Here is the news (http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/09/03/official-bluetooth-headset-for-the-playstation-3/)

http://www.blueunplugged.com/dbimgs/Sony_Playstation_3_Bluetooth_headset.jpg

looks cool but i already bought the warhawk one so i have no need for it but it looks good for thoughs of you who dont. also it comes with a SOCOM confrontation bundle

What's the point, most of the time you'll be talking to yourself because hardly anyone has a mic, they need to start bundling these with consoles.

What's the point, most of the time you'll be talking to yourself because hardly anyone has a mic, they need to start bundling these with consoles.

True.

i have played many games of warhawk now that have many people who have mics. hopefully this will come in the PS3 bundle and more people will have mics

Shane, this headset is the point. It's part of Sony's drive to standardize and get more headsets into player's hands.

Look at the pricing scheme, for example. The stand alone cost of the headset is $50. That seems steep, but that's about average for a good quality bluetooth headset, and we know Sony makes good hardware.

However, there's SOCOM Confrontation bundle with the headset and game for only $60, that's only $10 more. So for the cost of a game you get a good online shooter and a headset. It's a similar tactic to the Wii including an extra controller with Wii Play.

That should help get more headsets into players' hands, and the headset itself is a higher quality, and is much easier to get working with the PS3 thanks to the HQ mode, cradle, and easy pairing.

Remember that there's a lot of upcoming Sony games that will make use of voice chat, and in general have strong community features overall. Games like LittleBigPlanet and Resistance 2 will both have strong co-op and squad based adversarial play, which benefits greatly from good voice chat.

It will also help them draw players away from XBL as standardized voice chat systems brings the PSN more in line with XBL.

And, to top it off, anyone can still use any generic bluetooth headset with the system.

Shane, this headset is the point. It's part of Sony's drive to standardize and get more headsets into player's hands.

Look at the pricing scheme, for example. The stand alone cost of the headset is $50. That seems steep, but that's about average for a good quality bluetooth headset, and we know Sony makes good hardware.

However, there's SOCOM Confrontation bundle with the headset and game for only $60, that's only $10 more. So for the cost of a game you get a good online shooter and a headset. It's a similar tactic to the Wii including an extra controller with Wii Play.

That should help get more headsets into players' hands, and the headset itself is a higher quality, and is much easier to get working with the PS3 thanks to the HQ mode, cradle, and easy pairing.

Remember that there's a lot of upcoming Sony games that will make use of voice chat, and in general have strong community features overall. Games like LittleBigPlanet and Resistance 2 will both have strong co-op and squad based adversarial play, which benefits greatly from good voice chat.

It will also help them draw players away from XBL as standardized voice chat systems brings the PSN more in line with XBL.

And, to top it off, anyone can still use any generic bluetooth headset with the system.

That's nice, but have you noticed that hardly anyone uses one? That's what Shane is saying... They've already bundled a headset with an online shooter that is chat-free...

I kinda want one, but I don't see a real advantage over using my PSEye.

That's nice, but have you noticed that hardly anyone uses one? That's what Shane is saying... They've already bundled a headset with an online shooter that is chat-free...

Another long post, but bear with it and read though as I cover a lot of the reasons why the jabra headset and warhawk rollout failed, and why this new rollout with sony headset and SOCOM has a good chance of succeeding.

The problem with the Jabra headset and Warhawk overall was that the Jabra headset was crap. Sure it works, but it's a very basic implementation of it. Recharging it is a pain, syncing it when the inevitable desync happens is a pain too. The design is also uncomfortable and even feels cheap. As such, most people either don't know how to get the headset working, or don't bother with it.

Recharging was also an issue, since the the PS3's USB ports didn't supply power while off, and the headset needing a USB power to recharge, people would have to take the headset into other rooms to recharge, or only charge it while the PS3 is on, which defeats the purpose of having a headset if the only time you can recharge it is while playing games.

Warhawk is also a game that has opportunities for teamwork, but it's still a bit focused on individuals with the absence of things like support classes or support items on release. Teamwork is encouraged in Warhawk, and used greatly by dedicated warhawk players, but it's not required like in other games.

Also, despite how much many people like it, Warhawk is still a pretty niche game. Most people just don't get over the initial hurdle of Warhawks, and most people don't stand a chance on any servers in a warhawk, the game's namesake, and thus the game loses some appeal.

Finally, Warhawk's last appearance on systems was for the PS1, it's just not that well known, not to mention the current game bears little resemblance to the original.

Then the PS3 itself made it not easy to use as you couldn't see things like muting status, battery status, connection, etc... Heck, before the 2.4 update you couldn't even reconnect your headset while playing a game. Most people jump into a game first, then worry about the headset. Not to mention headsets would often desync, or you couldn't tell if a headset had been properly synced at all. Sony's developer SDKs didn't include much to help developers implement voice chat, as such each developer had to spend time and money making their own voice chat implementation, which was often buggy and wouldn't work properly with bluetooth headsets.

Even worse was developers didn't realize the design issues with bluetooth headsets, namely that bluetooth headsets were effectively always on, and since there wasn't a boom mic positioned near the mouth, the bluetooth headsets tended to pickup all sorts of noise around the room. This was especially true to cheaper headsets like the Jabra included with warhawk, which had little or no noise cancelling. In fact, the headsets were very likely to pickup the noise from the speakers creating an echo. Developers didn't pay attention to this, and instead used systems where the mic was always open leading to lots of garbled noise.

And let's not forget that up until 2.4 you couldn't even look at your friends list while playing games so you didn't know if there would be friends to talk to online.

These elements combined made that crappy headset rollout unsuccessful.

The difference here is that this headset is the official Sony Playstation 3 headset, branded and everything. On top of that branding, you have quality Sony hardware, we can expect to be somewhat comfortable to wear. It also includes hardware parts that other headsets not geared towards gaming wouldn't have, like a mute button for example.

The game it's bundled is more appealing to the average FPS gamer. Comparisons to SOCOM, CoD4, and Counter-Strike are warranted. It's more appealing because it's similar to the type of games people play using headsets already. SOCOM is also pretty teamwork intensive, especially so since it's set in some pretty tightly paced maps. Finally, SOCOM is a well known game franchise with a well known multiplayer component that used voice chat even on the PS2.

Then onto the software/hardware integration. As detailed above you can easily recharge (or do the first charge up) of the headset by using the supplied cradle, and when you're done using it the headset sits nice and cleanly in the cradle. Then the bluetooth sync process is vastly simplified by just plugging the headset into the PS3, most likely via the same cradle. This way, it's almost as simple as the 360's wired headset that just plugs into the controller.

Now that players' headsets are charged, and synced. The process of playing with them is made easier since the PS3 will now display all sorts of status info. And you can mute your own mic just by pressing a button on the headset, no need to worry about someone hearing your conversation with a someone else in the room, and less of you hearing other's conversations via their headsets.

All this in turn will make developers more confident about including proper and fully featured voice chat in their games. Not to mention this update likely includes SDK updates for developers to more easily implement voice chat.

Whew, that was long, but I think I covered a lot of the reasons why rolling out that crappy Jabra headset with Warhawk just didn't work. There were many hardware, software, and integration issues that just get anyone interested in using it, except for dedicated gamers with a specific group of friends.

why bother with bluetooth? why not make a cheap mini usb one and bundle it with the ps3? the controllers are a pin in the ass to charge as well

why bother with bluetooth? why not make a cheap mini usb one and bundle it with the ps3? the controllers are a pin in the ass to charge as well

Probably for that reason - with only 4 usb ports and certainly with any of them possibly taken up by any number of devices, releasing a headset with the same interface probably makes things a bit crowded.

All that stuff that Vetrucio said is pretty much spot on, at least as far as Jabra goes. Jabra's design is in essence quite "cheap" and there is a lot of ambient noise involved. The mic doesn't pick up all the time and on some models a scratchy sound can be heard. Granted, most of my experience is with bundled Jabra headsets purchased with cellphones, but they are just consistently bad. I've bought a Plantronics by spending a few more bucks and it's worth it.

It's nice to see an officially released model, but I agree, a bundle or deal would probably help drive the product.

Looks like it's going to be expensive anyway. I think i'll stick with my Warhawk headset, even if it is pretty terrible.

What's the point, most of the time you'll be talking to yourself because hardly anyone has a mic, they need to start bundling these with consoles.

Nooo. That would make PSN like XBL and mean valuble gametime taken up by muting the people who think they're entitled to use the headset becuase it came in the box :P Mosrt of the people on PSN that talk are far better than those on XBL.... in my experience anyway.

Nooo. That would make PSN like XBL and mean valuble gametime taken up by muting the people who think they're entitled to use the headset becuase it came in the box :P Mosrt of the people on PSN that talk are far better than those on XBL.... in my experience anyway.

true, but sony should make it easier to be able to mute people. I kind of like it with battlefield bad company where a limited number of people can talk to each other. Maybe they can make it like that on public games.

Nooo. That would make PSN like XBL and mean valuble gametime taken up by muting the people who think they're entitled to use the headset becuase it came in the box :P Mosrt of the people on PSN that talk are far better than those on XBL.... in my experience anyway.

clearly you haven't played cod 4 on ps3... sooo many racists i have to put my whole team on mute at times which completely defeats the purpose of a mic i know but i'd rather play in silence than listen to a kkk keynote speach

Guys, wanting to kill off the entire voice chat feature just because you meet a bunch of online idiots is a bit rash.

The easiest way to handle things is to disallow any voice chat except those coming from friends. In fact, I'm pretty sure the 360 has such an option.

Looks like a nice headset, but this should have been included with the system since day 1. Lack of a standardized headset is a big reason why PS3 online dones't even compare to Xbox Live.

Probably for that reason - with only 4 usb ports and certainly with any of them possibly taken up by any number of devices, releasing a headset with the same interface probably makes things a bit crowded.

All that stuff that Vetrucio said is pretty much spot on, at least as far as Jabra goes. Jabra's design is in essence quite "cheap" and there is a lot of ambient noise involved. The mic doesn't pick up all the time and on some models a scratchy sound can be heard. Granted, most of my experience is with bundled Jabra headsets purchased with cellphones, but they are just consistently bad. I've bought a Plantronics by spending a few more bucks and it's worth it.

It's nice to see an officially released model, but I agree, a bundle or deal would probably help drive the product.


yah and actually i think i will be getting this if it is a base charger anything that helps my PS3 look LESS like a spaghetti monster is a good thing

i guess this means i need to get SOCOM

i guess this means i need to get SOCOM

I was thinking the same thing... Are they going to be selling the mic separetly as well?

Yes, but I think it's like 40 dollars.

Yes, but I think it's like 40 dollars.

Might as well just get the game then...

Yes, but I think it's like 40 dollars.

i think it may even be $50

Another long post, but bear with it and read though as I cover a lot of the reasons why the jabra headset and warhawk rollout failed, and why this new rollout with sony headset and SOCOM has a good chance of succeeding.

The problem with the Jabra headset and Warhawk overall was that the Jabra headset was crap. Sure it works, but it's a very basic implementation of it. Recharging it is a pain, syncing it when the inevitable desync happens is a pain too. The design is also uncomfortable and even feels cheap. As such, most people either don't know how to get the headset working, or don't bother with it.

Recharging was also an issue, since the the PS3's USB ports didn't supply power while off, and the headset needing a USB power to recharge, people would have to take the headset into other rooms to recharge, or only charge it while the PS3 is on, which defeats the purpose of having a headset if the only time you can recharge it is while playing games.

Warhawk is also a game that has opportunities for teamwork, but it's still a bit focused on individuals with the absence of things like support classes or support items on release. Teamwork is encouraged in Warhawk, and used greatly by dedicated warhawk players, but it's not required like in other games.

Also, despite how much many people like it, Warhawk is still a pretty niche game. Most people just don't get over the initial hurdle of Warhawks, and most people don't stand a chance on any servers in a warhawk, the game's namesake, and thus the game loses some appeal.

Finally, Warhawk's last appearance on systems was for the PS1, it's just not that well known, not to mention the current game bears little resemblance to the original.

Then the PS3 itself made it not easy to use as you couldn't see things like muting status, battery status, connection, etc... Heck, before the 2.4 update you couldn't even reconnect your headset while playing a game. Most people jump into a game first, then worry about the headset. Not to mention headsets would often desync, or you couldn't tell if a headset had been properly synced at all. Sony's developer SDKs didn't include much to help developers implement voice chat, as such each developer had to spend time and money making their own voice chat implementation, which was often buggy and wouldn't work properly with bluetooth headsets.

Even worse was developers didn't realize the design issues with bluetooth headsets, namely that bluetooth headsets were effectively always on, and since there wasn't a boom mic positioned near the mouth, the bluetooth headsets tended to pickup all sorts of noise around the room. This was especially true to cheaper headsets like the Jabra included with warhawk, which had little or no noise cancelling. In fact, the headsets were very likely to pickup the noise from the speakers creating an echo. Developers didn't pay attention to this, and instead used systems where the mic was always open leading to lots of garbled noise.

And let's not forget that up until 2.4 you couldn't even look at your friends list while playing games so you didn't know if there would be friends to talk to online.

These elements combined made that crappy headset rollout unsuccessful.

The difference here is that this headset is the official Sony Playstation 3 headset, branded and everything. On top of that branding, you have quality Sony hardware, we can expect to be somewhat comfortable to wear. It also includes hardware parts that other headsets not geared towards gaming wouldn't have, like a mute button for example.

The game it's bundled is more appealing to the average FPS gamer. Comparisons to SOCOM, CoD4, and Counter-Strike are warranted. It's more appealing because it's similar to the type of games people play using headsets already. SOCOM is also pretty teamwork intensive, especially so since it's set in some pretty tightly paced maps. Finally, SOCOM is a well known game franchise with a well known multiplayer component that used voice chat even on the PS2.

Then onto the software/hardware integration. As detailed above you can easily recharge (or do the first charge up) of the headset by using the supplied cradle, and when you're done using it the headset sits nice and cleanly in the cradle. Then the bluetooth sync process is vastly simplified by just plugging the headset into the PS3, most likely via the same cradle. This way, it's almost as simple as the 360's wired headset that just plugs into the controller.

Now that players' headsets are charged, and synced. The process of playing with them is made easier since the PS3 will now display all sorts of status info. And you can mute your own mic just by pressing a button on the headset, no need to worry about someone hearing your conversation with a someone else in the room, and less of you hearing other's conversations via their headsets.

All this in turn will make developers more confident about including proper and fully featured voice chat in their games. Not to mention this update likely includes SDK updates for developers to more easily implement voice chat.

Whew, that was long, but I think I covered a lot of the reasons why rolling out that crappy Jabra headset with Warhawk just didn't work. There were many hardware, software, and integration issues that just get anyone interested in using it, except for dedicated gamers with a specific group of friends.

I've used three headsets the one from warhawk, a plantronics 220, and the MGS4 and never had a problem unless i forgot to charge them even after the update. Although i have to say the MGS4 one was the worst of them all in my humble opinion.

Although the status screen is a great idea. But will it show up if the headset is dangerously low on power? Will it alert you somehow? Just like the controllers do?

I've used three headsets the one from warhawk, a plantronics 220, and the MGS4 and never had a problem unless i forgot to charge them even after the update. Although i have to say the MGS4 one was the worst of them all in my humble opinion.

Although the status screen is a great idea. But will it show up if the headset is dangerously low on power? Will it alert you somehow? Just like the controllers do?

i would have to imagine that it would and have the little blue box that pops up say please charge your headset

psn is good because it doesn't have mics other wise you just get a bunch of 12 year olds whining in your ear or sum friends always talking to each other it gets anoying but can be good for tactics i supose

Typhoon, that's over generalizing things quite a bit. And, I've already covered that argument in this thread, and others have already posted that.

...wanting to kill off the entire voice chat feature just because you meet a bunch of online idiots is a bit rash.

The easiest way to handle things is to disallow any voice chat except those coming from friends. In fact, I'm pretty sure the 360 has such an option.

What if, for example, you had good close friends that you wanted to talk to easily while playing online? If you get rid of the whole voice chat feature just because you're scared of a few idiot adolescents, that's basically burning the house down when all you wanted to do was kill a few rats.

As above, it's easy enough to have a way to restrict any chart to between you and those on your friends list.

Well I will take the bad with the good, most of the people on my friends list are people I have met in pub games on the mic.