If this has been posted before, my apologies....
This may be pointless, but isn't the event hub pointless? I think so. Does anyone actually care about what achievements their friends have made?
OK, so there always seems to be the small annoyance of people eavesdropping on you.
So there could be an option where you could open a box with the player you would like to talk with. In the box it would show the other player up close. Theres a small chatbox to type in the lower left corner. Maybe even you could walk around haven.
Basically, this is a flashy pointless way to have a private chat with friends.
(Prepares for the contradictions)
Call it Skype/Nokia-communication-system so Sega can make a deal with the owners and get some money for the advertising.