Sony has announced the release -- finally! -- of the PSP headset with remote control, ideal for your handheld Skype yammering. The headset is currently available at Amazon and GameStop for the MSRP of $30 and buy.com for $20. The headset was originally due out last month for $20; it launched in Japan mid-March.

For help on how to get the headset working with your PSP-2000 (sorry, early adopters, it doesn't work with older models), check out PSP Fanboy's official guide.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

We thought it'd be best to reprint our advice from the Super Smash Bros. Brawl release: if you want to chat up your friends while doing laps in Mario Kart Wii, here are five options we found -- harnessing the power of other consoles or a com-pu-ter -- for chatting up your friends. (Looking for a place to share your Kart friend codes? We'll set up a über-list post closer to tonight's US release. Here's a link to the über-list.)

• Xbox Live: Or as we've come to know it -- Kart LIVE®. Just set up private chat and off you go. Got more than one friend? Go into a Halo 3 lobby (you do have Halo 3, right?).
• PSN: Start up a new chat under the "friends" section of the XMB. Invite all the friends you want and wait for them to join. Works and sounds exceptional! USB and Bluetooth compatible.
  
• Skype: Set up a conference call.
• TeamSpeak or Ventrilo: Guilds, clans and other computer types know these services. Perfect for guildies racing together.
• Nintendo DS: Use Metroid Prime Hunters or Pokémon Diamond or Pearl. Warning: More inane codes required to pull this option off. There are also homebrew options.

Of course, if none of these options are viable, might we suggest using a classic: The phone.

After being passed over due to failed certification tests, Skype on PSP will finally land in the hands of Japanese gamers on March 18, PSP Fanboy reports. The Japanese version of the Slim-PSP-only service launches a month later than the North American version, defying our normal expectations of how these things go.

The day after the firmware launch, a new Skype-optimized USB microphone atttachment for the PSP will be released for 2,500 yen (or two for 4,000). Expect a sudden surge in Japanese gamers yelling at their PSPs shortly thereafter.

It may not herald the arrival of the mythical PlayStation Phone just yet, but the latest PSP firmware update brings the next best thing. Firmware version 3.90 is now available for download (access it through the XMB's "Network Update" option) and enables previously detailed Skype functionality for Slim PSPs. Before you start prank calling Cristian Cardona though, keep in mind that portable blabbering requires a PSP headset with remote control.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

On the eve of its January 24 debut in Japan, Sony's PSP Skype service and microphones have been delayed. According to the press release, "it was found that the microphone did not meet the Skype specifications in part to obtain certification." Doesn't that seem like a problem that should have been dealt with before launch week, possibly before a release date was even announced?

No new date has been given for either the microphone or Skype service. Our sister site Engadget had a chance to check out the new service earlier this month at CES 2008.

[Via Engadget]

Following the news of impending Skype support on Slim PSPs, some were left wondering why the plumper PlayStation Portable failed to answer the voice over IP call. Speaking to SCEE's director of corporate communications Nick Sharples, Pocket Gamer has ascertained the simple answer. It has nothing to do with looks, and everything to do with the older PSP's waning memory and inability to remember long strings of numbers (just like grandpa).

"We had studied the possibility of supporting Skype with PSP-1000 but had to give it up because of the smaller size of main memory on PSP-1000 series," said Sharples. If you recall, the PSP-2000 benefits from 64MB of internal memory (as opposed to 32MB in the older model) which is used for UMD caching and the reduction of game loading times. The same enhancement also enables Skype to run and thus excludes the original PSP from online chatting. We certainly hope early adopters don't get too hung up on the disappointment [Goodbye! - Ed].

[Via PSP Fanboy]

Many game companies have already proven that you can't make good games on mobile phones -- in a few weeks, Sony will find out if the reverse is also true. With a late January software patch to the new PSP Slim, the Skype service will be accessible through the handheld. The press release we received from Sony didn't specify exactly why PSPhat isn't compatible with the service -- probably because it would try to eat any microphone attachment that tried to plug into it. Fatty.

For those not in the know, Skype is a voice chat program with nearly 250 million registered users worldwide. Any Skype user accessing the program from the PSP can chat with another user free of charge -- however, for a fee, the SkypeOut and SkypeIn features allow users to make and receive calls to and from regular phones.

Sony hasn't done a great job of keeping this news under their belt, but regardless, we're intrigued to see exactly how well the service will work on the handheld. We'll make sure to keep you updated when more details arise.

Rumors, in the form of a decrypted firmware, cropped up last February regarding Skype on the PSP. In August, at the Leipzig Games Conference, Sony officially unveiled Go! Messenger – the newly branded suite of VoIP tools by British telecommunications giant, BT – which is due this month. On Sony's event page for CES 2008, the massive consumer electronics expo kicking off in Las Vegas this weekend, they list a curious feature for their handheld: "Call friends, talk trash to fellow gamers or catch up with acquaintances via Skype for PSP system." (Click on the controller and then on the PSP to bring up a list of the features, as seen above).

Could Sony finally show off the long-anticipated VoIP platform? And why isn't it using the Go! Messenger branding? And why are we asking so many questions? We can't be sure, but we've asked Sony to comment on their webpage.

[Thanks, Jorge]