Joystiq Video: PS3 Network voice and video chat

No sooner did we sign up for the PlayStation Network than we got our very first friend request from CheapyD who, perhaps not coincidentally, tipped us off to the Network going live earlier that day. We fired up a voice chat — after setting up our regular USB headset (thank you Sony!) — and things worked perfectly. But it was just regular, old, boring voice chat, so Cheapy plugged in his PS2 EyeToy camera which worked instantly (our Xbox Live Vision Cam, however, simply snickered, "What? Were you serious?").

Despite Cheapy being in Tokyo, the audio quality was notably better than the Xbox 360's (due in no small part, we're sure, to the wired headsets we were both using). The video was only one way, but it was clear and only exhibited occasional stuttering ... until it cut out completely. We tried again and it was fine, so we'll take it as birthing pains. While wireless headsets offer obvious benefits, sometimes we'd opt for quality over convenience. How about it Microsoft? Let's use those USB ports for something else.

See also:
Joystiq video: Xbox 360 Wireless Headset review