Sony PS3 Bluetooth Wireless Headset coming to America first

Sony Computer Entertainment America has followed up on Sony Computer Entertainment Japan's PS3 Bluetooth Wireless Headset announcement with a release date for North America. The headset will arrive stateside on October 14, more than two weeks ahead of the Japanese October 30 launch.

The headset will ship with the $59 SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation bundle and it will also be available as a standalone peripheral for $49. Sony plans on unlocking additional headset functionality with an upcoming PS3 firmware update this fall. Here are the details from the SCEA press release:

• High-Quality (HQ) mode – This delivers high quality online voice chat and high bandwidth voice recording and playback, which is currently not available with any other Bluetooth Headset. For future PS3 games, HQ Mode also can enable or enhance advanced in-game features:
  • Voice command (the ability to direct AI characters using voice)
  • Voice animation (your in-game character mimics you during voice chat)
  • Proximity chat (high quality voice playback in full surround sound to match all of the sound effects and voiceovers in the game)
• When docked in the supplied charging cradle, the Headset works as a desktop microphone while charging
  • Automatic pairing of the Headset with PS3 system via a USB cable
  • Exclusive PS3 on-screen indicator displays connection status, battery charge level, speaker volume level and microphone mute status at a push of a button