PS3 cross-game chat on the cards?

By Oli Welsh Published 18 November, 2009

So says deleted post from Sony staffer.

A PlayStation Network product manager has indicated that Sony is working on cross-game chat for PS3.

Thorpe was replying to reader comments asking after the feature on his PlayStation Blog post about the next, Facebook-packing firmware update. However, it seems he said too much, because his comment has subsequently been deleted.

"I wish I could just give you a date, I really do!! Trust me when I say that as soon as I hear from 'up top' I will be shouting about it and making myself the most popular person on the blog. I hope, like you all do, that its sooner rather than later," James Thorpe said, according to Kotaku.

It's not the first time that Sony has attempted to cover up indiscretion about the development of cross-game chat, one of PS3 fans' most requested features. Last month, Kotaku reported that a Naughty Dog developer wrote "the next PS3 firmware update is going to allow cross game chat" in answer to a question about Uncharted 2 multiplayer.

The deletions most likely mean that the feature is indeed in development, but some way from being confirmed, so don't hold your breath.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (46) Latest comment 2 years ago

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

  • INSOMANiAC #1 2 years ago

    If only theyd done this a number of years ago PSN wouldnt be seen as the poor mans Xbox live. Cross game chat and free online gaming would have been a major draw, as it is now its a nice feature for people already using PSN but for the vast majority Xbox live is where its at !

    Too little, too late.

  • Gregolution #2 2 years ago

    Agree with you to a certain extent, but there's always the better late than never argument. X game chat is a gaping hole in the functionality, but once it's there PSN is a bloody decent free service. If this console generation lasts as long as many claim, it could still be significant.

  • Toothball #3 2 years ago

    Yeah, normally with Sony if they deny something you know it's happening soon. For them to remove the source of a claim is a very good sign.

    But again it's another thing that seems to have come straight from the Xbox side of things again. Can't really blame them as it's a very useful feature in this day and age. It's taken them long enough though.

  • INSOMANiAC #4 2 years ago

    Yes, for free its a good service I just hope they allow the chat a little more bandwidth, me and my mate both have the official ps3 bluetooth headsets and chat is just not clear enough at the moment.

  • NotSoSlim #5 2 years ago

    A poor mans live? It was seen like that I don't think it is anymore. End of the day Sony are a hardware company first so what they have done with PSN so far is great for a free service imo

    Cross game chat would be great...but PSN has many other pluses!!
    Edited by 1 at 18/11/09 @ 09:25

  • Gregolution #6 2 years ago

    People can complain that Sony are just copying Microsoft, but the important thing to remember here is this is the beauty of a competitive market. Never have 2 consoles been so alike with the vast majority of X platform games looking identical. At least Sony is starting to implement some of the nice features Microsoft brought to the field, and maybe PSN pricing is keeping Microsoft from charging even more for their service. We all win as consumers in this environment, the worst thing that could happen for everyone is if Sony drops out of the next console generation.
    Edited by 1 at 18/11/09 @ 09:26

  • INSOMANiAC #7 2 years ago

    Yeah well the hardware is so difficult to programme for all the cross platform games turn out to be inferior..... but thats another subject altogether.

    Dont get me wrong Ive got a ps3 and home, iplayer, vidzone etc are all great for free but in terms of actually chatting and getting together with friends onthere its is way behind xbox live, I suppose you get what you pay for,

  • Beano #8 2 years ago

    Cross-game chat is a usefull feature and I hope Sony will focus on stuff like that in the future... and not utter useless features like facebook and twitter integration!

  • NorUraeus #9 2 years ago

    The biggest advantage of getting cross-game chat.....not having people whine about not having cross-game chat

  • Beano #10 2 years ago

    "The biggest advantage of getting cross-game chat.....not having people whine about not having cross-game chat "

    +5

  • Dizzy #11 2 years ago

    It will probably require a disk ;)

    /gets coat

  • jonsaan #12 2 years ago

    That post does not indicate they are working on such a feature. It sounds like he would like them too, like everyone else would. It doesn't say they are.

  • Beano #13 2 years ago

    Another feature which I hope Sony will do: voice messages. it's possible to attach pictures to messages but not a voice clip. Sould not be a major feature to implement since in-game messaging is allready in place.

  • Collymilad #14 2 years ago

    "The biggest advantage of getting cross-game chat.....not having people whine about not having cross-game chat "

    Of course it is.


    Oh wait... :|

  • YobRenoops #15 2 years ago

    Its coming March. Tied with GT5? GOW3? FF13? Heavy Rain? More acronyms?

  • Bigglesworth #16 2 years ago

    For goodness' sake, there was nothing in that post that even *implied* it was coming soon, or even at all.

  • SeesThroughAll #17 2 years ago

    Maybe the feature has been under development for a long time, but constantly delayed, because it takes too much memory, or they can't make it work on every game.

    I think it's safe to say that when they finally figure it out, the firmware including it will be announced a month ahead of release. They won't be trying to hide it.
    Edited by 1 at 18/11/09 @ 10:11

  • Teamallstar #18 2 years ago

    If you want cross game chat, buy a 360??

    PS3 out of 10...

  • oreillymj #19 2 years ago

    While x-game chat would be nice. I think it's got to the point where it's too late. Most people on PSN don't use headsets, and those that do (at least in COD4/6) are really annoying. There's never enough people in a game with headsets for them to be able to discuss tactics

    While Sony are at it, I'd love a Slingplayer client added to the FW. I know it competes with their RemoteTV box, but it would really add something to the PS3 and would match the Xbox's Sky deal to a certain extent.

    Oh yeah, and fix the dreadful music organisation now that they have the photos section sorted.

  • Zomoniac #20 2 years ago

    Thank fuck for that. I don't bother with online on PSN, since it usually involves trying to set up a game through mobile calls, then switching to the headset once all in the game, then the voice going the second the game finishes, then having to have post-game discussion on the phone again. The incredible ease of chatting on Live about what game to play, putting it in and discussing what options to set it up with, sending the invite, playing the game, then having a chat about the game afterwards whilst playing seperate games all without ever losing the chat connection is wonderful. It's hard to not have it.

  • aphexstwin #21 2 years ago

    oreilly, my music organisation is fine, i can sort by year, genre, alphabet, artist or album. what more do you need? make your own music playlist?

    im not terribly arsed by x game chat tbh coz i dont want someone rabbiting on in my lughole talking about his game while im trying to play mine, its offputting. i'd rather they added x game music, its a much better addition imo

  • Ryze #22 2 years ago

    Old. Late.

  • Beano #23 2 years ago

    Maybe because of the great games?

  • el_pollo_diablo #24 2 years ago

    I have little to no interest in this feature.

  • Kapo! #25 2 years ago

    I've genuinely never understood the necessity of cross-game chat. I assume it allows you to engage in dialogue with another friend whilst you simultaneously play different games, right? Christ, I can't think of anything more annoying. It's bad enough trying play a game with my girlfriend sat next to me and trying to hold a conversation with her at the same time. It usually boils down to me giving one-word answers or grunts, and then getting frustrated by the distraction.

    God, I can imagine it now:
    Friend: "Mate, what level are you on now?"
    Me: "6"
    30 SECONDS OF SILENCE
    Friend: "Oh, i'm only on 4"
    Me: "Cool"
    MORE SILENCE.
    Friend: "So, are you enjoying the game?"
    Me: "Yes!"
    Friend: "What's your favourite bit?"
    Me: "FUCK OFF! I just died because of you! Stop distracting me!"
    SILENCE
    Friend: "Do you want to play a different game?"
    ME: *SIGNS OUT*

  • Gregolution #26 2 years ago

    @Insomniac - you can say x platform games suffer because the PS3 is hard to program for, but there's a flip side to that. A lot of people in the industry argue that the DirectX platform has stagnated and we're moving towards a transition back to using a powerful multi core CPU (in other words software) to process 3d effects. In other words, although easier to write games for the Xbox - it's also limiting.

    Like it or not things are getting more complicated with a hardware switch into parallelism instead of ever increasing clock speeds so more complex to program for devices like the PS3 are necessary for further evolution in graphics.

    (great article here - http://ww w.edge-online.com/features/the-...

  • Gregolution #27 2 years ago

    @Kapo. You don't need to be in different games! Try this conversation :

    You're both playing Fifa 10 at the same time in single player.

    Friend : do you want to play a quick game?
    Me : yeah ok, give me 3 minutes.
    Me: ok I'm ready now, meet you in the lobby called 'x game chat is useful'
    Friend: ok great, I'm there lets switch to lobby chat now.

    Make sense now?

  • SeesThroughAll #28 2 years ago

    I love it how PS3 owners desperately attempt to justify cross game chat as irrelevant.

    I love it how 360 owners desperately attempt to justify an online gaming subscription fee as good value for money.

    If cross game chat is that essential to you, stop trolling and go play with your 360. Or yourself. Whichever you like more.

  • oreillymj #29 2 years ago

    aphexstwin - Are you telling me that when you rip or copy MP3's to your PS3 they gett put into a folder structure as follows

    Artist->Album->Tracks

  • aphexstwin #30 2 years ago

    oreilly, if they have that information on the file, yes. i havent had to add song names or album titles to anything. if you upload a cd it finds all the info anyway. the only things i have changed is adding album sleeves and genres.

  • oreillymj #31 2 years ago

    aphextwin. I'm not talking about coverart or missing infomation. It's up to me to supply that data.

    I'm talking about the folder structure within the XMB for music.

    Last time I checked, the PS3 did not organise music by Artist->Album->Tracks which is how 99% of the world stores music

  • Beano #32 2 years ago

    "I love it how 360 owners desperately attempt to justify an online gaming subscription fee as good value for money."

    No - the fee means that the service is better... it must be!
    Edited by 1 at 18/11/09 @ 12:43

  • Petulant_Radish #33 2 years ago

    "chatting online is for gimps"

    Yes, and comparatively typing on an internet forum about computer games is for the coolest people in the world only.

    "they do is talk absolute PISH!!!"

    It's called banter, or having a conversation, at least 80% of what I chat to my friends about down the pub could be considered pish. Or do you and your friends only discuss Descartes and the other enlightenment thinkers that followed him?

  • Beano #34 2 years ago

    The XBL fee is a just a extra expence to hide the true price of the 360 to consumers - it has nothing to do the expense MS has to keep the online service going which they claim. I'm not dissing the brilliant implementation of the online features in the 360 OS, but the fee is utter BS.
    Edited by 1 at 18/11/09 @ 13:16

  • Bigglesworth #35 2 years ago

    @oreillymj
    When sorting by Artist then yes, you will browse Artist, then, Albums, then tracks.

    If you're talking explicity about the structure on the filesystem, then no, you won't necessarily see subfolders laid out in that manner. I think it depends on the method used to copy the tracks to the PS3. However for the most part the PS3 hides the filesystem from the user, as a Walkman or iPod does. You can use the advanced view to see the underlying structure, but that doesn't gain you anything, unless I'm missing something?

  • EMULOUS #36 2 years ago

    Mr writer, if you cant stand people complaining that they wish crossgame chat was available on the PS3 then why on earth would you click on this article? Go away you tit.

  • Bigglesworth #37 2 years ago

    @EMULOUS
    Because he clicked the link looking for actual information on PS3 cross-game chat, following the misleading headline, and plain-wrong tagline?

    Seriously EG, I approve of your punny tags, really I do; I even understand your leading- and speculatory taglines, but this is just straight-up inaccurate. That post didn't say anything of the sort.

  • SeesThroughAll #38 2 years ago

    The XBL fee is a just a extra expence to hide the true price of the 360 to consumers - it has nothing to do the expense MS has to keep the online service going which they claim. I'm not dissing the brilliant implementation of the online features in the 360 OS, but the fee is utter BS.

    I agree: it's a way to cover other hidden costs, and that probably has little effective impact on the online connection quality, which is known to be quite stable, nobody questions that regardless.

    But my post above was just intended to make the troll go away. :)

  • onyxbox #39 2 years ago

    Lack of chat is a blessing in disguise for me. When I'm on 360 voice chat and the missus is in the room it just pisses her off.... to her it's like listening to someone on the phone on the train for long periods... and I can relate to that.

    With PS3 this isn't an issue, if I fancy a game of FIFA i just send the person a message with the subject 'FIFA?' and I'll either get a message back saying 'Nah' or 'I'll host'

    Lets not forget that until recently the only way to have a party chat on 360 was by using a game lobby (for us it was Gauntlet)

    Don't get me wrong, I know the 360 has a better system (there's no argument there) but it's perhaps not quite as bad on PS3/PSN as some 360 owners would like to believe.

  • EMULOUS #40 2 years ago

    @Bigglesworth
    I think it was his tone and agressiveness about something so trivial that riled me, but in the grand scheme of things, and taking stock of all things considered, I really dont give a fuck.
    Thing is it would have been simple to impliment cross game chat but Sony decided to leave it to the developers and the rest as they say is history. Skype has been my friend on many an online session!

  • IMD1_Pk #41 2 years ago

    Finally......It's been one of the most common used features by me and my friends. We always just chat with each other while playing online. People who use Xbox Live's price as a point about why the free PSN is better rarely acknowledge the features Live has. Every time a feature is added to the 360's repertoire it is billed as being not that useful or not worth the cash. In my opinion having good features before everyone else is worth the price of admission. That is the reason we want our games to be revolutionary as well. A game like Goldeneye was revolutionary and amazing at the time but playing it years later when there were many superior console shooters makes it less relevant. Sony has copied xbox live and the 360 in it's whole feature list since day 1 with no additions to differentiate itself besides price. The games will still be great but PSN for now will be the poor man's Xbox Live despite what you want to believe. P.S Being happy with having features late if it's free does make it the poor man's equivalent ;)

  • Bill Gates is Evil #42 2 years ago

    wait, PS3 STILL doesnt have cross game chat?

  • drewman5150 #43 2 years ago

    Whoever banned Donnie should be sacked...this is ripe material for his witterings...and we are being denied!!! DENIED I TELL YA!!!

  • el_pollo_diablo #44 2 years ago

    Smugness by the look of it.

  • spammage #45 2 years ago

    Go go, so I can replace my laptop + headset + Ventrilo combo whenever I need voice comms on PS3 games.

  • Ryze #46 2 years ago

    ^exactly.

    Fucking supercomputer? Yeah, right.

    /posts from PS3