Sony Online Entertainment sends word that PlanetSide, their MMOFPS, will launch in North America on May 20. Here's the announcement, which includes more on plans to integrate voice communication into the game:

Sony Online Entertainment Inc. (SOE), a worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online gaming, announced that its highly-anticipated massively multiplayer online first-person action game, PlanetSide(tm) will make history when it launches on May 20. The groundbreaking game will allow thousands of players to fight online in an all-hours-of-day global war that has never been seen before in the first-person action genre. The company also announced that it will add squad-based voice chat functionality to PlanetSide, further enhancing the experience of fighting together with a squad and working as a team. PlanetSide will be available on May 20, 2003 in North American retail stores.

"There has never been an online action game as ambitious as PlanetSide. We are combining a game world that can support the fast action of a first person shooter with the character growth, development and scale of an MMORPG," said Michael Lustenberger, director of product marketing at Sony Online Entertainment. "The result is a truly new and unique experience as players are immersed in battle with thousands of other people from across the country, while they hone their skills and become elite combat units."

PlanetSide has a suggested retail price of $49.99, which includes a 30-day free trial subscription to the game's online world. Additionally, the game will carry a monthly subscription fee that will be announced at a later date for continuing access to the game world. Players can subscribe for additional months using a credit card, or purchase PlanetSide 90-day Game Cards, which open the PlanetSide universe to those who choose not to use a credit card.