Xbox headset sound to improve

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 26 August, 2010

"It's time to move on," says Live boss.

The quality of sound that comes through Xbox 360 headsets will be significantly improved when Microsoft updates the Xbox 360 this Fall.

The refresh, designed to coincide with the launch of Kinect, will upgrade the codec and audio infrastructure that underpins the quality of voice communication from Xbox 360 to Xbox 360, and should make for clear chat between gamers when they play online, Xbox Live Studios boss Jerry Johnson said at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival this afternoon.

"The codec we used when we first launched was a low bit rate codec and we stuck with that," Johnson explained.

"We launched and we said we required broadband. We required a 64k connection, which not many people think of as broadband any longer. But that was the minimum requirement to run the service at the time.

"It's time for us to move on. Especially if we want to think about broadening - a crackly headset on the top of your head – not what people think of when they talk about popular entertainment."

Microsoft introduced voice communication to the original Xbox with the November 2002 launch of Xbox Live.

The quality of sound has long been the focus of complaints from gamers, particularly those who favour team based multiplayer titles.

Some even prefer to use voice over internet protocol Skype to ensure every word is heard.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (57) 4 months ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!