[ILikeTurtles]

It doesn't make any sense at all...
Why does the Vita have the feature and not the PS3?
xD

[montyburns000]

sony didn't have the foresight to see network heavy features would be driving this generation.

look at trophies, complicated architecture, XMB, PSN. all of them were an afterthought because 6 years ago sony thought this gen would be just like the ps2 days.

[ILikeTurtles]

Probably true.. but the xmb wasn't an afterthought since psp came out before the xbox 360.

[THWIP71]

...I wish I had a dollar for every time I've seen this question in a title over the years. :D

[boubba]

ps3 never have cross game chat. Microsoft owns the patent

[tee_bag242]

I have a PS3 and 360 and have given up waiting for the ps3 to bring cross game chat. I'v heard its a Microsoft patent too...but I find it difficult to believe they could patent such a feature.

I didnt see the big deal about CGC it until I started playing alot of online coop games when I later bought a 360. Its a shame PS3 dont just do it. They should just bend over a pay royalties or whatever must be done. Hell having skpye running in the background would do the trick.
Im guessing most people that dont see it important dont play too many online games (plural here) with their mates?

[CNXN]

they have a patent on their method of implementation not the actual cross game chat itself. So sony isn't allowed to do it the same way.

[Gen0ne]

A lot of people saying they don't care, a lot of people saying they do. Here's the deal, in this day and age the motto should be ( for all companies ) leave the players the option. Plain and simple. You wanna use it? You can. You don't wanna use it? You don't have to. This feature should be there regardless. As with anything in this world, always better to have too much than to have too little. Put the stupid feature in.

[maverick1191]

ive lived with it since ps3 launch all i use is skype or most of the time im on the same game ie COD

what really ticks me off is sony not commenting on the matter, we havent had a new FW full of features for months. If memory serves me right most have been security updates (i know i know PSN got hacked)

i love my ps3 and gaming online but it would make life that more easier if i could party chat with my friends whilst one is on another game etc

Sony how about a update for once or do we have to wait for a anonymous person that claims he works for sony and tells us why CGC isn't going to be implemented or what the hold up is again?

imo CGC wont be what you think it is with this PS Vita to PS3

[konigxs]

To be honest, I think being able to chat in-game at any given time is a 50/50 situation. But more perks for the gaming experience and having the option available is ALWAYS a good thing to have, even if you don't use it or don't care much about it.

[omi25p]

I want cgc on ps3, When im playing my ps3 i have my xbox turned on for party chat.

When im playing on my xbox which is most of the time. My pse is turned on

[iistuii]

Is great. People seem to say they don't want/need it when they haven't used it, yet it's really good when I turn on my xbox and join my friends party and they are all on different games we can then all chat and decide what game to play and then all go in as a party.It's just so handy. Why the PS3 ain't got it yet after all these years i still don't understand.

[tee_bag242]

That precisely it! I can't imagine trying to organise a game through texting..eww

[RavageX]

I have no use for this, most of the time I play games to PLAY....not talk.

I actually find it annoying when I run into a chatty cathy unless its one of those days where I feel like running my mouth too....but thats rare.

[RevXM]

I though CGC for ps3 was confirmed earlier.
Previous e3?
Someone from ND said it was coming, then it was confirmed during an event and before PS plus launched it was listed as one of the features?

Some people seem to not want it.
I do and many others do. If you do not want it. don't use it. For me CGC is convenient and if I could use it to call friends with PSV and the other way around then it would be an absolute killer!

I hope Sony can plug that feature out from their butthole ASAP Ive been waiting a long time for it.
When I come to think of it. it makes me kind of upset that they gave us a rubbish video editor instead of working harder on giving us CGC ...

[OC_MurphysLaw]

I dont claim to be an expert... far from it. That out of the way I think it stands to reason at this point that Cross Game chat aint coming to the PS3. How can that be you ask...the PS3 is a beast of a machine, and you are right it is a powerful beast.

Sony long ago set up their OS on the PS3 to deliver a certain sized footprint on the machine...as in memory allocation. Now they did manage to get that footprint much smaller early into the life cycle of the PS3 but again they have added features in and I am guessing at this point that footprint isnt' going to get any smaller.

So if you have your OS foot print set, you can't add in a layer of a new program that would need to be on all the time (stndbye)without creating a larger footprint and thus impacting ALL games negatively on the PS3 currently as they all are developed around set amounts of memory, cpu usage, etc...