PS3 firmware update to add text chat

Backs up downloaded videos too

The PlayStation 3’s latest firmware update – version 2.70 - will be crammed with some juicy features for gamers, including “Text Chat” and a video backup option.

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Sony described Text Chat as a way for you to communicate online with PlayStation Network friends. Messages are typed out using a wireless keypad or the on-screen keyboard.

Text Chat can be used during gameplay and you’ll be able to simultaneously access up to three chat rooms, each of which can hold a maximum of 15 people.

The firmware update will also add a video back-up service to the PS3 that'll let video files bought from the PlayStation Store be archived onto an external hard drive.

Videos downloaded to a PlayStation Portable will also be able to be copied over to the PS3, thanks to the firmware update.

Other, but less groundbreaking, features in firmware 2.70 include the ability to sort your listing of friends according to their online status. It'll also add the option to attach files of up to 3MB, rather than just 1MB, to the messages you send to friends.

The PS3 firmware version 2.70 will be available to download soon, Sony promised.