During a keynote open to journalists at GameLab, Sony Interactive Entertainment America’s president Shawn Layden has provided a quick statement about the Fortnite cross-play issue, which is ruling PlayStation 4 out of the shared gameplay with other consoles.
The issue has old roots and has ramped up thanks to the popularity of the battle royale title by Epic Games, something that Microsoft and Nintendo even remarked with a new Minecraft trailer which focused on the fact that their users can play together without any boundary.
“We’re hearing it. We’re looking at a lot of the possibilities. You can imagine that the circumstances around that affect a lot more than just one game,” Layden said, admitting that there’s a business consideration to do before approving the support.
“I’m confident we’ll get to a solution which will be understood and accepted by our gaming community, while at the same time supporting our business.”
As I said, it’s now clear that what former Sony Online Entertainment’s John Smedley explained during the last few days – that it’s only a matter of money Sony doesn’t want to potentially lose – is basically true.
“When I was at Sony, the stated reason internally for this was money. They didn’t like someone buying something on an Xbox and it being used on a PlayStation. Simple as that. Dumb reason, but there it is”, he commented on Twitter.
Of course, the ball is in Sony’s park now and all the pressure is on them, as Fortnite can be played without any platform restraint on Android and iOS devices, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PC on a shared battleground.
We hope PS4 will be the next to join the battle royale, in all senses.
Source: Eurogamer
