Vivox to offer cross-platform browser plugin for game VOIP
Vivox, already firmly entrenched as the in-game voice over IP option for EVE Online, several of SOE's games, and Second Life, is now upping the ante by announcing that they intend to take their service cross-platform - and potentially cross-game, if the developers allow it. If they manage to do that, it means you could play EverQuest II and still hang out and talk smack with your friends flying through space in EVE Online, or checking out the latest in Second Life. Not only are those options interesting, but in releasing it as a browser plugin, they open up the option for guilds to potentially use it on their own sites; allowing people not logged in to still talk to those playing. Depending on cost and scalability, this could potentially take a bite out of the market Ventrilo and TeamSpeak are in, as we'd bet 99.9% of gamers already have browsers on their machines, and many run them while gaming anyway.
Add to that Vivox's plan to allow users to eventually call in to the chat from cell phones (late to the raid - call ahead) and you can see where this is definitely an interesting development to those playing MMOs. They'll be discussing the specifics at GDC, so hopefully we'll get more details on just how this will happen, if players will have to (or be able to) host their own servers, and the potential roll-out dates for this new service.
