Sony had taken more than their fair share of flak over their stance on cross platform play. The rumblings from gamers has been loud and it has been sustained. Sony hears the outcry, but has done nothing to address the complaints from gamers. If money is the reason for their stance, then the mistake for Sony is not appreciating the long memories and options that gamers will have come the next generation of consoles.
Thanks to games like Fortnite, the walls have largely come down when it comes to protectionism. Companies like Nintendo have typically been the front runners when it comes to protecting their IP and the idea of sharing isn’t something that came to mind. Fast forward to 2018 and Nintendo and Microsoft have essentially worked together on cross platform play with Minecraft and other games. You could essentially call it a partnership at this point and it’s all to the benefit of gamers.
Then you have Sony, the current leader of the console pack. It’s clear that Fortnite could include the PS4 in cross platform play with the simply flick of a switch. Epic Games has said as much. So clearly this is a philosophical issue by Sony and not some technological roadblock. You could say this issue is getting caught up in the Sony boardroom.
Gamers are so upset over this issue, it seems quite clear that when it comes to the next generation of consoles, most gamers will remember this. It’s not like in a year or two people are going to forget. All they will remember is being left out of the most popular game on the planet because of what might seen as greed, although Sony hasn’t officially stated their concerns.
All is not lost and it’s not too late. If Sony is looking for a special deal from Epic Games, then there is not likely to be a resolution. Instead, it would seem that Epic Games will hold strong as Sony are the ones risking their brand and reputation. In fact, they don’t mind speaking publicly about the issue and explaining that enabling PS4 cross platform play is a simply on/off switch on their end to make it happen.
Sony can still change their minds on this without it affecting them too badly with the PS5 release. It’s going to require swift action however and considering how long this delay has been, some gamers may have already made up their mind. Are gamers so loyal to a brand that they would buy the next generation console regardless of how they are being treated? It may take an official statement and apology to really calm the waters. With the consoles having similar capabilities, being gamer friendly is a selling point and it’s a bigger issue than it’s ever been.
Cross platform gaming is the new era and if Sony wants to resist, then they have nobody else to blame except for themselves.
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