In-Game Communication Coming to PS3 This Summer

Ray Maguire, Sony Computer Entertainment UK’s head, recently spilled the beans on an upcoming feature the PlayStation 3 will be getting – in-game communication. Presumably this means being able to have a private chat with friends while playing a game, similar to what you can do on Xbox Live.

Speaking with MCV on the PlayStation 3 reaching one million units at retail in the UK – a mark surpassed faster than either the PlayStation or PlayStation 2 – Maguire stated, “Our momentum will continue with the introduction of in-game communication in the summer, firmware update 2.4 and the strongest line-up of games through our third party partners and our own studios. I’d personally like to thank our trade and business partners for helping us on the start of the PS3 journey.”

Now it’s unclear whether or not in-game communication is directly a part of firmware v2.4 or if he was referring to two separate items. Hopefully v2.4 will include in-game XMB support, and that will be what enables you to chat with friends while in-game. I know I’d really like to see support added for the feature, so fingers crossed that this is the case.