Sony has announced that some time later today when the PlayStation store updates, Skype will be made available for both the 3G and wifi versions of the PS Vita. Both voice calls and video calls will be possible, making use of both the front facing and rear camera on the Vita. It will run in the background so you can answer calls while you’re playing games or using any other app. You can simply pause your progress, take the call and then resume your Nathan Drake treasure hunting once the call’s over. Senior director, consumer electronics group at Skype, Manrique Brenes, is quoted as saying that his move is all part of the company’s “…ultimate goal of making Skype video calling available on every platform, all over the world, and meeting the demands of existing PlayStation users to offer video on a gaming console.”
This isn’t the first time Skype has been available on a Sony handheld. The 2000 models and up of the original PSP had Skype, but without video calling. Skype is free to download and its free to call and receive calls from other Skype users. Making calls to landlines and mobile phones, however, uses Skype credit. You can purchase a variety of different packages allowing you to call any phone, even internationally. Skype for the PS Vita is set to be available by the end of the day on the PlayStation store.
