Back in early January, the Nikkei business daily announced that Sony and Skype had reportedly joined forces, so that Sony’s PlayStation Portable to come with Skype’s software. At that moment, Nikkei’s report seemed simply a rumor, taking also into account that the business daily claimed that the brand new PSPs would be available at the end of January.
But rumors proved to be true after all, as Sony later admitted that such a project existed, although its launch was not scheduled for January. The Japanese company announced two days ago that a Skype web phone function would be added to its PlayStation Portable later in March and that the brand new gaming devices would be available in Japan starting with March 19. The ones who already owe a PSP can buy only the necessary microphone in order to be able to use Skype’s voice chat service.
Skype, which has recently become a unit of eBay, is highly popular for its Voice-over-IP service that offers people from all over the world the possibility to voice chat from their computers. Adding Skype’s software to Sony’s PlayStation Portable represents a smart move for the Japanese company, Nintendo’s everlasting rival.
Sony announced back in January that the launch of the brand new handheld gaming machine had to be delayed because of a microphone, which did not meet Skype specifications. However, it seems that the PSP would eventually come with the same microphone, which would be sold with the recommendation to be used within 10 centimeters of user’s mouth.
PSP owners from Japan will be able to buy the microphone starting with March 19; it will cost 2,500 yen ($24).
Source: eNews