PS4 Bluetooth USB Headset Support

With the launch of the PS4 a little over a month away, gamers are gearing up to make the leap into the next-gen, and ready to discover all the fancy new features Sony's console will offer. However, it isn't all good news as far as the PS4's feature set is concerned, as we have just learned the console will not support one somewhat important peripheral.

Despite several improvements over its predecessor — namely a better controller, support for gameplay capture through HDMI, and free automatic downloads — one feature that came standard with the PS3 will not make the jump to the PS4: Bluetooth headsets. In fact, most chat headsets won't work with the PS4, at least not at launch.

Game Informer first caught wind of this news when talking to Astro Gaming about next-gen peripherals, where they discovered that the company's headsets would not work with the PS4 right away. And after some additional prodding, the publication discovered that the PS4 will not support any third party headsets that use Bluetooth for connection.

The next-gen console will, however, support Sony's Pulse Headset, but, again, not at launch. Sony is busy working on an update that will patch that support in.

As well, they are working on an update that will patch support for USB chat headsets into the PS4. Yes, USB headsets will not work for chat right out of the box. Something like a Turtle Beach gaming headset, which uses digital optical for game audio, will work, but not for chatting.

Without support for a USB or Bluetooth headsets at launch, that leaves players with one chat option: the mono headset that comes bundled with the PS4. While we don't doubt that headset gets the job done, there are likely plenty of gamers who would prefer to use their expensive third party peripherals. But, unfortunately, they can't.

This news comes as somewhat of a shock to us, as this is the first we are hearing about the lack of Bluetooth support at launch. Apparently, like with the Xbox One, Sony is looking to change how chat headsets work with their console, and as a result have alienated a ton of previously released products.

Of course, this doesn't mean Sony can't patch in support for Bluetooth headsets later, but that does leave some multiplayer gamers at a disadvantage at launch. We will have to wait to see how Sony responds in the coming weeks.

Are you surprised to learn the PS4 will not support Bluetooth or USB headsets at launch? Do you think that Sony is dropping the ball by not including support for chat?

The PS4 releases November 15, 2013.

-

Source: Game Informer