It’s something that’s been in the cards for a while now, and even nearly a year ago we saw the announcement that SOE and Vivox had formed a partnership to improve voice chatting capabilities in their games. After having witnessed firsthand the technology in place, we’re happy to report that it seems to be as revolutionary as it sounds.
Vivox’s systems are far more advanced than any other voice chat solution out there, and that makes them perfect for in-depth MMORPGs like SOE’s games. Not only do you get privately-managed (and hosted) voice chat (which frees up your bandwidth and pretty much ensures top-notch performance), you’re also blessed with a host of other unique features that makes keeping up with your guild that much easier.
Let’s say you’re away from the game for a while on vacation. Vivox’s system allows you to receive voice messages while you’re gone so you can check what’s happened when you return. But maybe you like to work on vacation—so you’d love to converse with your guildmates while away. Simply dial a phone number, enter your PIN, and join in the chat! Founder Monty Sharma was on hand to personally showcase this capability, and it’s shockingly seamless. There’s a short delay with phone calls placed to the voice chat (as expected), but that doesn’t stop it from being a perfect solution to the usual case of MMO separation anxiety.
What about SOE’s other titles featuring this technology? Would it be wrong for us to say “yes?” Well, yeah, technically it would, as nothing has been confirmed on that front yet. Representatives were tight-lipped when grilled about the other prospects for Vivox’s system with regard to games like DC Universe et al. But we’re betting money that with something this convenient, you’ll be seeing it all over the place soon enough.
