Sony's backwards stance on cross-play hurts games as a whole

For a company that talks a lot about innovation, Sony is the only one standing in the way.

[-Foxtrot]

Yet just recently...

http://n4g.com/news/2202876...

"I’m telling you, anytime I wanted to do something and I want to make a drastic change, it was like, ‘Okay’. I never heard about anything, it was like ‘Go do it!’. The question was ‘Is it going to make the game better?’ and I’d say, ‘Yep’, and they’d go, ‘Okay’, and that would be the last time I’d hear about it”

You can’t make Sony to look like a complete and total villain going as far to make out like they’re killing the gaming industry just because of their crossplay situation. Yeah it sucks but the good outweighs the bad still and with how they handle their studios and games it’s something we should be thankful for in a time with MTs, Lootboxes and focus on repetitive multiplayer games lacking content.

[Nyxus]

Much more important to me than something like cross-play.

[VenomUK]

This article is a complaints list on why Sony PlayStation is bad - it lacks the balance and objectivity that a skilled journalist would be able to deliver.

[outsider1624]

I second this.

[naruga]

it doesnt hurts game as a whole ...it does however but-hurts Xbox HQ that doesnt have access to PS s million players installbase

[TheKingKratos]

I swear to god i will never ever care about cross-play or multiplayer for thelat matter , i'm single-player guy.

[bouzebbal]

some random PC fanboy saying sony is evil for not allowing cross play...
..well..... stay on PC.

[Doge]

Good outweighing the bad by releasing good games shouldn't completely erase the issue. That's how Nintendo's getting away with all their backwards decisions.

[TKCMuzzer]

What issue? an issue Microsoft and its loyal following are creating? Before this generation started analysts where saying console gaming was dead, mobile gaming will take over.
Sony went full out with the PS4 , pushing it as a games console and producing hype and then delivering.........a games console, not and entertainment machine.......a games console. Look what that has done to the console market. They have injected it with new life and have followed that by providing AAA software on a regular basis.
Sony and PS4 have contributed a great deal and are pretty much responsible for the success of consoles this generation, their focus on the important factor of games has kept gamers enthusiastic and fought of the mobile gaming nonsense by producing games you can't get on your overpriced smart phone.
If Microsoft want cross play, then i don't support it, they are not doing if for the games they are doing it for Microsoft and if we had left this generation gaming's hopes in their hands the industry would be a confused sideways mess.
When Microsoft are contributing the same amount of software to industry, producing the same high standard across that software then maybe in can be a conversation but at present they don't and are looking for the back door and to piggy bank of someone else's efforts. That is not how it should work and Sony are rightly digging their heels in, ultimately for the benefit of the industry, people just can's see that bigger picture as they have this 'want want want' mentality.

[Doge]

Again with the deflection. You wanna talk about “When Microsoft are contributing the same amount of software to industry, producing the same high standard across that software then maybe in can be a conversation” and use Xbox as an excuse to shift the blame from the fact that it’s an ISSUE when people are getting locked out of using their 3rd party account because Sony said so.

I could go on with the crap the PS4 is still bad at/missing, but we’re just gonna do the same song and dance until the next generation. Maybe then they’ll change their minds, like with HDCP...oh wait!

@sampsonon

Another one. Y’all assume the same garbage. It’s all a goddamn Xbox conspiracy lmao.

Dude I call out whatever BS any of the big 3 do. Sony hasn’t been getting much crap from me because outside of these things here and there, they’ve been absolutely killing it. But that doesn’t give them a free pass lmao.

[sampsonon]

what issue? lol the only issue i see is a minority of people that don't own a ps4,and a few that do, want to create an issue and hate the fact that the ps4 is the best selling console because they invests in exclusive single player games that are highly rated and loved by their community.

there is a fake issue where there is none. only a few, that for whatever reason, need to have everything at the expense to sony's bottom line. it's not fare, and this made up issue should be frowned upon for being bad for the industry.

want to play with your friends? buy a $200 ps4 or play them with your pc, because the ps4 has the most cross play games with pc at this moment. easy right?

[Godmars290]

@TKCMuzzer:
Yeah. When MS "lead" the industry we got "consoles are dead" much like their repeated stance regarding exclusives and singleplayer games not mattering.

[Raiden]

So all you PlayStation owners don't want to cross play in a game of COD or Battlefield, let's see which console has the best multiplayer shooter games, i can guarantee the trophy 🏆 would go to Xbox gamers, i believe this is the main problem facing Sony, there Server can't compete end of excuses and of all this side stepping crap, give the options allow developers to create the option and let the gamers decide , we are all competitive but we have those gamers who only play single player games and their nothing wrong with that at all, i wanna play with other consoles and pc that not my platform of choice. WHICH IS BETTER, console wise because as we are aware the PC is king.

[TekoIie]

@Raiden

"i believe this is the main problem facing Sony, there Server can't compete end of excuses and of all this side stepping crap

I actually think their servers are more than capable. Overall this is just the same pattern we see every gen. The industry leader always gets overconfident and thinking they can control what they have. Happened to Sony with the PS3 launch, MS with the Xbox One, and Nintendo with the Wii U. They get overconfident thinking they know what they're doing after seeing huge success and can control the market and every time each of them has had to be knocked back to reality.

Sooner or later Sony will have crossplay and we'll all be happy about it and pretend there wasn't this nonsensical backlash against it.

[trooper_]

...Uh....what issue?

How could there be an issue when there isn't one in the first place?

CROSSPLAY DOESN'T SELL CONSOLES.

Games do!

[generic-user-name]

Yet we barely see any big sites complaining about Nintendo to the degree we see with Sony. IGN even acted like paying for Nintendo online was something they were excited for.

[S2Killinit]

boohoo this whole crossplay thing is so yawn man.

[neutralgamer1992]

Doge

Don't don't want to do cross play with Xbox one or switch because they don't have to and that's that

To me and millions of others games matter and they know what their fans really want

[DarkVoyager]

“Sony's backwards stance on cross-play hurts games as a whole“

Microsoft locking F2P games behind a paywall hurts gamers as a whole.

[Hardiman]

M$'s inability to allow 1st party studios to deliver consistent new IP's is hurting gamers!

[ApocalypseShadow]

It does make you wonder why there hasn't been **one** article about Fortnite's free to play behind a paywall. Not one. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Nada.

But Sony gets weekly harassment about saying "We'll think about it but we believe our platform is the best to play on" based on having a larger console community,console sales, etc.

All this manufactured outrage from some who think it's Sony's Achilles heel. Because they have nothing else to target Sony with. It's beyond ridiculous.

Article talks about Sony innovation when Sony does innovate. It's the only console with vr.

But the "gimme what I want because I want it" group are determined to get Sony to relent even if it means lost revenue and sales of their console which could lead to less money for first party content. And I wouldn't be down with that hurting 1st party even in the smallest way.

It's crazy.

[TekoIie]

@Apocalypse Shadow

"It does make you wonder why there hasn't been **one** article about Fortnite's free to play behind a paywall. Not one. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Nada."

Do you remember when this gen began? It was covered back then during E3 when PS+ became mandatory. The only reason it's not covered much anymore is that it's already been talked about years ago. But if you as someone who wants it to change wants to talk about it well there's nothing holding you back from writing something up on N4G and trying to start a wave.

The rest of your comment does the usual Sony defence "bu-bu-bu the exclusives" or some other deflection. Sony can make great games and still be anti-consumer on the issue of crossplay. Don't treat them like a god ffs.

[Godmars290]

@TekoIie:
PS+ isn't mandatory. Or rather, its only really needed for online multiplayer. its not needed for MMOs, singleplayer games much less basic online access.

I mean, no one really talked about needing Xbox Gold to go on Facebook on your 360. From the very beginning MS have tried monetizing console online access, were focused on providing services rather then offering products, with it being celebrated regardless of added costs or something at a pipe-dream stage.

Go-to example: MS had Netflix exclusivity for nearly a year. Put it behind a paywall with many site reporting the "innovation". Still, Netflix itself only became notable, really took off in the mainstream becoming what it is now, when it was accessible without a paywall on the PS3. It being on Xbox didn't become less than a footnote until MS separated needing XBL Gold in the wake of the original XB1 lunch mess.

As much as you want to rag on the Sony their anti-consumerism and how they're defended, you should own up to MS's. Stop having the same blind spot that they seem to have.

[TekoIie]

@Godmars290

"PS+ isn't mandatory. Or rather, its only really needed for online multiplayer. its not needed for MMOs, singleplayer games much less basic online access."

Just the majority of releases that have access to multiplayer like AAA titles lol. I do like them keeping F2P titles and MMO's out of it though they get credit for that. But f you want to play 90% of the multiplayer releases it is mandatory. That's why we say online play is locked behind it and well even Sony advertises online multiplayer as a PS+ feature.

"I mean, no one really talked about needing Xbox Gold to go on Facebook on your 360. "

Oh there has been talk but the Xbox community has just accepted it at this point. MS wanted to put the BBC behind the Xbox Live Gold subscription which is why it took ages for it to come to the 360 compared to the PS3. If you want to change all of that do what I suggested earlier to Apocalypse Shadow. Start talking about it and write a blog on N4G and bring attention to it. Otherwise no point in complaining.

Xbox Live Gold doesn't mean much to me so I have no intention of changing it. PC players had the right idea and opposed the subscription and MS had to give in. Shows that its good to not just accept what you're offered.

"As much as you want to rag on the Sony their anti-consumerism and how they're defended, you should own up to MS's. Stop having the same blind spot that they seem to have."

I should "own up"? What the fuck is that supposed to mean? See you're trying to paint me as someone defending MS. Stop trying to project onto people when they haven't done what you're accusing them of doing. It just looks desperate. I don't even own an Xbox and all you people in here seem to be able to do is accuse me of owning one and not a PS4 lol.

Argue with what I've written and stop projecting things on to me just so you can try and paint me as some sort of MS fanboy. I can hardly be a fan of a system that I traded in after owning for less than a year and buying its competitor later.

[NeoGamer232]

Yup, so Microsoft's bad behavior means Sony is justified in bad behavior as well.

Two wrongs don't make a right. And I agree that both need to change. Neither behavior is good for gamers.

[Godmars290]

@TekoIie:
You said PS+ was mandatory when its not. You also seem, have presented arguments, as if gaming on an Xbox matters to you. How am I projecting anything?

My issue with MS, and its community, pushing cross-play is the concern that once it happens they'll then try to make non-Xbox owners pay for access. The same way I and others were concerned about XBL effecting PS+, which it did. As Xbox fans only praised having to pay "their" subscriptions.

And don't tell me that it will never happen or that it wont be tried when that's exactly what happened for a time when XBL came to PC. Or that it's now integrated into Windows 10.

[Sayai jin]

DarkVoyager, It east too long ago when people complained that MS was charging for XB and it was hurting gamers ad whole , then it stopped when Sony started charging for PSN. ...the containing stopped.

@Hardiman, agreed.

[boing1]

Windows Store versions not having crossplay with Steam versions on the same OS hurts gamers as a whole.

[TekoIie]

So the best defence for Sony not doing crossplay is that they're good at making games? Good Deflection.

Just distract from the topic completely. This has to be the biggest joke I've seen on N4G in a long time. Imagine if Nintendo fans were going "Nintendo Online being trash is fine cuz Platinum said Nintendo made Bayo2 better".

[Rhythmattic]

They do have Crossplay, Crossplay with PC and in which case have more titles than other consoles... Why do people disregard this fact?
The irony is this website is called PCGamer...
Its a desperate attack by the FB xbox community making a mountain out of a molehill...
Next up why do Sony have exclusives ? boo fking hoo.

[russo121]

You're really desperate to play with some Sony fanboys, aren't you? Don't you have plenty of Xbox fanboys already to play with? What? I can't hear you, tv sound is too loud playing GOW, Spider-Man.... Take a deep breath and ask Santa Claus, this winter, a PS4.

[zodiac909]

@Tekolie "The biggest defence for Sony not doing crossplay is that they are good at making games." You call that a "deflection?" Get your head out of your ass, cause you can bet 100% sure that THAT IS the legit reason for them not doing cross play. At the end of the day GOOD GAMES push sales, and sales are what drives this industry forward, especially to innovate. You sound like you live under a rock. LOL

[TekoIie]

@Rhythmattic

Crossplay with consoles forgive me leaving that out. Thought it was obvious since that's why this is even a story.

"Its a desperate attack by the FB xbox community making a mountain out of a molehill... "

Cool conspiracy bruh.

@Russo121

Don't have an Xbox so nope none to play with unless it's via crossplay with Gears 4 but I don't play it often.

"Take a deep breath and ask Santa Claus, this winter, a PS4."

Already own a Ps4. No need to bring Santa into it unless you're planning on gifting me a Pro or something lol. Try and address my argument rather than make stuff up.

@Zodiac909

"At the end of the day GOOD GAMES push sales, and sales are what drives this industry forward, especially to innovate. You sound like you live under a rock. LOL"

HAH There it is again XD

"Crossplay doesn't matter cuz exclusives bruh"

You're deflecting because you can't actually justify Sony blocking crossplay with other consoles. Even said in another comment Sony makes great games but that it doesntvoid them from criticism when they do something that's anti consumer. Same goes for MS and Nintendo.

"You sound like you live under a rock. LOL"

You sound like a fanboy who can't handle an ounce of criticism being levelled against the company you worship. How about you give it a go. Why is it okay for Sony to block crossplay with other consoles on 3rd party games? Try and argue that without sounding like a corporate shill.

@All

The funny thing is none of you actually argued the point here. What's wrong with full crossplay between all platforms? If you say it's not a big deal to you personally that's fine, but don't pretend Sony isn't blocking this because they think it'll eat into their profits. Just admit it's an anti-consumer move.

And it seems like I have to keep repeating this: Sony makes great games but it doesn't excuse them from making a bad decision that's ultimately anti-consumer when it comes to crossplay.

[nucky64]

it's not "deflection" - it's fact. you can't play "free to play" games on xbox without PAYING MS first. also, isn't that what MS has been trying to do?......using cross-play (or anything else they can think of) to deflect from major issues they have such as a lack of quality 1st party games or forcing people to pay them a fee for "free to play" games?

[TekoIie]

@Nucky64

The topic is about crossplay and all of a sudden we can only talk about Microsoft. It's absolutely fucking amazing.

"using cross-play (or anything else they can think of) to deflect from major issues they have such as a lack of quality 1st party games or forcing people to pay them a fee for "free to play" games?"

So once more we're talking about Microsoft on a topic about Sony's stance on crossplay. See this is what's pathetic. I say something bad about Sony and the response every time is "YEAH BUT MICROSOFT". Microsft has done a terrible job this gen but I don't see how it changes the fact that Sony is anti-consumer on the issue of crossplay.

Deflection every single time and trying to change the topic to how bad MS is. Is it literally impossible to have a reasonable discussion about Sony's stance on crossplay without needing to talk about how terrible MS's performance has been this gen? Because I literally don't care which is why I don't own an Xbox One.

Try one more time: Why is Sony's stance on crossplay with consoles acceptable when it only offers advantages to gamers? If there's a drawback please tell me about it because so far I've heard nothing reasonable and go into detail as to why Sony denying this is good.

[ShadowWolf712]

Not being able to play Fortnite or Rocket League with a dude on Xbox is not on the same level as forcing people to use a phone app for premium voice chat or telling people their cloud saves are subject to deletion if their subscription lapses.

Especially when you can already play both with folks on PC. (Even Mobile in the case of Fortnite.)

[TekoIie]

@ShadowWolf712

"Not being able to play Fortnite or Rocket League with a dude on Xbox is not on the same level as forcing people to use a phone app for premium voice chat or telling people their cloud saves are subject to deletion if their subscription lapses."

Nope, but it is bad that they're telling 3rd parties what they can and cannot do with their own servers. Why should Sony even have a say? Sooner or later many games on every platform will have a case where their player counts fall into maybe a couple thousand or less and matchmaking becomes less reliable. Having all platforms userbase combined means that everyone benefits from better matchmaking and a more stable connection.

Before Sony became opposed to this 90% of people were in favour of full crossplay across all platforms. But now people cant be in favor of something that has no drawbacks because Sony is against it. Last gen there was nothing but support when Sony was ahead with crossplay but now its the opposite. Really is a shame to see that once Sony is against it peoples opinions when the roles of their favourite companies do.

[Rhythmattic]

@TekoIie
"Crossplay with consoles forgive me leaving that out. Thought it was obvious since that's why this is even a story"
A story from a PC centric website...
great article headlines like:
"With so many extremely good and not bad Spider-Man games on PC, who even needs a PS4"
"God of War: Ascension and God of War 3 look great on PC with this PS3 emulator"
"God of War 3, Nier, Uncharted 2 progressing well on PC with PS3 emulator"
Mmmm.. What about all the reviews of PS4 games?

As for a story, its nothing but a reason to diss Sony and Playstation..
Though, as for Fortnight, cross play or not, (I don't play it) Sony are being completes arseholes by hijacking users accounts and not allowing progression on other systems.. That is really BAD FORM.

To Add.. Im a PC and PS4 owner.. I for one don't care in the slightest for any cross play... Whether PC or Console..... And I can pretty much guarantee most PS gamers don't give a rats either.....
Its only an issue because the "Opposition" are calling it one.

[Godmars290]

@TekoIie:
We're talking about Xbox because crossplay between the PS4 and XB1 is what started this stupid argument. As if w/o across the board corssplay the whole of the industry will collapse. Meanwhile Spiderman is a thing.

[zodiac909]

@Tekolie At this point dude you look like the biggest "fanboy"..you're the only one up here typing out ESSAYS. Are you getting paid to spend so much time on N4G?

[TekoIie]

@Rhythmattic

Okay but am I PC Gamer? Nope I'm just someone with my own opinion. Attacking them and showing me other articles on their site doesn't change my opinion or show me why it's a good thing that Sony is denying crossplay among consoles. No one as of yet has actually presented a reason for denying crossplay other than "I don't care about it".

You not caring is absolutely fine. But it doesn't justify their stance when no one can tell me the drawbacks of allowing crossplay among all systems.

"And I can pretty much guarantee most PS gamers don't give a rats ass"

Far to vague statement there. Most PS users? I don't know what we're talking here so I can't argue it. I mean it's like saying most ps4 owners don't care about god of war because it didn't sell as well as the ps4 system itself.

If we look at public opinion it's largely in favour of crossplay. N4G is the main outlier here.

@shadowWolf712

"We're talking about Xbox because crossplay between the PS4 and XB1 is what started this stupid argument."

Then let's talk about MS within the context of crossplay. We can acknowledge last gen they weren't good on crossplay and then also say that they've improved and now have a far better stance in the issue.

Sony is now the one with the backwards attitude and they deserve to have their feet held to the fire same as MS. If anyone has a problem with that then you're probably a fanboy.

@Zodiac

Fanboy of what lol? A system I don't own like Russo accused me of XD

"you're the only one up here typing out ESSAYS. Are you getting paid to spend so much time on N4G?"

Is Sony paying you to post these comments? We can go in circles all day if that's the calibre of argument you want to make pal. You should try writing an essay. It might help you make coherent points and actually capable of defending your position which, thus far, you've failed to do.

[Rhythmattic]

TekoIie
"You not caring is absolutely fine. But it doesn't justify their stance when no one can tell me the drawbacks of allowing crossplay among all systems."

A Drawback? Financially to Sony i imagine a major one.

The Drawback To me? Ill never do cross play, just isn't the same playing field, Especially an FPS against or being a PC player., you know, ultrahigh frames rates, higher res ect.... Maybe even an Xbox or PS4 would have some advantages one over the other depending on developer code..ect.
Actually, Be interesting to see Statistics re player count, K/D ratio , wins ect
Of course a given, ALL games support console specific lobbies....(Do they now? I don't do cross play PC/PS4) so don't know.....

btw? I don't remember , Did MS get as much Flack for the 360 when Sony offered to do Crossplay?
Maybe Sonys just being Childish and holding up a mirror?

[Nu]

Nintendo and Sony both have crappy decision makers. Microsoft seems to be getting it's shit together ATM imo

[SixFragz]

But, the only thing you Xboners can play on your "next-gen" console is Xbox 360 games...

I mean, why even have an Xbone when you could save yourself the waste of money and just stick to the 360?

[trooper_]

Lol @ Microsoft getting their act together.

On what planet?

[S2Killinit]

Really...

[Aceman18]

They still on this xplay BS? The people b***hing about this don't run a business, why don't you let them run their business how they see fit. They'll do xplay when they feel its necessary to with the other consoles. Until then just enjoy the xplay they do with PC, iOS, and mobile since THEY DO have the most xplay games out.

Also to those that are constantly b***hing about this why don't you go ask your lord master MS why aren't we playing xplay on PubGarbage?

[gamer7804]

it does suck yah, but I chose to praise good decisions as well as criticize bad decisions. This is a bad decision and should be criticized even though Sony has done other things to move the industry forward, this one clearly sets it back.

[ShadowWolf712]

Explain how it sets the industry back. No seriously, I am beyond sick of this hyperbolic statement. Explain how it's applicable or stop using it.

Spoiler: You can't. No one can. Because the industry as a whole is free to move on without their inclusion. There is absolutely nothing stopping these companies from doing it with every other system out there. Hell, they've done it. So how is Sony's choice not to participate holding ANYONE else back?

You seem more than happy to harp on Sony for this, and insist people will "keep at it til they get what they want". So... why are you not crusading against MS locking Free to Play titles behind their paywall? That's a far more egregious offense, my dude.

[rainslacker]

Or the more obvious rationale that games have been fine for 40 years without cross play, and they'll be fine without it for the next 40 if it happens to play out that way.

If Sony allowed it, then all these websites wouldn't have anything to write about. They were fine barely writing about it for all the time its been available between PS and PC for the 12 odd years prior to about 2 years ago. Imagine all the lost ad revenue these sites would have if they didn't have this current topic to drone on about. All that time, and I barely ever saw any mention about how it was some massive step forward that was truly helping games as a whole. Maybe some good will mentions from media here and there on the rare occasion it was implemented and "oh cool" comments in forums. Then everyone continued on their way and didn't care and I don't know a single person that brought a game because of the feature.

I'm curious to see any actual data that shows how many people play these games in cross play, and how those games that offer it would be affected should the feature be taken away. Surely that data exists somewhere. As it stands now, it just seems like a lot of hyperbole and assumption which is making a lot of people and some developers say they want it, and it would be beneficial to them.

[Imalwaysright]

So the developers that want it and are openly criticizing Sony's stance on cross play are risking a healthy relationship with the biggest player in console gaming for no reason whatsoever? Because of hyperbole?

[rainslacker]

The developers that want it are taking the risk on their own. It shouldn't affect their games, or the players. If they withhold a game from a system due to this, then that's the developer holding itself back.

And no one is risking anything. Sony isn't going to not allow them to publish on the system. all they have to do is pay the licensing fee. They'd even let Nintendo and MS publish on their system if they so desired.

[Imalwaysright]

Yes they're risking on their own and they would risk it based on hyperbole? Are they complete and utter morons or something?

Sony's relationship with third party devs can extend to more than Sony allowing their games on their platform from marketing deals, tool support or even where you can find games in the PSN store.

[trooper_]

This is really annoying now.

For the last time, unless crossplay becomes a huge deal, Sony doesn't have to do squat.

STOP BEGGING!

[DarXyde]

I think this is very well said, -Foxtrot.

Granted, I would not even say that "it sucks" because this generation began without this even being a conversation. For me, having cross play is like Microsoft having backwards compatibility on Xbox One or Sony having HDR on PS4. No one really knew that these were options in the beginning. They found a way to add value and make the consoles better, but exclusion really isn't a deal breaker, if you ask me.

I truly do believe cross play falls under "often requested, but rarely utilized"

[Trigem]

I don’t even think about Cross-play.

[RedDevils]

It's hurt xbot the most

[alb1899]

So, there's nothing people can say without bring to the table the exclusive card? They are talking about crossplay and it socks that on 2018 there are still problems with it.
I think almost everyone wants crossplay so why not make some pressure to at least make Sony think about it?
Is it that bad?
I'm very happy because I have the three consoles but not everyone can afford it.

[sawoosevens]

Yep atm Sony is at the top of restoring good game play without garbage practices in them, aside from Sony's games recently all games has gone to trash and it truly saddens my soul.

[DivineAssault]

Well said. Its not like i cant find players online either. The first party exclusives and all the 3rd party support are well worth not having cross play.

[KillBill]

So because a company or person does a single thing that is bad they should get a pass on that thing being pointed out as an issue because of other things they have done that are good? For sure you can't vilify an entire organization or person for most single actions but for sure some actions just deserve to have focus on them and be called out.

So don't mind you step-dad for sneaking into your room at night that once... other than that he was doing a great job. rofl

[Nyxus]

I just can't bring myself to care about this. I mean, if they want to enable cross-play that's fine by me, but I don't care either way.

[Markusb33]

Exactly this is a strawman argument. So people on a different platform are angry on behalf on another platforms customers about the lack of a feature ?
This is so over argued and over blown.
I dont think sony is perfect but I don't think it effects a large number of people and certainly not games as a whole.

[PapaBop]

Exactly, while Microsoft/Nintendo and whoever are scrambling to get as many of their industry pals to run articles screaming about cross-play, Sony are too busy counting all their console sales. I can only guess these articles keep cropping up because Microsoft are going to try and use cross-play as a console selling feature for the nextbox, most likely to mask their lack of exclusives.

[gamer7804]

Most of your arguments just aren't true.

1. It's not just people on one platform, its people who have friends that are all all different platforms, or have multiple platforms but only pay for the gold/psplus on one which is their primary. I know people on xbox who want this, people on ps4 who want this and people on switch who want this.

2. True it is a lack of a feature

3. It's not overblown, you are seeing repeated articles on this and choosing to get upset because gamers AND developers care about this.

4. Sony isn't perfect, and this is a clear failure on their part, they have done other things to move the industry forward like their psplus games and focus on single player games. This just isn't one of those times.

[rainslacker]

@papa

Sadly, I think MS will try to make something out of it for marketing their console. They already are to some degree because they have cross play with Switch and PC. It seems disingenuous to market it fully though since they don't actually have it with Sony, but I'm sure they'll make a big deal out of it. Sony never really made a big deal out of it when they had it for PC. Just mentioned it a few times, and the publishers would sometimes issue a press release saying that it was available when it was between PC and PS. Other than that, no one seemed to care until MS started talking about it, and I don't think people would even really care that much now if it was implemented. Once all the negative aspect of it not being available between PS and other consoles was gone, everything would simply go back to the same nonchalant indifference that we've had about it for over a decade before it became a thing recently. On top of that, chances are, most games still wouldn't support it, because not many games supported it when it has been available for some time now.

@Gamer

Some gamers care about it. Recent surveys though show that while most are fine if it was there, most don't care about it either way. I think something like 50% didn't care at all, 40% were fine with it either way(indifferent), and the rest cared.

So yeah, it's an overblown issue, and the reason we keep seeing articles about it is because its a hot topic right now that can get the media hits. But its a topic that's been overplayed, and people are getting so annoyed with it, they're starting to actually be more defensive about the reasons why it shouldn't be there, and stating louder and louder that they don't care. MS is spurring this on with their interactions with the community, and the media is happily playing Sony up as the villain because its getting them hits.

I just find it disingenuous that before 2 years ago, the topic was barely discussed. MS makes some comment about how they're open to it, and suddenly, Sony is arrogant and anti-consumer. While I don't give in to conspiracy theories, the nature of the conversation, and the conversation that preceded the current media/comments surrounding it does strike a chord of this being an issue that is made up for reasons that have nothing to do with people's desire for the feature.

[admiralvic]

@ PapaBop

It keeps coming up because there are some people who legitimately want it and because Fortnite made it a much larger issue, or at least for a week. The real issue is people keep giving them clicks.

@ Gamer7804

There will always be people who want this, just like I'm sure I can find countless people who would want universal cross-buy (buy it on X and get it for A, B and C). The real problem is most people picked their loyalty based off what their friends are playing and it doesn't really impact them. Right now all my friends have a PlayStation 4 and will likely buy a PlayStation 5, so it isn't an issue, though I get why some people want it.

Well, it's not a true lack of a feature. Sony supports it for things like PC, so they have it and a lot of games simply don't implement it. If it was a much more common feature I could see this being a more relevant point.

I don't think a lot of developers care. It's easy to side with these things, since it's no stakes. Sony isn't going to go "oh sorry, you were against our cross-play policy, so we're not going to let you publish Fallout 76." Something like that would become an issue so fast they're safe. It also comes up because it gets hits. And it largely gets hits because people, like myself, take the time to debate it every time.

Is it a clear failure? The main issue I have with this is how it's basically a strawman argument against nothing. Like, let's say tomorrow Sony is going to support cross-play, regardless of whether it's an Xbox or TI calculator. This isn't going to mean my work friend (PC) and I can play Destiny 2 or that my one buddy who prefers PC will be able to join me in Fallout 76.

If you want the real truth, the issue is that so much of this is words. If bigger games like Destiny, Call of Duty, Battlefield V, Fallout, Doom and more had cross-play on the Xbox and PC, it would be a different story, but right now it's basically "we want cross-play because it means I can play with anyone anywhere," even if Xbox has it and that isn't the case.

[zodiac909]

LOL 2 people Disagreed with you for having an opinion.....That's N4G for ya.

[JonTheGod]

Hypocrisy! You're complaining about people disagreeing with someone's opinion? You do realise that disagreeing with someone (or agreeing) is also expressing an opinion, right?

[nucky64]

yea, it wouldn't bother me at all either - i (nor anyone i know) would use crossplay.

[SixFragz]

The only people who care are whiny, bratty, entitled Xboners who feel like Sony owes them something for their fail of a console.

The solution is simple: ditch the miserable Xbone, stop being an Xboner drone, and just buy a PS4.

Ez. GG.

[AspiringProGenji]

I was worried this week would end without a crossplay piece...

[russo121]

I can only agree with you, ouch, some fanboy (disguised as journalist) saved the day.

"For a company that talks a lot about innovation, Sony is the only one standing in the way" - something is wrong here, someone didn't inform him the retro-box is from other hardware manufacturer.

[ILostMyMind]

retro-4K-box*. 😂😂

[gamer7804]

get used to it, it won't go away until gamers and developers get what they want. There will continue to be instances of gamers being blocked from multiplayer due to the brand name thats on the box.

[FallenAngel1984]

How is it really hurting the industry? Cross platform play isn’t even widespread across a lot of titles yet

[Omnisonne]

I'm guessing it's the only handle some people have on Sony, so they keep hammering on it and trying to make it look like it's this huge problem in the industry thats halting progress. While 99% of gamers (specially on Sony's platform) couldn't care less about it.

[gravedigger]

Really small majority of gamers cares about cross-play. I don't care.

[gravedigger]

Ignore post before. There was a typo.

Really small minority of gamers cares about cross-play. I don't care.

[gamer7804]

Keeps people from playing together? Its a step backward. When my kids are playing with their cousins on Minecraft all on different consoles (they use xbox, switch and iPads) its a beautiful thing.

[rainslacker]

Maybe having segregated consoles should be a thing of the past too. Going forward, all the console makers should work together to make a console that can play any and all games. On top of that, PC isn't open enough. All publishers that don't also make their games for Linux are holding back the industry.

This isn't a step backwards. Sony has been doing cross play for years before MS decided to make it more readily available. MS just recently stepped up to the plate for the big time, so they are moving forward, and now on par with Sony...and maybe even a step ahead since they offer it with Switch.

There is nothing about the industry that is being held back by the lack of cross play between consoles. I'd like to know how keeping people from playing together hurts the industry. The industry is doing better than it ever has both financially and in the number of games that can come out. Cross play is a very recent advent that to date has no discernible data to suggest that it has anything to do with all that success.

This is purely a consumer issue, and with or without cross play, games will continue to be made, people will continue to buy games, and people will continue to play games with those who they can play with. If they can't play with their friends because their friends play on different console, that does not affect the industry. It hasn't for years, and it won't for the future. If it becomes a problem, then it will affect the hardware/OS maker that doesn't allow it, as people won't buy that product anymore.

If Minecraft is such a big thing for you, why not rail against MS for blocking updates to that because Sony wouldn't allow their users to use an Xbox Live account on their system because MS itself locked the actual updates behind that requirement....not because Sony was against XBL sign ups as 3rd party accounts are actually allowed on PSN.

[gamer7804]

@rainslacker

I'd rather a company learn from their mistakes and move forward along with the industry, then not learn and keep doing what they are doing because they happen to be on top of sales charts. Microsoft at least in this case is now ahead of Sony pushing crossplay with other platforms. They are doing this more than ever with alot of their software services.

Not having a beneficial (by any measured amount) feature, by nature, is a detriment to the industry. No one is rallying against it, they either care deeply or it doesn't matter. That is still a net positive.

This is not purely a consumer issue, this affects gamers, developers and their publishers. This is a benefit to multiplayer titles as it helps them to reach as many players as possible.

I didn't say Minecraft was big for me, I said my kids and their cousins enjoy playing cross platform. (I do have some fun playing with my kids though since their happiness is paramount to me.).

[AspiringProGenji]

But Playstation is not lacking crossplay feature. It already does crossplay with Pc for several titles. If Sony doesn’t want to do it with their competitor, they are in their right. That won’t damage the industry. This gen was going just fine before MS made crossplay a big deal and the industry was not missing that

[Tetsdah]

@rainslacker It is an ironic and humorous the current gaming time line to be honest. Sony once was on board for cross play with MS during the PS3 gen and the beginning of ps4 gen with FF XIV, which MS rejected twice. It was inconvenient for MS last gen and the beginning of this gen, and now it is inconvenient for Sony. What has been an interesting turn of events is Nintendo hopping on board and the constant surplus of articles on this subject, especially really hammering on the significance of cross play. There were articles back then, but they were not as nearly as numerous and severe. While it would be cool if and when it happens, saying they are holding back the industry is an exaggeration in my opinion. I hope it does happen and I predict towards the end of this gen, Sony will likely be more inclined to do it because the slate will be clean again. If it happens, it happens, if it does not, it does not. My main concern is that Sony continues to deliver awesome games, a solid online service, and a respectable feature set, not raping the consumer.

[lxeasy]

Sony should just do what's right and let cross play happen across all platforms

[The_Sage]

No thanks. I don't want to deal with the throngs of loud foul mouthed squeakers from Live. I'd rather be segregated from them.

[Born2Game83]

Its PCgamer.com they are joke in the pc gaming community. Remember the 9/10 for Dragon's Age 2?

[masterfox]

sure whatever you say man.

[bobsmith]

were all playing same games sucks if a lobby cant fill up if theres enough people ready on different consoles and it divides leaderboards up and created levels between pc switch ps4 xbox when it could all be 1
you can play exclusives for no cross play

[ILostMyMind]

That is the point. On PS lobbies you always have enough players. Problably on PC too. CP is not needed. 😔

[gamer7804]

I don't think anyone was making the case that there is not enough players total for mainstream games (although there probably are smaller games that could have a larger lifespan if the pool of players was more broad), I think they just want to be able to play with friends and not worry about which console to buy the game on or if they have to worry about splitting their income across 3 consoles to play with their friends plus any subscription fees they might be paying on all three.

[ILostMyMind]

@gamer78043
Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Valve e etc are worrying about which hardware you are buying to play your games.

[Moe-Gunz]

I have never had an issue finding people to play with. This is a non-issue.

[Hardiman]

No it doesn't and I'd say Sony's stance on supporting their devs and allowing them to create such many amazing games makes the industry better! Hell I probably wouldn't be gaming if not for PlayStation or nowhere near as much as I do! Jesus just this year we got a new amazing remake (complete rebuilt from the ground up) of Shadow of the Colossus, a refresh of a series with GOW, an amazing branching narrative game in Detroit and just this last week Spider-Man! On top of the Yakuza 6, Ni No Kuni II as well as VR titles. I don't know what more you could ask for!

Edit: For the life of me I don't understand this obsession with crossplay! For one the narrative presented is disingenuous and seems to be coming from competitors or just people wanting to throw shade on Sony.

I'm sure there are some who genuinely want it but there was a survey done not long ago and the numbers made it clear that it's a small fraction!

This hobby is about games , not services, gimmicks or flavors of the month but games and to me that's what's important! Fads come and go and the Battle Royal craze will pass but quality titles that are fun will always resonate!

[PowerOfTheCloud]

"Edit: For the life of me I don't understand this obsession with crossplay! For one the narrative presented is disingenuous and seems to be coming from competitors or just people wanting to throw shade on Sony."

Even if it is just a very minor issue, it is one of the extremely few spots where haters think they can attack sony, so these desperate individuals focus on this "weak" spot.

[gamer7804]

"Even if it is just a very minor issue..." so therein lies the problem, it is an "issue" and depending on who you talk to determines the severity of the issue. Sure some use it to attack Sony, but this is business, you take you SWOT and place it against your SWOT of your competitors. This doesn't mean its not a beneficial feature for gamers and developers which judging from the amount of articles and comments on articles its pretty obvious the importance of this issue whether you agree or don't care (not caring doesn't mean something is not beneficial).

[Today's Hottest Article on N4G]

[trouble_bubble]

Old news PCGamer. Let it go. Go play Spider-man, pre-order Red Dead 2. Oh wait. You can’t. I get it now

[Hardiman]

That's where the majority of this "crossplay " ideology stems from! It's those who for what ever reason don't have a PS4 or either favor or work for someone other than Sony! No doubt there are some who would like the feature but they aren't beating the "crossplay " drum which at this point seems directed to throw shade on what Sony is accomplishing with the PS4! Especially when there is a high profile exclusive releasing!

Not all criticism is partial though but the ones that say "Spider-Man should be more like BOTW" or just saying insert game has been downgraded is tiresome especially when time and time again each game accused of being downgraded looks better than the trailer in question upon release!

For me when I look back at this gen I'll see the focus Sony had on software primarily SP narrative driven games, developer creative freedom, launching new IP's as well as having the foresight to enable HDR with an update and not having customers buy a new console, having the duelshock 4 VR ready with an update, developing an upgrade that even though underpowered can deliver a display with appropriate tv's that is 4K quality, bringing VR to the masses, developing more 2nd and 3rd party relationships and their reputation proceeds them because Marvel came to them and we now have Spider-Man! TLOU2, Ghosts, Days Gone, Dreams, Concrete Genie and Death Stranding are still coming so for me crossplay really isn't a pressing issue

[gamer7804]

nope, I own a ps4 and xbox, I just care about moving things forward.

[SegaGamer]

Another one of these articles.

From now on, I'll just leave a link to one of my previous comments about this
http://n4g.com/news/2201180...

[DarkZane]

Crossplay is not as important as the very vocal minority is trying to make it out to be. Sony could still not allow it next gen with the PS5 and it would literally have no effect on the sales of the PS5, they'd still end up crushing the competition.

[ILostMyMind]

Oh, no. PS5 will have It, for sure. Every generation is a new war.

[sin7279]

Pcgamer lol!

[VsAssassin]

Ok, having crossplay across all platforms is good, but I don't care if it's there or not. You know what I care about mostly in gaming? Sweet, sweet videogames--games that Sony have been delivering for decades now.

[InKnight7s]

I am still waiting for FFxIv to release on Xb1 since ever. Then lets talks about Sony backwards about Rocket Leauge and Fortnite.

[dekke]

and...FFXIV is not on xbox cuz MS want own servers...as u dont need even PSN account to play FFXIV :P

[_LarZen_]

The solution is easy. Want the option to play with friends across platform and the option to change platform you play on? Buy a Xbox,PC or even a Switch.

[_LarZen_]

EDIT: And why is this being downvoted?

[ILostMyMind]

Because they bought the wrong console but want to play with the biggest player pool.

[Cohagen420]

You can crossplay with PC on Ps4..

[cabbitwithscissors]

Clickbait article with a very controversial title. This article is part interview, part commentary and part opinion. Please address it as such.

[bluefox755]

You could make the same argument about exclusives, it's just silly. No one cares outside of N4G and game journos.

[1-pwnsause-1]

Backwards? Yea if this article was written years ago, you guys wouldn’t be bashing Microsoft for saying no to cross play with Sony... FOH....I don’t mind crossplay, but stop the hypocrisy.... instead of writing trash like this, how bout writing this topic:

“Microsoft should’ve accepted to crow play with Sony last gen”

What goes around comes back around....

[Markusb33]

Another hit piece BS article. Where are the articles on free to play games locked behind xbl ? Or is that different as you like that platform?

[Futureshark]

Yaaaaaaaawwwn, this same old sheet again! Nobody really cares, just play Fortnite (or whatever) with the people available on that platform. This is all you have to moan about re Sony, and it's just so unimportant.

[Platformgamer]

again? enough already

[PaleMoonDeath]

Not when you make primarily single player games, easy to forget they allow cross play with PC.. and Sony have the biggest online community amongst consoles, they hold the cards. Would only benefit the competition too have Sony in there, think people.

[cabbitwithscissors]

BS article about a console platform from a magazine called PCGamer. Anyone see the irony? Also, which gamer who identifies as a PC elitist would want to play with a console gamer except to cheat and pown those players to feel good about themselves?

[Dragonscale]

It 'hurts games as a whole' is just a ridiculous hyperbolic statement. What a joke lol.

[ILostMyMind]

Nah, It just hurts XB users.

[william_cade]

Off-line single player gamers are not a part of the whole, I suppose.

[ILostMyMind]

I still think we should have CP with Switch. But the lack of this feature indicates that Sony still wants to launch a handheld. Something that i really want to see.

[Cohagen420]

You're acting like every game is crossplay, its not even remotely essential to crossplay Minecraft or Fortnite with the Switch.

[ILostMyMind]

I didn't say that.

[Mr_Commander]

how for a change m$ spend their money not on PR agenda and misleading information, but on actually games? m$ was and still is a sub-par gaming company whom trying by force to push this nonsense.

all educated people knows, that Sony supports more then double crossplay games then m$, but this agenda and misleading information appeals just for losers m$ beggars,

if sony's stance hurts gaming, so how you call m$? nintendo? i am tired of this misleading nonsense.

what is worst, that youtubers also are a$$holes like legacykillahd, whom are suckers of clicks, instead of doing research and educate themself what you are spreading, they intentionally mislead public.

i hate those beggars, instead of creating their own success, they are trying just to take from others, whom invest millions and time to produce, instead that people defend them, their "attacking" them. what kind of gaming we had if not Sony? it would be a wasteland with 0 quality.

[staticall]

Sony has crossplay with PC, mr. PCGamer dot com. And has more crossplay titles than Xbox 360, Xbox One, WiiU, Switch combined (you can search it for yourself on wiki, "List of video games that support cross-platform play"). So yeah.

[PapaBop]

Meanwhile at Sony HQ, too busy counting their console sales to even be paying attention at this point. Keep begging though Microsoft sympathisers, I've missed the console war!

[JonTheGod]

Can someone please list how many games are actually cross-play between Xbox and Switch? Is it all of them? No? Oh OK, perhaps the majority of multiplats? No??

ONLY THREE GAMES worth any salt have cross-play:
Fortnite
Rocket League
Minecraft

Everything else is minor stuff that no-one really cares about.

So what is the fuss about?

[sampsonon]

and the only reason Nintendo has cross play is because they don't have serves to play on so they use MS's servers.

[angelsx]

I don't want cross-play anyway

[Moe-Gunz]

I still don't see this as an issue. I just don't care about cross play and fail to see why it's a big deal to some.

[sampsonon]

the only people that want cross play are people, i better choose my words wisely here because the settings for getting banned on this site is set to extreme high, that don't own one of the following. a PS4 or a pc that is capable of playing AAA games. Sony has more cross play games at this moment then either of the other consoles, yet they are frowned upon by uneducated fools that think a company owes them for being the most popular console through great business decisions they've made.

remember it was these other companies that said that the future of gaming was through Micro Transactions and mp gaming where's sony has shown just how ridiculous and flawed that concept is.

what would gaming look like right now if sony's ps4 wasn't around? it would be a generation full of broken mp games with MT's for the same old fps games that get regurgitated every yr. or we would have another assassins creed, i don't know which is worse .

sony, like every other company in this world owes you nothing and shouldn't be shamed into opening up their clientele's information to other companies data base. if i wanted to play with friends that own another console i would either buy it, cheap at the moment for an OG ps4, or i would use my pc.

i could care less about cross play just as much as i could care less if burger king sells BIG MACS.

get over it already and acknowledge that without sony the industry would stop making consoles altogether because not one of those other companies have shown the commitment to serving it user base with enough content to keep the industry alive.

[Godmars290]

This again...

[AK91]

Does it?

[OG_TK_Cole]

Although I want cross-play, Im not willing to tell a company what they should be doing with their consoles. At the end of the day I own all consoles, so i can still play games with friends. I understand the whole argument for and against cross-play, but I really dont care enough at this point to pick a side. #FactsOnly

[sampsonon]

plus f you own a pc you can already cross play with most mp games that are on the ps4 already.

[rainslacker]

I don't mind telling companies what I want from the console or their games. But ultimately, I speak my mind by opening or closing my wallet to them. Provide me with what I want, they get my money. Don't, and they don't get my money.

As far as cross play goes, it has never been, nor will it ever be a feature I use to determine whether I buy a console or a game. If its there, then great. If its not, then oh well, I'll survive and not even have it affect my game play habits one bit. At no point in time, even when its been available on PC/PS, have I thought to myself that I must have that feature, or been excited that I could play with my friends on other platforms.

[CyberRekkr]

I wish Sony would do Crossplay,But remember, Sony tried to do it with the Ps3, But Microsoft said no! So it's all Microsofts fault!

[Shikoku]

Hahahahahahahaha I love how now all of a sudden cross play is a hugh deal. Its not a that big of a deal people. Love every article that is penned never mentions the fact you PS4 cross plays with PC just fine it just doesnt cross play with its two main rivals Xbone and Nintendo. As some have said where is the outrage about xbone gold being required for f2p games like warframe reminds me of having to have xbone gold to use netflix and internet explorer on x360.

[gazgriff2k12]

Blah blah blah yawn

[Vetgamer]

It's not hurting sony, so why should they care.
It's the only thing the other 3, can throw at sony can't see it affecting sales.

[sprinterboy]

I don't get all this cross play BS, yes I agree it could help smaller games, ie it's a nightmare trying to find someone to play snooker or pool with online with pure pool or bk on ps3 trying to find players on super sprint (never found 1 player never mind 4) lol.
But games like rocket league, hell no. I get enough hate txt on there as it is ie "hope your mum dies of cancer" etc, imagine ps4 and xbox txt speech with cross play?
Fortnite, why would Sony allow this when gamers could potentially buy stuff from the competitor's stores.

[SinisterKieran]

ohhhhhh myyyyy god, enough of the same crap.

[kikicub]

Sony worked their butts off to get gamers to their platform, now others want to reap the benefits of Sony's install base. The only thing, in my opinion, that cross-platform play would bring is in-game banter about which console is better.

[torgan4g]

I have been a gamer for more than 25 years and I cannot care less of cross-play....

[PrinterMan]

One of the most ridiculous headlines I've ever read. Just because Sony is not doing what you want does not mean they do not innovate. Sony (as others) spend many a buck on R and D. Get your fanboy head out your a** author. I mean story teller.

[Realms]

These articles are hilarious you know what's killing gaming it's not Sony's stance on cross play it's publishers like EA that are greedy as they come and stifle creativity every major studio that has ever signed with them eventually is killed off or their spirit get's broken. If you want to point a finger point it in the right direction EA, Activision, WB, MS, to a lesser extent Ubisoft. MS new thing is creating everything as a service, they were the first to charge for online and have yet to produce a unique interesting new IP that is good in a long time, from where I'm standing Sony and Nintendo are the only one's a side from a few developers like Rockstar and CD Project red to allow for creative freedom that produces great games.

[ocelot07]

Should change the title to "Sony's backwards stance on cross-play hurts the other consoles".

[il-JumperMT]

Sony had cross platform since PS2. X360 did not want cross platform and no one bats an eye. Karma is a bitch.

[merciless]

Question: In what other business sector is a business required to give up their competitive advantage?
Answer: None

This is a ploy to help XBOX. They need to remove the "where my friends play" element of a console purchase because nobody is buying their console. When this whole crossplay argument was at it strongest, you had guys on forums pushing that I want crossplay play with playstation narrative. But when you look at their post history they were anti PS and Pro XBOX gamers who decided to pose as concerned ps gamers.

Sony has put in the work and effort. XBOX has taken the entire generation off. This push by microsoft by their execs on twitter is entirely disingenuous.

[Legendary_Soldier]

Back to this bullshit about Cross-play and Sony, everyone is trying to undermine what Sony has done and doing to the Gaming industry and they try to pick on it with these stupid subjects. The truth is "we" PlayStation fans support Sony and everything they have been doing because simply they are for the players and they are the almost the only one who still cares about great games that give an amazing experience to gamers! so please stop it, just stop it!

[jznrpg]

CrossPlay doesn’t prevent MS or Sony from making good games. MS wants it and majority of PS customers don’t. Customers win. MS needs all the spin they can throw because they have pissed off so many gamers

[JesusBuiltmyHotrod]

Spiderman just released and it's going gangbusters..please someone do another cross play article.

[JesusBuiltmyHotrod]

Also LOL at cross play being innovative ..sony did it before MS, and it's hardly as innovative as VR

[Silly gameAr]

If n4g banned articles talking about the xbox's lack of exclusives because there were to many, then I wonder why they don't ban these pointless crossplay articles? At this point it just looks like whiny kids that own a laptop or a pc like to beat a dead horse.

It's even weirder that this is coming from a PC mag, since Sony has the most cross play games on PC. The fake outrage. I don't know if it's funny or sad at this point.

[Mr_Commander]

Christopher is xbox fan, he is banning PS4 players here. nothing new that they banned those articles.

[galmi]

Well I dont think Christopher is, made a comment on a PS article, banned me twice lol

[rainslacker]

It is getting to a point where these kinds of articles are not really serving any purpose except to rile up the community. That was enough to prevent gamergate articles, and while I didn't know about it, the lack of exclusvies thing on Xbox articles. Seems it would be prudent to not allow these kinds of articles unless it's and actual news article made based on someone from the industry saying something. These opinion pieces are all the same otherwise.

[MONOLITHICIDE]

Nope not really. This is just programmed criticism. Holds zero weight on anything related to gaming or Sony Playstation as a whole. Fluff. Created narrative to ster an imaginary pot. Only to cause and affect the industry. I will go as far too say this is all political hyperbole paid for and financed by Microsoft (not just, sony as well). To instill in the minds of some that this is whats needed to move forward.

[InTheZoneAC]

not at all, where was all this whining last gen with xbox not supporting cross play? If you're a bad consumer I don't expect another company to support your poor decisions. No other country cares one bit about cross play and xbox, only in the US.

[Mylove1516]

Having crossplay definitely has its pro's but it is not detrimental to me. I still have millions of people to game with and against regardless. What I dont like is 3rd party accounts that don't belong to Sony or Microsoft or Nintendo being locked to that system.

[yoshatabi]

Omg. Sony said no. Deal with it. Stop being crybabies and stop talking about it already. It is what it is

[2pacalypsenow]

No it doesn’t.

It doesn’t affect games one bit.

[monkeyfox]

Ya know I've just realised why I hate Microsoft. They use hype, spin and media manipulation to further their agenda. Just like lobbyists and presidential candidates do.

Sony on the other-hand don't get involved with any of that stuff. I never see them trying to slight their opponents in the media. They just get on with making great tech and games, especially this gen. I mean sure, they have used previous consoles to push dvd/bluray agenda but only because they believed it was the best technology to move the industry forward. Most of the time though they keep their heads down and out of the media. Conversely, Microsoft seem like they are always trying to manipulate people's perception and I see this whole cross play thing as yet another attempt to move focus away from all of their own failings this generation.

[MrSec84]

It would be one thing if the PS4 install base was tiny, but anyone with access to the internet can potentially play the likes of anyone who plays any F2P PS4 games, any Plus Sub can play with anyone else who Subs to the service and anyone that buys multiplatform games on PS4 can play with everyone else that does too.

Literally 10s of millions of people make up Sony's online network this generation, it's actually the install base of other systems that have a problem with this, not Sony's customers.

Hell as a Switch owner, who loves that system I don't care about playing with anyone besides other Switch owners online, if I play online games on the system, mostly I play offline games, usually games that are SP focused and I'll play the odd online match.

Sony only needs to focus on what their customers want or potential customers and given they have a huge install base they have already currated a big player base for all of the online games on their platform.

[Ulf]

On that point, The PS5 should definitely NOT play PS4 games -- people should keep a PS4, or pay for a service to play PS4 games on PS5, even if the architecture is basically the same but ++.

I am *really* looking forward to the PS5 announcement for that reason -- to cheer them on. No crossplay! No BC! PS forever! /s

The more we, the gamers, support those decisions, the more likely they will be to continue into the next gen and beyond. Keep that in mind when you're posting about how much you don't care.

[Nyxus]

And I still wouldn't care. I don't even play multiplayer, so why would I? Sony is delivering one great singleplayer game after the other, so I'm good.

[Silly gameAr]

Sony is doing what theyve always done. Providing games. Why should they worry about making their competitors happy, when its obvious by the fact that people are still buying ps4s and games, that the gamers have decided whats really important.

[galmi]

You just might get banned for this lolol

[AlucardFury]

No it doesn’t...

[RosweeSon]

It really doesn’t my games are fine.

[Zerobalance]

Microsoft learnt at the beginning of this generation how Not to do things but they soon learned & they are a better company because of it. Xbox gamers are part of a reinvented gaming system. Why can't Sony do the same?

[Nyxus]

They still aren't delivering on the games front. Just recently in an interview Aaron Greenberg said that they didn't need to have any other big game than Forza for the holiday season, because they have multiplat.

[Mr_Luke]

Neverending story. And boring. And flooded by Xbone fanboys as usual, saying nonsense.

[MaxedOutGamer]

The console gaming industry comprises three giants Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Each of these companies exists primarily to generate profit and they've each found unique methods of accomplishing this. Nintendo chooses to use outdated tech that's generally a generation behind but offers them cheaper hardware, resulting in higher profits. Not to mention the abuse of Mario, Pokemon, and Zelda (no one can deny that they milk these franchises and releasing two pokemon games that are essentially the same exact game with minor differences, should be criminal) Also the classic games that they keep forcing on us. Yet no one seems to care or complain.

Microsoft's strategy has been a bit shady at times, for instance paying Youtubers to promote the xbox one, yet restrict them from saying that their being paid. They've also forced customers to purchase the Kinect which is now paperweight. They've also sneaked back in online registration before being able you to use your console by using a mandatory online update. I've never seen a review that talks about the atrocious installation time when you first load a game. Yet they market their products primarily through product placement and bundles.

Sony has a very powerful platform and delivers a wide variety of games that cater to everyone. They've always had a gamers first attitude and strive to offer the best content available and by the numbers, they've succeeded. The main reason MS and Nintendo are even offering Cross play is that they're losing...badly and this is a great way to give your main competition a lot of negative press. They' aren't listening to customers, they're exploiting them for their own gain. I personally stand by Sony's decision, they offer a great product, with excellent games and at the end of the day, they want to sell more consoles, why offer a feature that would encourage someone to go to your competition? Especially when only a minority of titles support it.

[DirtyBollix]

Weak journalism..

[The_Sage]

Oh StFU. I'm sick of these bitches crying.

[thejigisup]

How, tell me how lack of crossplay is holding games back? It's not effecting me 1 bit, there's 80+ million PS4 owners I can play with. All the ftp games don't require a pay wall unlike Xbox, I just don't get why this is an issue.

[nibblo]

Stop defending and deflecting for your corporate overlords sony fanboys you are just embarrassing yourselves.

[SharnOfTheDEAD]

It really doesn't hurt gaming that's pure hyperbole, give it up already, Cross play is just something Microsoft is clinging onto for their struggling platform, maybe they should focus on some games instead banging on about this because right now their lack of new IP is pretty poor and their recent offerings have been pretty awful.

[CarlDechance]

Sony seems to be fine doing their own thing.

[Sweetbrandigirl]

I stand with SONY on the issue of Crossplay. I urge them to continue to resit calls for them to share their hard earned and paid for work withthe rest of the industry. Who does that in business ? NO ONE thats who! Do you see Apple sending over their latest designs or ideas to Samsung NO ! Thats NOT how business works. If these other game companies can't pull an original idea for a game out of thier ass thats NOT Sonys fault ! Screw Em Rock on PlayStation Nation !

[Crakface]

Microsoft is begging Sony to hold up their garbage platform and its not going to happen unless they pay an insane amount of money. Just go away and die xbox.

[No Way]

Anyone that thinks cross-play is a bad thing; is ignorant and is only against it due to their fanboy bias..

[Sayai jin]

Boy oh boy. This site is going to rip this article to shreds.

[the worst]

I don't give 1 rat ass about cross game

[Mr Marvel]

No, it doesn’t.
Media blowing shit waaaay out of proportion and pushing their own agendas on the public... AGAIN.

[neomahi]

Only because they own the market. If you wanna play with your friends who have a PlayStation, buy a PlayStation. Microsoft only wants to do this with something sinister in mind, they're losing the console war so what's there to lose. And honestly, I don't wanna game with some immature kid over Xbox Live, thanks. Don't fall for this Sony, stand your ground!

[Thundercat77]

Playstation will care about Playstation gamers and PS gamers doesn't care about this feature.

It is very ridiculous how they are blaming Sony for not caring about Xbox gamers, which are the ones complaining.

You are telling me that... Xbox has a real problem of quality exclusive games and the Xbox community doesn't complain but they rather complain about Sony not enabling cross play? Truly amazing.

[conanlifts]

For me it is not a real issue. But for my kids it is a bigger issue. Their friends own different consoles. Some own a Nintendo Switch, others xbox, others PS4. Yet crossplay does not work for those with a PS4 and as kids they have no way of buying a new console. So they are locked out of playing against their friends who own different consoles. So for those saying it is a none issue you would be incorrect. Sure it is not an issue for the majority but it is an issue and it is one that can be rectified. As gamers and consumers we should be calling for every company to make changes, no matter how small, if it offers a positive experience.

[TheDriz]

Again.... the numbers show you don’t actually want crossplay. I know I will get the same response I always get and I’m just going to preface it with a reply. Quit lying.

[GHOSTxx420]

I personally dont care for crossplay but if i wanna play fortnite on my switch i need a totally different account and thats honestly annoying.

[antikbaka]

i wish NIntendo gets as much outrage as sony for their stubbornness

[Tross]

Can N4G please start banning these articles? They're getting old, and aren't convincing anyone to abandon the PS4 for an XB1. MS really needs to try a different tactic as paying these individuals to harp on the same non-issue over and over again has proven to be a waste of money.

[RedDeadLB]

Why is crossplay that important? Aren't there enough people online to play games with? Not a lot of games would even work with crossplay against PC users.

[boing1]

Crossplay is a non-existant problem. Period.

[GameStallion]

Microsoft trolling everyone.