Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) announced today that its Bluetooth Headset for Playstation 3 will be made available in North America on October 14^th. The Headset, designed exclusively with PS3 usage in mind, uses high quality voice technology and advanced features (see below) to enhance voice chat during online gaming sessions. SCEA will initially be releasing the Headset as part of the SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation bundle, which is set to sell for $59.99 USD/CAD. Soon after, it will be available on its own for $49.99 USD/CAD. At that rate, it's worth it just to get the SOCOM bundle.

The Headset is compact and ergonomic, so it will fit comfortably on either ear, and it features an easily accessible mute button. It also includes a charging cradle for easy charging and storage. Best of all, the Headset is compatible with most Bluetooth-enabled cell phones and audio devices, so when you're not playing, you might just be able to use it for other, non-gaming chatting.

SCEA will also be releasing a system software update for Playstation 3 this fall that will unlock several advanced, PS3 exclusive features for the Headset. These features will make the PS3 Bluetooth Headset quite different from other similar products currently available. One such feature is High-Quality (HQ) mode, which uses “advanced wireless technologies” and the Headset's dual-microphone design to enable clear and wide-band voice communication with the PS3. Here are the full details:

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

Again, the Playstation 3 Bluetooth Headset will be releasing with the SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation bundle for $59.99 USD/CAD on October 14 ^th and on its own for $49.99 USD/CAD soon after.