At this year’s E3 event, it was announced that popular games such as “Rocket League” and “Minecraft” will be available for cross-platform play. This means that players using the Nintendo Switch, Mac, Xbox One and Windows PC will be able to play against each other.
Did you notice a console missing from the group? That’s right; Sony’s PlayStation 4 does not allow cross-platform play even though it seemed the company was open-minded about the idea from last year’s E3, saying at that time that it would be happy to have a conversation with developers who are interested in the idea.
Here are the reasons why Sony’s not allowing the said feature on their console.
A lame excuse
PlayStation’s head of global sales and marketing, Jim Ryan, said in a statement that the company looks after the people who go online with them especially children. The company doesn't want these people to be exposed to something they can’t control or manage, according to reports.
Basically, it means Sony wants to keep it family-friendly, but can it be any more family-friendly than Nintendo? Nintendo has always been known for keeping its content mainly for children, but the Switch allows cross-platform play for “Rocket League” and “Minecraft.”
This makes Sony’s excuse lame after its main competitors have the functionality enabled on its consoles.
Microsoft reportedly reached out to Sony several times to encourage cross-platform play.
A Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement, “We would love to work with Sony to bring players on PS4 into our united ecosystem as well,” according to a report by The Verge.
It’s all about the money
Sony’s strong sales of the PS4 make it more unlikely for the company to allow cross-platform play as it encourages people to buy the PS4 instead of other consoles.
Sony is in a better position for blocking such features compared to Microsoft, which has been struggling to keep up with its rival’s very impressive sales.
If you’re the only one among your group playing with the Xbox One, you will have to wait for Sony to allow your console to play with others, or be forced to buy a PS4 instead.
PlayStation 4 will be keeping its players in their ecosystem and won’t be given a chance, at least for now, to interact with other consoles.
What do you think of Sony’s reasons for blocking cross-platform play? Write your thoughts in the comment section down below and don’t forget to like and share this article.
