Shawn Layden Explains Why It Took So Long to Get Console Cross-Play on PS4 - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 October 2018 / 2,876 Views
Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios chairman Shawn Layden discussed in the latest PlayStation Blogcast why it took the company so long to add cross platform play with the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. Fortnite is the first game on the PlayStation 4 to allow cross platform play with other consoles.
"This is something we know about, we know this is a want, this is a desire. And we want to deliver that in the best way possible," said Layden. "Now enabling cross-play isn’t just a flip of a switch and there you go. It’s a very multi-dimensional attribute or feature.
"So we had to look at it from a technical point of view, we had to look at it with our partners from a business point of view. We have to make sure if we enable this do we have the right customer service support? Do we have the right messaging out there? It’s rather ordinal.
"Everything has to go in a certain order to get them all set up and that’s why it has taken us longer certainly than what I would have wanted. But it took us longer than what it was going to take to get it ready and get it done which is why we were able to not only able to announce it this past Tuesday, but enable it at the same time."
Thanks DualShockers.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Sorry but I call BS. Not saying it's as easy as a switch but it shouldn't take months either.
I agree it was slowed down by bureaucracy, but Sony previously released several statements against cross-play so this feels like damage control.
It only took MS around 8 years to get on board, but let’s trash Sony for a few months :/
This has nothing to do with Microsoft. It's great that Sony finally enabled cross play but they shouldn't have released such a dishonest statement.
Sorry, if Microsoft and even Nintendo could implement cross-play relatively quickly, there's no excuse whatsoever for why it took this long.
The truth/real reason it took this long is because Sony didn't want to do it. They probably still don't want to do it. But with the the complaints and backlash they received, it was beginning to effect the PlayStation brand/image, which might have eventually had negative repercussions on sales, and that's a big no-no. Sony's slogan is "For the Players" but at the end of the day, they're a business, and they need to make money. And they didn't see the money and demand in cross-play until they had to be dragged kicking and screaming to finally do it.
But, at the very least they deserve credit for listening to fans and I'll give them credit for deciding to go through with it.
When you are stomping the competition, combined, you really don't have to care whether the competition bwas quicker to do something or not. Clearly the brand wasn't damaged by it, but this move just improves their "image".
Clearly, you weren't paying attention to the countless complaints and the controversy of players being locked out of their Fortnite accounts if they tried to log in through their PS4. There were many people who would opt to not buy it on PS4 because of that. It does not improve their image in the slightest, it just stops it from getting worse. it equates to when you get a cut on your forearm and it starts to bleed, so you put on a bandaid and eventually the bleeding stops. This was Sony's bandaid.
Yet Nintendo, a company new to online and just released there system recently can allow cross play from the get go?
Ill probably get downvoted and reported saying this stuff but BS is BS. Sony this is not your game, it wasnt made by you. Epic is the company that will make it work not you. You just need to allow them. No different to Minecraft and Rocker League, which you allow PC and mobile players to play with PS4 users. Its become quite sad. Its good you are trying to turn the table now but we gamers have all heard before the whole flip thr switch scenario.
For those wondering, Sony's Answer "Now enabling cross-play isn’t just a flip of a switch and there you go. It’s a very multi-dimensional attribute or feature."
https://wccftech.com/fortnite-crossplay-on-again/
Well it doesn't seem that hard Mr Sony.
