Bundle it before cross game chat

For too long we have heard the rumor about cross game chat coming to the PS3. Although it does seem to be one of the more asked for features, here is something Sony needs to consider about their system regarding headsets.

We have heard people talking about how PS3 owners don't use their headsets and those that do are using cheap bluetooth headsets. The official headset has the ability to broadcast in HQ mode which makes it sound great when talking to other official headset users, although a horrible experience when listening to anyone with a cheap bluetooth device.

[WildArmed]

honestly, i dont like using voice chat unless I'm playing with friends. It is too annoying when you hear someone getting yelled at by his mom or w/e. or some teen mouthing off sh!t just coz he got 1 kill more then the rest? =/ I love VC in co-op modes, but competitive it annoys the sh!t out of me.
Most of the time i dont bother with headsets. Plus since sony's system is highly compatible with usb headsets among other things. So i dont see the need.

[Anon1974]

One of the biggest problem with XBL is everyone has a headset. For whatever reason, having to go out and buy a blu-tooth headset has acted as some sort of IQ test. There are still morons on the PSN, but they're few and far between. I personally prefer muting one idiot every 6 matches instead of 5 idiots every single match. Ruined Halo 3 for me.

[HolyOrangeCows]

Let the people who WANT to communicate and strategize purchase headsets. Otherwise, you have a bunch of ten year olds yelling their heads off, like Xbox LIVE.

[elorm9]

Exactly what I was thinking. Luckily most of those retards probably don't even know they can get a headset. :)

[SprSynJn]

Sony knows what they are doing with this. They know that not everyone wants to chat and/or hear people chatting while they are playing games. Having it sold separately is a very good idea and I hope they continue to do so, mainly for the reasons stated above.

[randomwiz]

honestly, if im not playing with friends, I won't use any type of voice chat. The only time I'm playing a game without my friends and will use a headset is when im playing MAG. Playing MAG without a headset is hell when you're squad leader and you're squad is filled with noobs.

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

I like that headsets are standard. Why?

Because I can mute people and even limit to only friends to chat, but if my friend(s) doesn't have a headset we are suddenly unable to communicate. The mute button is just a few button presses away!!!

[Schobeleth]

The online is free, in my opinion Sony's outlook with online gaming and everything related to it is: "Optional" whereas the 360 is completely catered to it. The thing is, you still get the same quality for free with the PSN. All we need is cross game chat/party system from the XMB and we're golden.

People who want to communicate with others will buy headsets and contribute to team play. I'd rather have this then what other posters are saying, i.e. new PS3 users yelling "NOOB! I PWNED YOU NOOB!" into their headsets. I'd rather not have the PSN turn into a free Xbox Live, thank you.

[droid and bot]

Sony dose not wont to FORCE you to use only their head set
you can use any bluetooth or any USB head set you like

more choices

[bpac123456789]

I honestly hate how most ps3 owners on this site spin every article that is even slightly critical of the ps3. Do you guys honestly believe that having nobody talk is better than having to deal with a few annoying kids every now and then? The truth is psn would be infinrtly better if everyone had a mic. It would feel more like a community and less like a match with a bunch of randomely generated bots. I love my ps3 but thenonline is far inferior to Live. Even if we had all the same features it wouldn't be the same because nobody would use them. (because most people don't have a mic.).

- the option to not use a feature is always better than not having that feature. People like choices.

[NoBias]

That's exactly whats wrong with PSN and why it isn't considered a more hardcore route. For competitive play, mics are crucial. I HATE getting on PSN and I'm trying to win with communication and it sounds like a barren wasteland. There's nothing more frustrating to a competitive hardcore player.

That's why SOCOM has always been my favorite and most played game franchise ever. If you try to jump in a room without a mic and your not communicating, you're ass is gonna get voted out so fast. The SOCOM community doesn't tolerate that mess.

Beyond that game, the fact that I can't count on communication for gameplay unless my friends are online is pretty weak. The competitive PSN community is really weak otherwise. You end up talking to yourself all game and the strategy is pretty non-existent throughout teams. That's why SOCOM and Uncharted 2 are the only shooters I play on PSN.

SOCOM because of the hardcore communication factor and Uncharted 2 because... Well... You really don't need any explanation for a sick title like that. Besides, a lot of my SOCOM clan play it as well.

[NegativeCreepWA]

I like voice quality of the Sony mic but it still lacks noise cancellation so it picks up nearly just as much background noise as the others. I get so tired of hearing peoples TVs and family's in the background.

[NegativeCreepWA]

After reading some comments it makes me think most of you should just stick to playing single player games.

[NoBias]

Man, that's exactly what I was thinking. They're the silent n00bs messin it up for everyone else.

[ZOMBIEMAN1]

i bought a headset a while back and i barley use it online but here's a word of advice for the author , buy 1 yourself you cheap a hole also to the 2 guys above me , why ? some ppl don't like hearing the background sounds coming from other players doesn't mean they have to stick with single player

[SixZeroFour]

Scar 360WA thats what i was thinking as well...its like communication and being social is dead, like you cant make friends outside of your community and anyone not your friend isnt worth talking to...although i agree with the majority of the repliers that the "common" mic user is an underaged player screaming out every curse word and racial slur he has just learned in his current grade, but you cant automatically think that as being everyone outside of your friends...thats what the mute button is for

i like leaving it on even when they are talking cause sometimes its entertaining and relaxes me from being stress about possibly losing a match, but if it ever gets so annoying, i just mute them and its done with

and you too NoBias at 1.11
i agree with that as well, mics are a very crucial aspect when you are a competitive gamer, even if it is with random ppl...there is the off chance that they arent 11yo's and DO want to win as well and WILL cooperate, hell thats how ive made friends that i play with that i havent even met personally but its like they are just like all my other friends

its just that some games (mostly strategic) do require a mic or else its just like playing with highly advanced npc's

[Microsoft Xbox 360]

More games need to embrace the push-to-talk feature just like Socom. I can't stress how irritating it is to listen to people screaming and playing their crap music. It's nice to have everyone with a mic, but I hate the idea of it being broadcasted 24/7.

[BLuKhaos]

Hell no!
If a person wants to chat then they can buy a headset.PSN would be worse than XBL if every PS3 came bundled with a headset since any yahoo could make a PSN account because it's free.Besides headsets are $50, if people can afford to pay $50 just to play online then they wouldn't have any trouble buying a headset if they wanted to switch over.

[callahan09]

Lately I've been hearing more people talk online in PS3 games than 360 games. Ever since the party chat thing came to XBL, everyone seems to be using it, and if you're going in there alone playing with whoever random the matchmaking sets you up with, then you're not going to be involved in anyone's private chat party and so you wind up not hearing anyone talk, and they can't hear you talk. It's really no better than the PS3 in terms of going online to play with random people and actually being able to talk with them.

[rockleex]

They should know what they're supposed to do in a certain situation without me ordering them around. If they don't know what to do, I'd rather let them learn from their own experience instead of relying on an expert to tell them what to do.

I also don't like the idea of ordering random people around because they may have their own plans and strategies. I don't want to enforce my type of game plan onto them.

Noobs will die or do stupid stuff even if you come up with a great plan for them to follow. Then you might as well use them as a distraction, which I won't do that.

The ONLY times I would actually want to use a headset is when there's another expert on my team and we REALLY need some strategy to beat the other team because they're a clan and they're planning everything.

[NegativeCreepWA]

If your playing a game like MAG and have no intentions to work with your team why bother playing, I can understand it in COD where one person can win a match for the team. But a game like MAG it takes squads working together to win.

[rockleex]

I would definitely use a headset in games like MAG, but I forgot to add it in at the end.

But my last paragraph still should have implied it though.

[imabeast48]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Campy da Camper]

What I want is the party feature. that is the one thing I miss about LIVE. Once they cam out with that, I ALWAYS made a party with friends then went into the game. Not having to hear the endless pre-teen screaming was sooooo nice.

And when I played and saw someone was actualy playing the game right (taking flags on CTF, not just sniping) I would send them a mess and friend invite and add them to the party.) My friends list was full of people that I actualy enjoyed playing with! And the reverse was in effect, too. My friends and I would often get mess from people in the game saying, "Can I join your party? You guys are playing really well and I cannot stand listening to my team bicker and screetch anymore!"

[ThanatosDMC]

Well there's always the ban hammer for those that curse excessively. Censorship? There's an online written rule before you start an online game that you have to accept.

[EnzoAmata]

It's not that tho the official headset has clearity also has a mute button which is great to use when mom's are shouting. Like your saying, great for co op well I'd imagine you'd want the best quality possible and if bundled you would get it without even trying. Enhancing the expereience for everyone.

[reneki]

Yeah i like that mute, but the damn thing is uncomfortable as ****, pain very much after a short gaming session.

[L-a-i-n]

I honestly never use my headset because I really dont want to talk to most of the people on there. Unless I know the person I rather not talk to them at all and kick there but and move on.

[zootang]

Bundle it in with MW2 or uncharted 2 and your on to a winner

[-EvoAnubis-]

I disagree that it needs to be bundled with the PS3. That would mean the price would go back up. No, one of the cool things about the PS3 is that just about any USB or Bluetooth headset will work. As long as they keep bundling it with select games (MAG for example) then everything will be fine.

[mastiffchild]

Seriously though putting the official Sony BT headset in bundles is NOT the same as the crappy effort MS give you wth every 360 now is it?

Maybe if they bundled a cheap USB heady(PS2 Socom sets work just as well as the official BT imo)it could be a goer but if they do then some kind of push to talk is a no braind necessity, imo. I often have my headset turned off because my house is really loud and the background noise can explode now and then(teenage daughter-oh the bloody drama!)and I don't want to hear that from someone else so why would I inflict mine on them? Push to talk, though, and problem solved full time.

Xgame chat, however, is one thing I hope PSN steers well clear of. It ruins ream games by distractibng whoever is talking to mayes elsewhere, leads to cheating and are we all so impatient that waiting a minute or two to talk to someone(which would be the polite thing towards those you're actually playing with/against at that time)is a torture for us these days?

Flexible mute options, push to talk in team games and a cheaper, but good (and more sturdy than the free 360 headset), maybe even USB headset and Sony could have a decent option for getting more comms on PSN but, for less team based games I often find the comparative silence(esp if you have no mates online)on PSN a bit of a boon!

[NotSoSilentBob]

Problem with trying to force voice on people is that a lot of players don't care to chat cause talking distracts you from the game. I would rather Sony have a choice to either mute all or allow all and then let you choose to mute a single person. I picked up a
Motorola Bluetooth® Headset H700 and I talk fine with my friends who have the Jabra 125s from Warhawk. The problem is that 90% of people who have headsets are either
A. Little kids who talk crap
B. Black people getting stoned talking crap
C. People who are trying to be tactical that get angry with their teamates who don't care about winning just having fun.

[Marceles]

"B. People getting stoned talking crap"

Fixed, no need to single out a race.

[kaveti6616]

I hear more white people talking about weed on XBL than black people. The difference is, with all due respect to all races, a lot of white boy teenagers think they're hot sh!t when they talk about smoking weed all the time. On halo3 they alter their insignia to look like a cannabis leaf and a lot of them have gamertags that reference cannabis (e.g. 420). I think regular people who smoke weed don't really draw much attention to it because it's not a big deal.

[NotSoSilentBob]

I am not racist. I believe everyone is equal and works for greatness, but I have not ran into any white people who make such a big deal about getting stoned. Usually, USUALLY, it is a black guy who is smoking up and announces it to everyone that is my PERSONAL experience and that is what i stated. I respect that you are trying to stop a potential fight but the fact remains in my time on PSN it is the African American race that draws attention to the usage of drugs.

[Marceles]

I'm just saying that you probably have been watching too many Soulja Boy stories on N4G or something...because I rarely hear black people talking crap on PSN, let alone many black people to begin with honestly. I'm black and me and my friends are pretty much the black sheeps on PSN from what I've experienced playing online. I've had the same experience as kaveti, it's mostly "wannabes" that you hear smoking and running their mouths on the mic and giggling with their friends. It's annoying to me too.

I'm not trying to start anything, it's just when I read your comment it felt like I could personally hear you saying this in audio "KIDS talking crap, BLACK PEOPLE GETTING STONED WHILE talking crap" etc. etc...and it just hit me like "whoa whoa, where did you find black people getting stoned and talking crap on PSN? I'd love to see that". Nothing personal though it's all good. Xbox Live is another story though lol...I know you've seen this.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

You can clearly hear who the "wannabe" is and who the black guy is.

[NoBias]

Fun Fact: What you just said was extremely racist.

And being a black person, myself, if you were next to me right now, you probably would have gotten slapped.

"but the fact remains in my time on PSN it is the African American race that draws attention to the usage of drugs."

I don't even know where to begin with this. Can I ask you a question as well, how do you know for sure that they were black? That's got to be some of the most ignorant and racist sh*t I've ever heard on this site. And the fact that he already got 2 agrees makes me look at N4G in a completely different light.

And they say people on LIVE are racists. Goes to show you they're on PSN as well.

Pathetic and ignorant jackasses...

[Marceles]

"And the fact that he already got 2 agrees makes me look at N4G in a completely different light."

And the fact that I got 5 disagrees lol...

"no no SilentBob waz rite! Onliezz da blackzes!"

[BLuKhaos]

Most of the time on PSN when I run into someone either high or about to get high, they're white.As a matter of fact I have a two people on my friends list with names referencing cannabis usage like Smoke14me,Treesmoke and they're white; but they're very good players when they're high.

@NoBias;"Goes to show you they're on PSN as well."
That's exactly why I don't want a headset to be bundled with every PS3 because on PSN anyone can make as many accounts as they want.

[Gobot]

"how do you know for sure that they were black?"

Guy i suspect is black: Damn, n- I'm higha den a muhfugga!
Other guy i suspect is black: n- n- n- n- n- n- n- n- you crazy! n-

N- stands for the N-word.

Also, white kids trying to act cool talking about taking pills and smoking,both are equally annoying.

I hit the square button, and the problem goes away.

[callahan09]

I have a question... how the hell can you tell if someone is black or not when you can't see them? Voices and word choice don't necessarily indicate that sort of thing. You may think you know, but you'd probably be surprised half the time.

[NotSoSilentBob]

Not that hard to tell a black mans voice from a white guy. I had to work with black guys for the longest time and they are some of the best workers I have seen. But it does become easier to tell who truely is a black guy by the sound of voices. Call me a racist I know the fact you just feel insecure about it. I've always found it funny that white people are always the most "racist people on earth" yet black people are the ones going around swearing at each other and accusing everyone else that its racism holding them back.

[mc-fine]

the "I'm not racist I am just right about blacks" argument.

[Nitrowolf2]

they should bundle it with all exclusive upcoming games

[madpuppy]

playing all serious and @nal. joking around with your teammates is half the fun for me.

On the 360 I would get that half of the time and the other 2 quarters you would get annoying foul mouths or the serious clan gamer. they are the worst.

as for the PS3 I always had trouble hearing while chatting with a blutooth headset. even the PS3 one. I just ordered a turtle beach P21 and am looking forward to trying that out on my ps3, http://www.turtlebeach.com/...
I hope that it is as good as the reviews say it is.

(I reached a milestone today, I gathered up my 360 and ALL of its accessories and the 5 games that I had left and traded it in at gamestop as a down payment for another PS3. No more red rings, no more E74 no more 2 weeks plus of waiting to get it back from Texas. I just have one thing to say...UP YOURS Microsoft! 3 replaced consoles is enough for me!)

[edwineverready]

I think the official headset was ok in the beginning.
The only problem was that people could not hear me that loud. That has been fixed with a fw update and now it's the best bt headset i owned/own for my ps3.

Regarding your xbox360 trade in. I wish more xbox360 owners that had a bad experience did that. So Microsoft will think twice next time before rushing to be first.

[madpuppy]

Owning the 360 was the worst product experience I have EVER had as a consumer. I don't have to imagine how people who bought Yugo automobiles years ago felt when their cars started falling apart not 4 months later.
Microsoft had got to be one of the top ten worst companies when it comes to almost ALL of its products. they were more focused on "beating" Sony even at the cost of screwing customers. They can go to Hell for all I care. I mean C'MON!!! they cannot even get a TOY right!!

[sikbeta]

Yes, It seems that way

[Punch-o]

I have the P21 headset i dont even touch my official bluetooth anymore.

[madpuppy]

I am going to be getting it this Monday and am looking forward to using it.

[jjohan35]

There I got it off my chest. Didn't mean to shout at anyone in particular. Hearing people sh!t talk is still better than forcing everyone to listen to your bad music tastes.

I got nothing against rap music. But I hate bad rap music, esp when it sounds like crap over the bluetooth headset.

[Noob]

I don't care what it is, just shut it off. It's annoying hearing someone blast music through a mic. If I wanted to listen to music, I would listen to music! Before Home got rid of voice chat in public areas, people would do that and it was annoying.

[TheBand1t]

So if I don't feel like talking or listening to people, I can just mute it and put it on a table.

[Sigh]

a motorola one. But I don't know, just not the type to be talking while a game is going on. Somewhere down the road I'll purchase that official one since my other friends keep nagging me "get a better headset".

[ZombieAutopsy]

and here i am still using my usb headset ive had since playing BF2:MC on my ps2.

[mastiffchild]

Mate , when my Socom USB died and I had to go BT I was gutted! Worked way better than even the official Sony BT for me. Might look for another on Ebay actually and the thing is that's just the type of heady that Sony could afford to bundle-they must cost nothing to make these days, no?

It's not like the headset I get with a 360 is state of the art now, is it? Why would Sony put the official BT in in it's place when it must be many times the cost? No, they'd need a reliable and cheaper alternative and the old Socoms work fine so why not?

[Jamaicangmr]

Playin a game of deathmatch in Uncharted 2 trash talking as you go along. Hearing the other guys mark you for death or trash talk you whenever they kill you is great. Reminds me of playing basketball or Football (Soccer)for real. Quiet games tend to get boring people can still talk an have fun it's those racist mofo's that spoil it for everyone.

[cyberwaffles]

Need...moar...commas!

[Jamaicangmr]

Sorry lol! Am on my phone and was hurrying back to Uncharted 2.

[stb]

no a deal reading it, but when they are that lacking of punctuation signs...i just skip to read it, try to use it lad.

[chisox100]

more people need headsets in nazi zombies

[bigboss911]

http://geizhals.at/img/pix/...
this is the one i use. its awesome. duel speaker headset, with mute and volume buttons. Made by logitech. you can get it in Walmart for cheap. better than the crappy bluetooth headsets that sound like am radio static, and works way better than the one they made for ps2. that one sucked and could break really easy.

[madpuppy]

but, my dog got tangled in the wire and ripped the wire right out of the little controller, I tried to soldier it back together but, I didn't have the right tools and the wires were just too damn small for the soldier I had.

[OrganicMachine]

they kick arse.. I got the socom:confrontation bundle.. best purchase, $50 for the headset, $10 for the game.. :D

[madpuppy]

except I traded socom out unopened on goozex for 1000 pts. it is almost like getting the headset for free.

[proudly_X]

Sony leaves you with choices, in my own selfless opinion i think that's much more better.

[stb]

ye you want to bash it, but good try, natal is a good innovative product, and that thing isnt that near of natal, but whatever, even with natal, SHTBOX WILL DIE. lol

[SSCOOLCHEA]

I don't think any fkn ps3 owner care to much about in game cross chat . Bots want in game cross chat on the ps3 than ps3 owners .

[Gago]

funny thing

I just bought the Official Ps3 Headset today

Love that thing

[bujasem_89]

i mean cross game chat would be fun and alot of ppl dont have the mic , so bundling it with it would be helpful its an excellent mic seriously its top notch

[Gobot]

They should, but they won't.

[CryWolf]

I think a bluetooth headset should be bundle with every Sony's PS3 SKU models.

[devilhunterx]

"HONEY, Where is my sandwitch!!?"

<bad rap music blaring in the background>

etc etc

Yea voice chatting is fun.

[mastiffchild]

Hey! I want a "sandwitch"! Is that a magic woman with a pointy hat that lives at the beach?

I'm only kidding and realise it's a typo but I just dug on the accidental invention. Sandwitches sound cool. Maybe they have special sand based powers like Bayonetta's hair but just with, erm, sand instead? Oh, or are they MADE of sand so are in danger from heat attacks turning them into glass husks of their former sandy selves? Or even a witch between slices of buttered bread? A magical sarnie in the shape of a pointy hat?

The possibilities are endless;)

But, yeah, the reason I often have mine turned off is that I know people do NOT need to hear the million noisy dramas that play out in my home. I was playing TF2 the other day , talking and strategising(which I'm much better at than actually shooting people), when all my mates could hear was "my God! The dogs just shot his stuff on the littlun' !" from the missus. Admittedly it sounded bad(though apparently hilarious)but in reality he'd only sneezed a load of snot at the kid rather than something from another appendage than his nose.

Anyway, it's that kind of thing which makes me reluctant to have mine on when I'm not alone in the room-and because all you'd usually hear is my teenage girl demanding money, make up, lifts, food from whoever might be listening it can get VERY dull. Some sort of working push to talk system is what I'd like universally provided rather than headsets alone. Then we'd avoid hearing the babies crying, domestics starting and teenage daughters whining over PSN. People mumbling about just how stoned or amazing they are, sadly, isn't so easy to escape these days! Nor is the poor musical taste of your erstwhile teammates.

Sandwitches, however, I'm all in favour of-and, indeed, sandwiches too;)

[04soldier]

All online games should incorporate 'push to talk' into their online mutiplayer. Its more organized that way.
Only one person gets to talk and everyone has to listen. This works well for planning strategies. I mean it was HELL for me coming from SOCOM to COD4 with its open mic system.

Open mics allow people to blare music through your tv/headset, hear nongame conversations from your team, Or just some random person who just talks way too much.

SOCOM does voice chat right.

[Sir Ken_Kutaragi]

...the most STUPIDEST idea EVER!!! I don't want it. I got my GAMES Console for PLAYING GAMES!!! ;) NOT CHATTING SH!T ALL DAY!!! ;-D

[InLaLaLand]

what if there's a delay for cross chat or some other thing has come across the path like EA (yes that picture lol) and firmware 3.0. If that happens and people complain. Well... to the people that will complain if it doesn't come, shine your headsets real nice, stick it sideways and shove it up your candy a$s. Well I don't want it (a delay) to happen but you never know.

[ACEMANWISE]

1) Parents buy consoles. Most times they don't know a headset is included. They give the console to their kids and they use the headset. This is why Xbox Live is filled with kids singing, yelling, swearing and being immature. Headsets should be rated Teen and not bundled.

2) If you want it, buy it. If you are a little kid chances are your parents won't buy you a headset. If they do, then at least they are aware of it. Buying separately allows people to chose which headset they want.

[mc-fine]

no one really has an excuse. If your cell phone is capable you probably have a couple headsets lying around the house. Playing Uncharted 2 there always seems to be 3-5 people in the game that have headsets. There are enough people using which will prompt others to join up if they want.

I use mine sparingly. When I play player matches with PSN friends. I avoid using it all the time due to having the wife and kids running around the house and no easy way of muting.

[spunkee311]

I've never seen soo many people complaining about the headset. If there is an annoying kid just mute him. not a big deal. And usually really annoying kids are far and few between.
The one thing I love about 360 is that everyone has a headset. ANd even then not everyone uses them. Some games need communication to coordinate better. Halo 3, Left 4 dead etc...
And now that Sony is coming into its own with online gaming this bundle seems like an excellent idea.
Especially for Uncharted 2 and Resistance 2. And who doesn't love to trash talk once in awhile?