January 14^th, 2004 (12:00am) - Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) has announced that Champions of Norrath will support USB headset (sold separately) voice chat functionality during online play. Champions of Norrath, available exclusively on the PlayStation 2, is expected to ship to U.S. and Canadian retail stores in February.

"Voice chat is the final piece of the puzzle with Champions," said Michael Lustenberger, director of marketing, Sony Online Entertainment. "It’s the one feature that has been most requested in the game and we are pleased to announce its inclusion. With the addition of voice chat, we believe Champions is now far and away the leader in its genre."

In order to support the amount of data that passes among four players talking and playing simultaneously, Champions will require a broadband connection in order to experience the online multiplayer game (Network Adaptor for the PlayStation 2 and internet connection required). Players have the freedom to join an existing game, host their own game, or join/host a private game via SOE’s matchmaking service, SOEGames.net. Alternately, up to four players can use the Multitap to play together on a single PlayStation 2.

A combination of SOE’s expertise in developing fantasy worlds, such as the online gaming phenomenon, EverQuest, and Snowblind Studios’(developers of Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance) experience building high-quality action RPGs, Champions of Norrath will set new standards in the genre. Champions of Norrath features thousands of items, weapons and spells, unparalleled character customization, randomly generated dungeons that create a different and unique gameplay experience with each adventure, online and offline cooperative multiplayer adventuring, and an amazingly detailed 3D engine with multiple camera angles.

For more information, visit http://www.championsofnorrath.com”>http://www.championsofnorrath.com.