You might be wondering how to video chat on PS4? We all know that you can play online in real time with other PS4 players from around the world if you have a PlayStation Plus subscription, but what about chatting online via video to your gaming friends around the world. As well as chatting to fellow gamers either in-play or before and after a game, many owners of the PS4 want to be able to use video chat as a way to catch up with family who live in distant locations.
The camera available for the PS4 is a high specification device and many users assumed it would be possible to use this for video chats. The camera sold extremely well at launch, and many gamers like to be able to live stream whilst playing. It seems as though many people who bought the PS4 are extremely disappointed to find out that, for now, video chatting on the PS4 is a pipe dream. If you do own a PlayStation Camera then you’ll know that it’s easy to live-stream with commentary whilst gaming with your friends. So if we know that’s possible, then frustratingly we’re only an app or update away from enabling video chat PS4.
For a while, it did look promising that video chat would be coming to the PS4. OoVoo is a free, high-quality video chat service available through an app. Confusingly, OoVoo stated that they were going to release a PS4 compatible version of their chat app in 2015. Well, that hasn’t happened. OoVoo’s website now states that they have no plans to support ooVoo on Sony PlayStation, so it looks as though that particular collaboration is now not going to happen.
Microsoft’s XBox One already supports video chat, enables using a Kinect camera and the Skype app. It’s unlikely that an app like Skype will ever come to PlayStation so that you can video chat on PS4, because Skype is owned by Microsoft, and PlayStation is owned by (rivals) Sony.
Skype was available for the PlayStation Vita and the PSP (PlayStation Portable) however, as of early last year this was being changed, with Sony having this to say: “On 22 June 2016, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. will end support for the Skype application for PlayStation Vita and the Skype feature for PSP (PlayStation Portable). From 22 March 2016, the Skype application for PlayStation Vita will be removed from PlayStation Store. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and we appreciate your understanding.”
It does appear though, that Skype is keen to collaborate with PlayStation, with the Vice President of Skype, Mark Gillet, saying back in 2014 that he would like to bring Skype to the PS4: “We’ve worked with Sony for a long time. Skype ships today on the PlayStation Portable amongst other cross-platform devices that we deliver to, and for the last few years we’ve also been shipping versions of Skype that run on Sony TVs. ”We’re obviously not party to their pre-release [PlayStation] hardware road map [but] we’re committed to cross-platform.”
It is understandably frustrating that video chat is not available on the PS4, because it was so easy to chat on the PlayStation 3. You didn’t even need an app such as Skype, as it was available in the friend menu.
Many fans of the PS4 justifiably got excited when an episode of the PlayStation Network show, ‘Powers’, showed gamers chatting online whilst playing a game on the PS4. Turns out this was a mock-up and Sony issued a statement to say that they have no current plans to release video chat capabilities for the PS4. So it seems for now we need to find other ways of communicating with our friends through online video chats.
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3 Comments
We need to have the video chat on PS4 just like it was on PS3! Why not have it?? It was an awesome part of having a camera!
wow just wanted to video chat with my buddy in Netherlands via ps4. We both were 100% sure it must be there. Guess what??? There is no video chat. WTF.
Newer system, less useful features… Might be switching back.