( CNN ) -- The PlayStation Vita is extending its reach into video and voice calling with the release of a Skype app for the mobile gaming device . The free app is expected to be available through the PlayStation store Tuesday in North America and Wednesday in Europe and Asia . It will work for both the Vita 's 3G and Wi-Fi only models . The Skype app will use the Vita 's front and rear cameras for video calling . The app will also run in `` background mode , '' so users can pause a game , and then take a call . There is no functionality at this time to continue playing a game while taking a call . Since it runs in `` background mode , '' Skype will also alert users to calls when the Vita is in sleep mode . No word yet on how it will affect the device 's five to six hours of battery time . On the Skype blog , legendary gamer Fatal1ty ( Johnathan Wendel ) shows off the features of the new app . The PS Vita already has voice chat and text chat through its built-in Party application . However , developer Shuhei Yoshida , president of SCE Worldwide Studios , told CNN in February that there were restrictions to that voice chat by broadband providers ( only one person can be on a 3G connection ) . `` The Vita is n't a phone , '' he said . It appears that the Skype app may be trying to change that . Do gamers really want to be bothered during a `` Unit 13 '' gun battle by a call from a friend ? Or is this a partial admission by Sony that a dedicated games-only device may not be what users want ?
Skype will be available through the PlayStation store Tuesday in North America . The Skype app will use the Vita 's front and rear cameras for video calling . Sony has also announced that it is releasing a new version of its online gaming service called PlayStationNow, which allows users to play games on their PS3s or PSPs without having to