Skype 's PSP Plans Hit Speedbump

January 23, 2008

Gizmodo is reporting that plans to deploy Skype on Sony’s PSP have stalled.

According to the site:

We brought you the fantastic news that Skype would be coming to a PSP carrying pocket near you soon, but it seems the plans have been disrupted. Sony Japan has just released information detailing an indefinite delay, as they screwed up on the headsets that were required—Sony's microphone/speaker units failed to meet Skype certification standards. Don't be surprised when this announcement is replicated the world over.

Some time ago I remember a company named Innomedia that planned to deploy its VoIP technology to gamers through Sega and their Dreamcall product. Actually it was back in 2000. I remember thinking how cool it would be to connect gamers all over the world and allow them to talk to each other using VoIP. Then the economy tanked.

With today’s proliferation of broadband, and the advances in VoIP technology, it’s no surprise to see successful deployments of VoIP in gaming scenarios. But it’s interesting to see Skype hitting a bit of a hurdle with regard to Sony’s PSP, and it brings to mind some earlier VoIP experiences.