The infamous missing in-game Cross Media Bar. Some want it, some don’t. But with the sweet news of a possible positive implementation of universal in-game messaging, who’s to be upset about that?

The eagle eyed few spotted an update on the Official US Playstation website, which has now mysteriously disappeared. The mention of in-game messaging is what excites, and its removal only adds to the intrigue.

One savvy individual managed to take a screenshot of the offending new PSN section before it went down, so we can read exactly what was said:

Friends & Messaging: Talk to others during game play, say hello anytime you’re online, or have a video chat with an Eye camera, USB Camera, or headset.

The wording appears to be very much deliberate, with “during game play” and “anytime you’re online” being the highlights. We all know it’s possible, with many games taking up the in-game XMB gauntlet, some with in-game soundtracks (High Velocity Bowling, MLB 08) and others with in-game messaging (TimeShift) or alerts (Devil May Cry 4). We will just have to wait for Sony’s announcement, presumably to come at GDC.

We’ll keep you posted on any further developments. For evidence of this news, feast your eyes on this screenshot (click to enlarge.)

Source: Neogaf

Update: The original webpage can now be viewed as a google cache screenshot at this address, in addition to the messaging paragraph appearing on the Official Australian Playstation Website.

Are Sony mixing up their words and giving us false hope, or is this a positive reveal just before GDC ‘08?