Video/Voice chat might be in firmware 2.90... in October

News from PSPVault

With all this talk of the Playstation 3, emulating PSOne games on the PSP, the upcoming GPS accessory, and the upcoming camera accessory, Grand Theft Auto Vice City Stories, homebrew on 2.71, and so on, it seems most of us have forgotten about some of the other plans Sony has for the PSP.

ITmedia didn't. In their most recent article covering the GPS accessory and the camera accessory, they make an important observation:

"Since the PSP camera as announced has an integrated microphone, there is a strong possibility that SCE's firmware update (version 2.90?) planned for Fall 2006 will support 'VoIP Phone.' If a 'TV Phone' function were also added, the PSP's possibilities as a digital device would expand even more."

It's not just speculation on ITmedia's part, either -- if you think back to the Playstation Business Meeting held earlier this year, you might remember that Sony outlined plans to add Voice over IP support, Memory Stick Boot, and Network support via a firmware update in October.

Thus far, Sony is sticking to their plans. The "Memory Stick Boot" certainly refers to the PSP's ability to play PSP and PS1 games via the Memory Stick, which is to be solidified with the introduction of the Playstation 3. Network support, though we're still not entirely sure, might refer to the PSP's mysterious DLNA client. You'd think Sony would publicize something like voice/video chat at Tokyo Game Show if they planned on introducing it so soon afterwards, but they have a tendency to keep rather important information a secret.

Whatever happens the next few months will be very interesting for PSP Owners.

Umm the firmware that is coming out in october is 3.00 with the psone emulator, and i also belive the memory stick boot is the ps1 emu because you can boot stuff from your memory stick etc psone games

If their was voice chat then people would have to buy the headset. Seeing as few people own it, it wouldn't be extremely useful then.

Doesn't matter to me, 1.5 forever!

Cool, so this may mean downloadable commercial PSP games. They won't have pad, dummy, or other junk files to take up space so they should be somewhat small in file size. This is a wise move for SONY considering I and many others prefer back up our UMD's to CiSO on the memory stick.

Finally some worthy features in an update. But I will never update my 1.50 - NEVER NEVER!

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Originally Posted by benh

Umm the firmware that is coming out in october is 3.00 with the psone emulator

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yeah, where did 2.9 come from, i come here every day and have never heard of 2.9:confused:

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Originally Posted by SSaxdude

If their was voice chat then people would have to buy the headset. Seeing as few people own it, it wouldn't be extremely useful then.

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The camera has a mic built in.

that'd be nice and all, video chat, but not worth losing 1.5 over.

if its on devhook then, all i can say is yay. but if not then oh well...

Same. I'll use ONLY if hacked or Devhooked. :)

cool. i wont upgrade though. look, we have audio recording homebrew and it will probably be devhooked a moth after it comes out.

this is cool i need all this stuff for my psp

Dev Hook anyone? lol

devhook will rise :) im excited bout psp emu lol

How about adding something to the PSP that is actually interesting? Like a good Ebook/Manga reader alongside the Image viewer?

How about improving the browser?

How about a built in Online portal not browser based? With chats and everything like XBox Live?

How about some serious dedication to improving what's there before adding new stuff?

How about Video RSS without saving?

Video talk is of no interest to me, so my offical reply to this is Meh!

The microphone is most likely so that you can use it for sound on short video clips, just as you can do with most digital cameras.

wont the microphone be used for games like socem or for talking whilste online play?

Yes, the microphone in the camera will hopefully work with games like Socom.
I think the video talk feature sounds awesome. Imagine EyeToy: Chat on the PSP.
I wonder when it will come out. When is the camera released again?

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Originally Posted by dejkirkby

Video talk is of no interest to me, so my offical reply to this is Meh!

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ditto

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Originally Posted by BL8Z3D247

ditto

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Great minds think alike!!

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Originally Posted by dejkirkby

Great minds think alike!!

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:D yup

I want skype!!!! :)

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Originally Posted by UD1121

I want skype!!!! :)

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Get an overpriced Mylo then .:)

I'm not sure that any of these proposed features are going to do much--if anything--to sell more PSPs. And I sure as hell am not going to sacrifice all my 1.5 love for the ability to make clumsy phone calls. Hell, that's what I've got a cell phone for. :-)

I'm really disinterested in internet connectivity on my PSP. I know, I may be in the minority here, but while it's a nifty feature, I'm concerned primarily with game quality. So far, the only game I've bought that I felt was fully worth the purchase price was VP: Lenneth. And to be fair, that was essentially a port of a PS1 game.

Which brings us to the PS1 emulator--the official one, that is. This may be the killer app for the PSP. In one fell swoop, Sony is going to multiply many times over the PSP software base. Look at the "what ps1 games do you want emulated?" thread to see how excited PSP users are about the prospect. If Sony is willing to keep the prices low--in the $5 to $10 range--then I think they'll have a winner on their hands. And if not, as I'm sure we all think is more likely, some coder will either reverse-engineer the official emu, or scratch code one of equivalent quality, and we'll all have our PS1 games without Sony seeing another dime out of the deal.

I want to see the PSP succeed, I really do. I love all the things I can do with mine. One of those things, sadly, is *not* play content specifically for the PSP. I love emulated GBA: better quality screen and brighter image than my poor little GBASP. Emulated SNES is better than the real thing--state saves chief among the reasons. Being able to play PS1 games on the go would make me ecstatic. I just hope Sony is able to keep going with it.

what day in october will it be