PSP Free Social Gaming with Voice Chat Application

By Chatrooms.NET - 2009-11-16

Last Friday Sony PlayStation's official North American and European websites announced that the socially oriented adhocParty application, currently in use in Japan, will be made available for free download "soon". Many industry commentators are interpreting that to coincide with a PlayStation 3 firmware update expected later on this month.

The sought-after downloadable application has been available to users of the Japanese PlayStation network since November 2008, and some PSP users based outside of Japan - particularly fans of the Monster Hunter games - had created Japanese network accounts for themselves in order to access the advantages of international Adhoc play.

The handheld PSP console has long been able to offer multiplayer gaming to its users, either by using 'infrastructure' mode which makes connections over the internet via a wifi connection, or through physical proximity to other PSP users who will then link up their devices in 'adhoc' mode.

However, some games only make use of 'adhoc' multiplayer, meaning that friends who are separated by more than a few meters are unable to play together.

AdhocParty changes that.

When the application is installed on the PlayStation 3, it uses the PS3's network links to bridge the gap between players, meaning that popular titles such as WipeOut Pure, Gran Turismo and games in the the Monster Hunter series will suddenly have their online gaming communities increased dramatically.

The PS3's voice chat function is woven into the adhocParty application, meaning that online PSP users can communicate with each other verbally rather than being limited to what little in-game text chat there was.

PSN product manager, James Thorpe has suggested that cross-game chat will eventually (and finally) be arriving on PS3.

Responding to fan demand for the feature on the EU PlayStation Blog, Thorpe wrote: "I wish I could just give you a date, I really do! Trust me when I say that as soon as I hear from 'up top' I will be shouting about it and making myself the most popular person on the blog. "I hope, like you all do, that its sooner rather than later," he posted, adding a wink and a smilie.