Sony Crushes Cross-Play Dreams For 'Fortnite'

[Guest]

Switch players face a sad realization: There's no cross-play with PlayStation 4 owners, and Epic accounts used on PS4 get locked out of Switch access.

Sony Crushes Cross-Play Dreams For 'Fortnite' : Read more

 

[lun471k]

Great article, that was a nice read. Thanks Nathaniel.

 

[gggplaya]

It's really messed up that once you use an account on their service, that they now have an exclusivity right on that account. It's not their account, I still don't understand why Epic hasn't pushed back on owning the full rights to their account.

I can understand not allowing crossplay, sony can simply forbid connections with xbox and switch, but to own the epic account as well????

 

[Zaporro]

<Mod Edit Language.>

Consoles of all kind are cesspool of anti consumer practices, restricting content and player interaction. Exclusives, hostageware, planned obsolescence, no backwards compatibility.

When people will finally realise that and stop supporting that cancer?

Inb4 "i like couch gaming" -> PCs also can hook up to TV and support controllers.

 

[shpankey]

This is why I won't support Sony anymore and while the will lose next gen. Happens every time w/ console current gen winners.

 

[stdragon]

Consoles of all kind are cesspool of anti consumer practices, restricting content and player interaction. Exclusives, hostageware, planned obsolescence, no backwards compatibility.

When people will finally realise that and stop supporting that cancer?

Inb4 "i like couch gaming" -> PCs also can hook up to TV and support controllers.

Flamebait much?

Console are "appliances". They're magic boxes - BY DESIGN! Your average casual console gamer doesn't care about the OS, hardware, or upgradability. The only point of the console is to do one thing, and one thing first and foremost, and that's to play games.

When a gamer buys a next gen console, it's to buy into the visual and auditory experience. How it happens doesn't matter. The fact it does, without concern for "compatibility", is an assurance to achieving that experience. No questions asked.

 

[alextheblue]

Great article, that was a nice read. Thanks Nathaniel.

I disagree. There's a good smattering of baseless conjecture and white knighting for Sony. For example this nugget:

The company could have decided it doesn't want to build the infrastructure/code required to support cross-console play, or it could simply want to keep as many people in the PlayStation Plus ecosystem as possible. Those monthly subscriptions aren't going to sign up for themselves.

1) They don't have to build jack. The software devs can do it themselves. Epic even "accidentally" released a patch that allowed PS4/XB1 cross-play. Sony flipped shiz and Epic quickly fixed the "bug" to smooth things over. Either Epic did it intentionally to demonstrate how easy it is to do, or it's SO easy to do, they really did it by accident. "Darnit Bob you forgot to comment out AllowCrossPlay on the PS4 build!".
2) You still need a PS+ sub to play online. People aren't going to jump ship if you give them cross-platform play for multiplatform titles. They're actually more likely to consider jumping ship WITHOUT cross-play if they have friends on XB and Switch... if you let them play with their friends they wouldn't even have to think about it.

Of course, there are other, more reasonable explanations for not supporting cross-platform play on certain devices. Many games don't bridge the gap between the PC and consoles, for example, because of their different input methods. PC gamers could have an edge over console players because they use a mouse instead of having to use a joystick. Or console gamers' aim assist could overcompensate and put the PC players at a disadvantage. That isn't the case here, though, because you can play Fortnite with people on PS4, PC, iOS, and Android devices.

You bring up the same old concerns and then you shoot them down yourself. Some games aren't cross-platform friendly with PC. Others are. But we're talking about console<->console cross-play. Why even bring up PC controls? Sony is actually completely OK with PC-PS4 crossplay, so the controls aren't even the issue. More importantly, why not leave it up to the individual developers to decide if PC and/or console cross-platform gameplay is right for <Insert Game Title Here>? They're already doing it for Fortnite between different consoles, at least outside of PS4.

Ditto for Minecraft. Switch, XB1, and PC Windows 10 Edition will soon all be playing together. Let the devs decide, Sony.

 

[logainofhades]

So Sony is being typical Sony.

 

[redgarl]

It is linked to their PSN service and the way they cannot control the other online services. It was the initial response they made in the past concerning the same issue.

 

[FFH]

I remember last gen when the xbox 360 didn't work with cross play, and microsoft was blaming it on the PSN server quality. Now Sony has a subscription service for PSN, but doesn't allow cross-play with their games. This is disappointing. I'll stick to PC.

 

[alextheblue]

I remember last gen when the xbox 360 didn't work with cross play, and microsoft was blaming it on the PSN server quality. Now Sony has a subscription service for PSN, but doesn't allow cross-play with their games. This is disappointing. I'll stick to PC.

Their free online service was AWFUL. It's much better now that they have that subscription cashflow, but Sony is steadfastly refusing to cooperate. Even Nintendo is onboard these days!

 

[Ninjawithagun]

SONY represents everything that is wrong with the gaming industry. Sad.

 

[cl991]

It would be really nice if they collaborate with other platforms. Why do they always want an exclusive community?