Home Gaming Sony: no need for cross-play because “PlayStation is the best place to play”

Sony: no need for cross-play because “PlayStation is the best place to play”

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GatedPS4

The cross-play chestnut on PlayStation 4 is something that’s going to come up, again and again until Sony either backs down and lets its users play nicely with others, or they finally put their foot down and just say it’ll never happen. Sony has now come worrying close to the latter statement.

Speaking at the IFA Technology Show in Berlin, new Sony president Kenichiro Yoshida has suggested that there’s no need for cross-play because PlayStation is the best place to play anyway (via the Independent)

“On cross-platform, our way of thinking is always that PlayStation is the best place to play. Fortnite, I believe, partnered with PlayStation 4 is the best experience for users, that’s our belief.

But actually, we already opened some games as cross-platform with PC and some others, so we decide based on what is the best user experience. That is our way of thinking for cross-platform.”

Of course, this is just Sony protecting its bottom line as the de facto console leader this generation. It comes across as awfully arrogant though. It’s worth pointing out that when the roles were reversed in the last generation, Microsoft shot down the chances of cross-play when Sony wanted to initiate them.

While I can’t honestly say I care too much about cross-platform play right now, when it comes to the next generation of systems I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on it when it comes to which system ends up being my primary console. The fact that my original Fortnite account is now effectively locked to PlayStation systems is irksome, and I’d like to avoid that sort of thing in the future.

Right now, given how Microsoft is trying to push for Xbox to be a platform more than a system, going with the next Xbox might be a wise move. If they can sort out that first party problem, anyway.

Last Updated: September 3, 2018

75 Comments

  1. MonsterCheddar

    September 3, 2018 at 13:40

    Playstation are well withnin their rights to say Fuck off to all the other peasants. They have enough exclusives to do just that.
    And at the moment, console wise, they are earning their top spot.

    Good on you for sticking to your guns, weird little Japanese man.

    Reply

  2. Francois Knoetze

    September 3, 2018 at 13:21

    It almost sounds like the arrogance of Sony reared its head again like in the PS3 days. Agree with Geoff that it comes across as arrogant. There could have been a better way of saying no to please peoples ears without putting the “best place to play” slogan down. But in all fairness they are the console generation leaders so a bit of boasting is good now and then.

    Reply

  3. Gr8_Balls_o_Fire

    September 3, 2018 at 13:26

    This is a problem only if playing online is important. Which it isn’t.

    Reply

  4. Kromas

    September 3, 2018 at 13:47

    PC gamers need to build a Firewall and make Sony pay for it!

    Reply

    • Mark Treloar

      September 3, 2018 at 14:26

      Just imagine Spider-man on the PC. Oceans instead of puddles

      Reply

  5. Pieter Kruger

    September 3, 2018 at 15:01

    Just listen to the tiny little hooves as the Ponies run to defend….???? Sony has lost touch with reality and is just trolling gamers now…..

    Reply

    • Social Justice Jim Bot v 1.5

      September 3, 2018 at 17:29

      Not so much as Microsoft has been trolling the boner brigade. Where are the games? ?

      Reply

  6. Jonah Cash

    September 3, 2018 at 18:14

    I honestly don’t get this cross play thing you are all on about. Why would Sony allow you to play with any other hardware makers customers? It doesn’t make sense. It makes sense for Xbox and Nintendo as they don’t have close to the same content or number of customers than Sony.

    Reply

  7. Magoo

    September 4, 2018 at 10:05

    Psyonix is a few weeks away from launching an in-game cross-platform friend system where people can party up between PC & Xbox or PC & Playstation.

    I grew awfully curious when a week ago, this last update included something random that no one asked for: profanity filters on in-game names.

    Hmmm, what was Sony’s excuse again?

    From your article titled “Sony defends lack of Xbox and Switch cross-network play in Minecraft and Rocket League”:

    We’ve got to be mindful of our responsibility to our install base. Minecraft – the demographic playing that, you know as well as I do, it’s all ages but it’s also very young. We have a contract with the people who go online with us, that we look after them and they are within the PlayStation curated universe. Exposing what in many cases are children to external influences we have no ability to manage or look after, it’s something we have to think about very carefully.

    What is Psyonix stance?

    From your article titled “Rocket League’s PlayStation cross-platform play blocked by Sony’s ‘political barrier'”:

    I understand their [Sony’s] stance. We want to take care of our players,” Dunham said. “But from our perspective, if PlayStation already allows cross-network with PC, which is the least regulated of any of the partners, then in theory, having Xbox and Switch in there should be fine.

    Technically, I could make a phone call right now and it [PS4 cross-play] would be up and running before you left the room. The problem is just the political barrier that prevents it from happening.

    I’m pretty sure that Psyonix is going to make some noise very soon. Afterall, the playerbase is dwindling compared to a year ago, and most of their players are on consoles.

    As at August 2017:
    _41% active on PlayStation 4
    _32% active on Xbox One
    _27% active on PC

    /For PS players, the playerbase is effectively only 68% of it’s actual size.
    /For Xbox players, the playerbase is effectively only 59% of it’s actual size.
    /PC players are not uneffected by this since they can still only play a game with 2/3 of the playerbase at a time.

    Enabling full cross-platform support on Rocket League will be monumental for the game and the developer.

    Reply

  8. Original Heretic

    September 4, 2018 at 15:06

    What manner of morons are these Sony execs?

    Reply

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