Skype may be one of the Xbox One’s most prominent features, but that’s not stopping Microsoft from considering a PlayStation 4 version of the popular application. Chatting with the BBC as part of the video conferencing tool’s tenth anniversary, corporate vice president Mark Gillett explained that the company is still committed to cross-platform support, despite the obvious implications of enhancing a competitor’s product.
"We've worked with Sony for a long time," he explained. "Skype ships today on the PlayStation Portable among 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.”
Should the PS4 eventually score Skype features, it would allow users of the competing consoles to communicate directly. Considering that the software is already available on the PlayStation Vita, we reckon that this is an eventual inevitability. There’ll probably be some heated meetings within Microsoft before the papers get signed, though.
[source bbc.co.uk, via handytips.info]
Comments 12
@Savino Now that would be awesome!
Is Skype owned by Microsoft? It is funny that you must pay in order to use Skype in X1 (which is owned by Microsoft) while you can use it for free on PSVita and PSP (that are owned by Sony).
Sony should just buy or partner with ooVoo if they really want a video chat service, because this seems like a way for Microsoft to get in Sony's pockets.
@Savino That would make things worse. Imagine it, fanboys bashing a rival system right in your ear as you're trying to concentrate.
@belmont Yeah, Microsoft bought them in 2011.
@Lelouch It could also be Microsoft way of paying the royalty, that own Sony for Blu-ray drive off
@artemisthemp I keep forgetting Sony is partially responsible for the creation of blu-ray.
Personally I wouldn't like this as Skype were one of the biggest suppliers of personal data to the NSA.
@belmont It certainly SEEMS that way however, Skype has it's own monetary system (paid calls etc.) and MS as a whole doesn't care so much about how it's accessed but whether people are using it and therefore putting money into it.
Skype is owned by MS true but it is a separate division with it's own course to chart to keep itself profitable for MS. That means being on as many devices as possible with as many paying users as possible.
The XBOX's pay walls help keep revenue streams high for MS by offsetting costs associated with running their infrastructure etc. As long as the numbers work out in favor of profits MS doesn't care that it's free to access on a PS platform and $60USD annually on XBOX.
If profits suffer, THEN we might see some changes.
Skype for PS4 would be great. It is already on Vita, so not reason why licensing should get in the way.
Sweetness!!! Once again!!!
@PMasterTy9 no
no, i can already talk without it.
Yeah, Skype is a good tool for social and casual interactions. But for business meetings, I would recommend using RHUB`s web conferencing servers. It provides better security as compared to hosted services.
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