Switch Owners Won't Be Able To Play Minecraft Or Rocket League Against PS4 Owners, And Here's Why

So basically "Gamers who play Minecraft on PC, Xbox or Switch are SCARY!"

Ow....kay...
This is pretty clear if Sony is Against Nintendo.

This is the most dumb back to stone age move I have ever heard from any kind of tech company

It's a commercial discussion.... whatever that means... I can see what the interviewer gave an eye roll.

It seems a bit daft - I don't see why exposure to Xbox and Switch owners would be any worse than PC. If anything it's PC users that are the worst for online abuse since they actually have keyboards. And there's an option to turn off the chat anyway.

That's okay, Sony. It's just one more game I get on the Switch I'm going to buy rather than PS4 I currently own.

It's annoying. When I saw cross platform play I thought sweet I can play against my brother who has a ps4. Im pretty gutted I can't, so I probably won't be buying it now.

For the players?

Remember when everyone called Nintendo old-fashioned because they still thought region-locking was a good idea? Look who's wearing the grandpa pants now.

As I've said elsewhere on this, this is a braindead attempt to keep first place by locking down the ecosystem and only serves to push people onto the platforms where there won't be any locking.

I own Minecraft for PC/PS4/Vita, but I'm seriously thinking I'll drop it on Sony platforms entirely in favor of Switch.

The real logic is: "We don't want to share our online install base to make games better on other platforms." But in reality, I'm guessing there's a larger contingent on pc alone.

Plus I think Rocket League is going to be very popular on the Switch.

That whole thing about safety is complete BS- it's not like PlayStation only attracts the good, moral, and decent in society. Same with it being something for sales - after all, if a bunch of friends want to play online together now, Sony is -not- the console of choice unless everyone has it. No, I bet this is just the biggest dog in the park refusing to play with others, simply because they think that they don't matter.

Idiots. Who's on top today is never who's on top tomorrow in this business. Nintendo and Microsoft are just different enough in core audience and console concept that I could totally see more mutual collaboration in the future. And when businesses work together, they come up with some truly amazing things that you would never expect.

"Jim Ryan: Yeah. We've got to be mindful of our responsibility to our install base. Minecraft - the demographic playing that, you know as well as I do, it's all ages but it's also very young. We have a contract with the people who go online with us, that we look after them and they are within the PlayStation curated universe. Exposing what in many cases are children to external influences we have no ability to manage or look after, it's something we have to think about very carefully.

EG: It doesn't seem to be a problem for Nintendo, perhaps the most mindful video game company of the protection of children."

This part speaks volumes. You can't just suddenly bring kids into the mix and expect to get away with such an obviously weak excuse. If Nintendo's doing it, that has to mean there is very little worry when it comes to the kids.

So basically because Sony have decided to hermit, I can't play with my bestie if I wanted to and we have no real explanation as to why. GG

Oh well least everyone else is game!!!

In rocket league all you can do is spam chat messages with no control over what is said, such as GG, That was close, What a save! etc. So this excuse by sony is insane and just shows how afraid they are that the switch will overtake its 60mil total sales. I'm sure they could easily make a similar chat system in minecraft if they were really worried about insulting other players.

@AlexOlney In truth, Sony's been that way since the PS3; we just didn't notice it much because Microsoft seemed worse with the launch of the XB1. Nintendo seems to be doing this thing called "listening to what their fans want," which seems to be working out pretty well for them.

Between the lines:

"We have a virtual monopoly in the console space and online play is something that locks consumers into an ecosystem. Opening that up to cross platform play would make it easier for PS4 owners to move across to other platforms so we're not allowing it"

It's the kind of strategy that Microsoft perfected in the 90's (and beyond) to lock people into Windows whether they liked it or not.

Really doesn't make any sense. Final Fantasy XIV is cross platform play between PC, Mac and PS4 for years?!

Since he says it's a commercial decision, it seems the suits at Sony are getting arrogant and suddenly decided to lock down PSN network now the PS4 is the leading console. They have been laughing at Microsoft for not allowing cross-play for years, but now they do the same thing?!

Are they gonna kick Square Enix in the face now then? And kill off the PS4 playerbase of FFXIV?

@BensonUii @Jeronan the reason is that SF V and FF XIV are console exclusives for Sony, Rocket League and Minecraft are not.

And there's another reason for me to refuse to pay anything for PlayStation Plus. Sony is making bad decisions after bad decisions. They're lucky that their exclusives are good.

At this point people buy the console their friends have to play games together, Since Sony is on top it makes no sense for them to give people a reason to buy a competitors system and still be able to play with the friends on a PS console. If they, however, were a distant second, then they would be the ones pushing for interconnectivity.

@manu0 They are not console exclusives!

The reason why FFXIV is not on XBOX One, is because Microsoft didn't allow cross-platform at that time and direct patching, which was a hard requirement from Square Enix!
So even if Microsoft now allows cross-platform play (finally), there is still the problem with updates and patches that are delayed on the XBOX console.
This is the main obstacle today for SE to bring FFXIV to XBOne.

I wouldn't be surprised if Sony had some serious internal discussions and someone stubbornly stuck to one of the premises of their online system of "Sony controlled safe curation for the children".

@Jeronan what are you talking about? Of course SF V is a console exclusive. And maybe SE wanted to bring FFXIV to Xbox but the reality is that it's not on there so it's a Sony console exclusive.

@Jeronan Looks like SE should return to its home at Nintendo, especially for Front Mission 6 English version (Metroid only had to wait 10 years).

@manu0 Final Fantasy XIV is not a PS4 exclusive!

SE has said time and again that they would love to bring the game on XBOne, but that Microsoft wouldn't play ball!

That's it! The end!

@ThatNyteDaez I think it's to do with control. Sony can't ban people on other systems who harass or groom kids on PS. I feel that it's more to do with the fact ththat Sony can't control what people on other systems do externally on PS versions that bothers them and not necessarily anything illegal or predatory against children.

@MadAdam81 SE is in talks with Nintendo actually.

It's business, when your the leader in the market you don't need people leaving or having reasons to leave

Last gen when 360 was the leader believe it or not but Sony was onboard for cross play and MS said no , top player in the market will always be the one saying no thenks

This just seems dumb from every angle, unless they fear Nintendo taking back their younger demographic?

Shut the youngers gamers away from other platforms and they have less awareness.

Example: Some kid see's their friend has a new gadget, what does that kid say????? Mum I want one of them!

More proof that Sony is a marketing machine and not a video game developer.

@Jeronan again, how does that matter? The reality is that it's NOT on Xbox. If it ever happens I would not be surprised if Sony stops supporting cross-play for it.

@Jeronan He said "console exclusive", meaning that PS4 is the only console it is on.

@DESS-M-8 obviously they are a business first

Did anyone else feel a bit uncomfortable reading that interview transcript? I felt like there was tension just from the letters on my screen as I read it hahaha

It's a shame Sony doesn't really have a reason. Though Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo all have there oddball ways of doing things. Like this year's E3 for Nintendo, it was great but I did want that 3rd party sizzle reel I guess, then again I've always wanted that since the Gamecube days

Pull your head out of your asinine philosophy Sony.

I like how he doesn't even try to justify it for Rocket League.

Arrogant Sony being arrogant.

Moves like these are keeping more games from going cross-platform. Come on, even the Dreamcast had games that let you go up against PC users. (4x4 Evo and Quake 3).

Someone can figure out how to deal with harassment. It can't be that difficult to have game-specific blocklists or something.

@ValhallaOutcast Which is what I said, it's companies making moves like this that should tell the intelligent consumer to move platform and product as they are blatantly positioning themselves to take advantage of an easily led general public.

If you Gas provider said they were looking to change your tariff contract and restrict your options in moving to another provider, would that make you think "hmm, this is a good deal" or "something doesn't feel right here, I like to know I have options"

Sony are a joke and haven't delivered anything constructive to this industry for years, they are a mass market electronics manufacturer, not a video game developer.

They're approach to games development is not a far cry away from Atari's that resulted in a total shut down of video games in the 80's, except this time around they have "GRAPHICS" to blind the general public from the garbage their platform is actually consistently churning out.

"For the players".
Yeah, maybe time for Playstation to change it's motto.

Please please please don’t start using the ‘....and here’s why’ suffix for article titles. It insults the intelligence of readers.

@DESS-M-8 Sony have an exceptional marketing department that has re-positioned videogames as a medium.

In cases that's for the worse but in general it's for the better - they've been largely responsible for cultivating a very large and stable platform for developers and publishers to target. Which is something that benefits everyone. Just delivering those things alone has made them a constructive force for the industry.

Of course they are also an aggressive player in the industry - as this particular stance shows.

Sony's loss is Nintendo's gain

@DESS-M-8
Hm... I think I agree with your opinion about Sony's Arrogance.
Sony just rely on WOW Graphics too much.
Well... Switch, XboxOne and PC player can play together in Rocket League while PS4 will stuck forever.

I wanted to be able to play myself on my PS4 so that I could finally win at Rocket League. I suck.

@StuTwo I spent a fortune on PSN store throughout PS3 and thought it was a good format. The longer PS4 is around the more appalling I think Sony is, and the worse they are for the video game industry. Bit like Hitler, had a very good and constructive plan to build infrastructure, then power went to their heads and they turned into greedy psychopaths.

Sony is definitely not FOR the players, they are for the players MONEY.

I couldn't dissuade new gamers from Sony anymore right now than any other time.

Compared to Movies, you can pay to watch, or deem it not worth your time and don't watch it. You are free to buy any DVD player and go to any cinema. Locking you into a format carries an onus to deliver on the quality content the promised you on the shop shelf. Not ram graphics in your face and shout "THIS IS GOOD, FORGET WHAT YOU THINK!!"
PS4 is by a clear mile their worst format to date.

This is why Nintendo is my primary system and PS is secondary. Nintendo has better games (for my tastes) and has been improving while Sony is slowly dying the way of Sega.

@DESS-M-8 Godwins law came out of nowhere there!

Sony are behaving a little like you'd expect a company with a near monopoly over a market to behave.

Like all companies they want your money and your love. But they'll settle for your money.

@LordGeovanni By having a lucrative console that seems completely unassailable, increasingly appears to have no direct long term competition and that is on course to easily sell more than 100 million units?

I don't think Sega died quite like that.

@StuTwo if you cannot see why I compared them to Sega, then I don't think even spelling it out will help. However, I can easily say that I still don't have a PS4. And it is because of stupid things like this.

@StuTwo Wasn't out of nowhere, it was an obvious and direct observation. Just unfortunate for little Adolf that he stood head and shoulders above anybody else in history at portraying this disgusting pattern of behaviour.

@StuTwo @LordGeovanni They never hit the high numbers no, but they did slowly ignore their userbase and pushed forward on nothing but pure arrogance

@DESS-M-8 precisely what I was saying. Thanks. At least I know that I didn't butcher my message too badly.

"EG: It doesn't seem to be a problem for Nintendo, perhaps the most mindful video game company of the protection of children."

oh these two popular games are coming to switch;
oh these two popular games now support cross-platform;
oh here's a reason for people to buy switch;
oh our stakeholders decided ps4, the one has the largest user base, will not allow cross-platform;
oh but we are just trying to protect our children from internet bullying;
oh but you know what all the games we showed in E3 are M rated;
oh and when grandparents are tricked by kids to buy M rated games it's not our responsibility we tried to protect them okay;
oh why?because we are protecting children in minecraft;
oh and for real gosh no our stakeholders are not going to believe people now are hesitating getting switch.

What a giant load of crap. You're sweating, Sony.

@Ralizah To be fair when you have a chokehold on the games this gen, you get to be fairly arrogant.

Yeah, I'm not convinced with that argument. No way to defend Sony this time.

It's kind of funny, prior to this the unspoken excuse could have been Xbox and PC (moreso Microsoft) are part of the same ecosystem so it would naturally work.
It didn't raise much volumes because those were the "only two" home systems. Nintendo, the oddball out is joining the mix and that raise more questions and eyebrows

Lol sony is stuck in the stone age.
I will enjoy it on my switch and love to play against my brother who plays on pc or xbox.

Bad move from sony.

Sony is starting to feel like Nintendo or Nokia when they were in full domination of their respective market, whereas Nintendo is now playing the role of the underdog that is listening to the actual wishes of its fans... interesting times.

@Nintendoforlife Oh, sure. It happens to all of these companies. Nintendo was arrogant and ruthless as all get out during the NES/SNES era.

Whichever PR guy at Sony that wrote that excuse really needs to be fired because that is the biggest load of crap I've ever heard. As for what Sony has to lose, this decision will make 3rd parties that make games that'll be cross-platform think twice before considering a PS4 version, thus causing them to miss out on good games.

@AlexOlney: Death Mountain froze over.

"Exposing what in many cases are children to external influences we have no ability to manage or look after, it's something we have to think about very carefully."

Let me translate from Corporate PR to English: "We don't want children on our system interacting with kids on other systems, who may potentially convince them to buy our competitors' consoles."

@LordGeovanni
Yo !
We have same gaming taste, I think.
My Primary gaming is Nintendo while Sony now I considered as Secondary gaming.
Wanna see Switch slowly dominating the market.

@Ralizah Yep it's a bummer but hey we'll see if it's reflected next gen.

@AlphaElite
Hahahaha...
Sony is afraid with Switch dominance.

It is just a matter of Microsoft pushing the "Play Anywhere" mantra: since Sony didn't come up with it, it's not embraced by them.

Well that was a non-response worthy of competing with the habitual non-responsiveness of the US state department any time an important question is asked.

@DESS-M-8 You fought the law and the law won. Godwin's law. Don't do drugs, kids.

@sp_initiate-001 Nope, they won't think twice. PS4 is the biggest selling console at the moment. Developers could make games exclusively to the platform and still make lots of money. I think that current PS4 user base for last generation is around 65%, if I'm not mistaken.

Sony is out-Nintendoing Nintendo in this issue. How otherworldly...

Sony being Nintendo and Nintendo being Sony. Wow just wow.

@AlexOlney If that's truly the case then expect a PSWiiU in the future XD

@PlywoodStick What?

@rjejr And you wonder why I hate Sony...

What a pathetic and BS excuse he offers for not doing what the rest of the world apparently has no problems with...

Don't see this as a huge issue. If your friends are already on one online ecosystem, it makes more sense for you to join the same one so that you can add each other as friends, message, and play games together. Cross platform online for Rocketleague is not that nuanced for allowing you to play with people you actually know. All it does is help make sure there is a sizable amount of random people to play against online. Which given how many more PS4 units there are compared to the competing consoles, I'm sure Sony sees no reason to concede to this. Meanwhile Nintendo definitely appreciates the help with online user base as they are getting the game much later, and the Switch player base is astronomically smaller.

They don't want to make us happy. They just want our money :'-(

@SneakyStyle This isn't true at all. You can type any message you want in rocket league, although it does asterisk out swear words. This is easy to work around though.

@ThanosReXXX I don't wonder why you hate Sony, lots of people hate Sony - CDROM hack stuff, Other OS - I just forget sometimes.

I dont' think people realize how smooth of a move this is on their part though. Deny cross-platform play now when PS4 has 15x the install base of Switch and double that of X1, then announce a change of heart in 2 years when PS5 launches, showing everybody they should buy your new console to play w/ their friends. It's New Coke conspiracy theory 101.

@rjejr No, it's not a smart move at all. It's going back to the Dark Ages, and it is almost too stupid to believe that they're actually doing this. And just give us the real reason already. The stuff he's saying makes no sense at all and he knows it.

I'd even go so far as to say that it is somewhat insulting towards the other companies, as if they don't exert any control whatsoever over their own communities which would in turn warrant Sony's "worry" over what would happen with their players once we'd allow those communities to play games with each other on the platform of their choice.

No, I'd have to agree with @DESS-M-8, although he is "slightly" more harsh with his words than me...

Arrogant Sony is back...

@ThanosReXXX I do tend to be very black and white with stuff and come across as harsh. Might start my own blog and site called angrygamer.com haha

@ThanosReXXX Nintendo has done it for years, yet you didn't hate them. Sony does it like for 3 minutes, bam, New Evil on the rise!!

@rjejr Excatly. That's a wrap folks!

Yeah like Sony is gonna share their 60million install base that they worked so hard to get to, not gonna happen I have a switch, pc, ps4, and xbox doesn't bother me one bit it's business not a charity you can bet your bottom dollar anyone of the the big 3 with 60 million install wouldn't approve cross platform

This is the weirdest most twilight zone interview I've ever read. It's like everyone at Sony was bitten by a Reggie, and can now only shamble around speaking self contradictory corporate PR speak. This interview could have been given by Reggie circa 2012.

Sony is now the protector and guardian of children's safe spaces? Has this guy ever actually USED PSN? Or the Sony forums? Also, can I have my credit card information back, there, guy?

My favorite was when they questioned "But Nintendo's doing it" "yeah, thats true...uhh....heylookIt'sElvis!(scampering)"

@BensonUii E3 was won by showing a logo because one other platform showed a bunch of games they already won for showing the logo for a year or two ago, and the other company brought out new hardware that just makes existing games prettier, and while they did bring some games, and some of them looked pretty good, none of them were monumental name-dropping "this is the moment" kind of games, they were mostly below the radar new experience games. BG&E2 aside. Space monkeys really should win the show no matter the circumstance.

@ThanosReXXX @rjejr What do you do if you hate Sony and Microsoft equally? Sony's always been awful as a company and this interview shows the obnoxiously annoying arrogant sony is back. Makes me want to jump to MS. But then I remember MS' X360 behavior (and the decades of abuse as a Windows customer) and realize Sony almost seems good in comparison. Sure MS is friendlier for now, but give them success and they'll crush you. At least Sony's not spying on everything ELSE I do outside gaming

@ThanosReXXX Well ok it certainly doesn't look like a smart move now, certainly not the way this mouthpiece idiot frames it, but we'll see what happens when Sony comes around. And they will. Maybe during the PS5 reveal in Feb/March 2019.

@NEStalgia Reggie

Funny, I had that same thought when I read this yesterday over on PS.

Sony is only in favor of just Cross platform play with PC but not the other systems.
In Rocket League, PC owners can play with either PS4/PC users in a match or Xbox/PC in a match. Never both but separate.

The entire reason tekken 7 has no crossplay is because sony doesn't want to crossplay with other consoles.

They don't care about PC in their ecosystem but they do care about console crossplay.

Another case of shareholders ruining gaming.

ShareHolders Greed and Paranoia. What a great combo

@AlexOlney

Sony got on top again. Seems like the company on top always thinks that consumers will pay/do whatever they want until they get smacked off their perch.

@ThanosReXXX

I'd venture that the real reason is Sony is the console leader by alot and thinks they should be paid for crossplay. That's what I took commercial issue to mean.

@maceng I won't hold it against you for not knowing, but my history with Sony and why I dislike them so much, is a long and troubled one, so it's not just this incident here, but it's more or less yet another thing that they're doing wrong and giving crap reasons for doing so on top of that as well.

And Nintendo themselves never actively held back gamers from playing online with others, nor have they ever explicitly spoken out about it like Sony has now, they were simply leagues behind in general with their online infrastructure, so even though that's also bad, that's still not even remotely the same thing.

@NEStalgia Well, I actually don't hate Microsoft at all, so for me it's only Sony that is the axis of evil...

@rjejr What PS5 reveal? That rumor is all but dead and buried now. They can't alienate their current customer base and they've only just introduced their Pro model, which should add some longevity to the whole PS4 range, and I strongly suspect that two years won't suffice for them to get the investment out of it.

Another rumor was that they were going to announce a new handheld this E3, to take the wind out of Nintendo's sails, but I'm glad that this was also just a baseless rumor.

Arrogant Sony is back.

If this becomes a larger trend (and I really hope it does), their stance is gonna come back and bite them.

Let's say GTA V comes to Switch and GTA Online has Switch/Xbox/PC cross platform play. Could you imagine the backlash if PS4 is excluded for something like that?

@cleveland124 Could be. Personally, I'd be more interested in the so-called shareholder/investor reasons for being against this, because I think it's a complete load of bs, so I couldn't come up with any valid reason, especially since all the other parties are all on board.

@ThanosReXXX Denial is more than a river in Assassin's Creed: Origins.

MS deserves no less hate than Sony, Apple, Google, or Facebook. The level of evil of all of them is astounding, though the latter two are surely the worst of the bunch.

@ThanosReXXX What PS5 reveal?

Feb/March 2019. I like to plan ahead.

@NEStalgia You're missing my point: it's a personal thing. I'm way too smart to ever find myself standing in a river in Egypt...

As @rjejr will be able to confirm, I have a long and negative history with Sony, so I'm ever so "slightly" more inclined to be negative towards them. But for good reasons, I assure you.

And personally, I've never had any troubles or quarrels with Microsoft. Had a RROD on my Xbox 360 once, and they told me to send it to them and they fixed it and within the space of ten days I had my console back and it has never quit on me again since that day, and it still works like a charm.

I hate Windows, though. But for my work, I simply had to learn how to use it and know all about it, so there's that...

@rjejr There's not going to be one, and there might not even be any real, full-blown console anymore after this coming mid-generation upgrade, and almost certainly not that soon. If there will be, I'll eat my Infinity Glove...

Sony @ 0 sales "4 the players"*
Sony market leader: "But the children and our shareholders"

If any of what he said was true they wouldn't have the playroom application which is clearly a bigger risk for children with its live camera.

I think the truth is likely the same reason they got SE to hide the PC version of Nier Automata. They're attempting to minimise acknowledgement of other platforms to lock their audience in. Its a pain because they obscure information about whether a game us available for players on other platforms(e.g. compare Sonic Mania's trailer on the Playstation youtube to The Nintendo one. The other platforms are scrubbed off the PS one) and in this case needlessly make things worse for their own players.

@subpopz

There's more PS4 floating around than Xbox One's and Switches. Their game is probably thinking that you are more likely to know someone who owns a PS4 and thus want to buy that to play multiplayer with them. If crossplay is allowed, there is no reason for you to buy a PS4 just because your friend has one. You could buy any system and get the benefits of your friend gaming on a PS4. I'm not saying this is good for gamers, but it's a little more nuanced than Sony is a backwards company. There is potential this would be bad for the market leader and they are withholding.

I also don't really think that a couple of crossplay games are really going to dissuade people from buying a PS4. If most games were crossplay on the other systems and Sony wasn't it may start to move the needle. But right now this just isn't a very big deal.

@ThanosReXXX

I think long term this is bad for consoles so I think shareholder value is a legit concern.

Allowing gamers on any system to play online with PS4 gamers takes 1 reason to buy a PS4 off the table in the shorterm. But longterm it dimishes the value of consoles as they move towards being more PC like especially as console owners continue to charge for online while PC players don't pay for online. For consumers it's great but for hardware developers I see this as just 1 more step towards the death of consoles.

@cleveland124 Nah. As long as consoles keep making the money they are making. Consoles will never die. Last time I looked it was a silly amount of money.

@cleveland124 I don't think it will come to that, and advertising and other avenues of income that will open up because of these services amongst other things, will still make this a lucrative step.

If that wouldn't be the case, then both Nintendo and Microsoft would refuse as well. No, it's just Sony talking out of the other end.

Their "we worry about our customers" excuse is total and utter bs, and personally, all I would like to know is the REAL reason for Sony's shareholders to be against this. Provided that is actually real and not yet another bs excuse.

I'm a sales & marketing professional, and I can smell bs or commercial tricks from a mile away and this is definitely bs.

@ThanosReXXX

Oh their excuse is BS but I do think there is business rational for them not. As the market leader and as a higher priced product (as least until Scorpio) I think online parity hurts them more whereas where Microsoft and Nintendo are trying to look like good alternatives it helps them more.

I guess I think in a world upgrades (PS4 Pro/Scorpio) instead of defined generations you'll see less interest in the upgrades. Add in increased competition from steamboxes and PC in general, avenues where you don't pay online, and a business model (PS, Xbox) that require a large userbase to profit I think there is risk. Nintendo while in a worse position in the short term (fewer third parties) is probably in the best position to compete with PC long term (exclusitities/portability).

Each gen it seems the reason to pick up both a Sony console and a Microsoft console diminish because the games and experiences overlap so much. One of the big draws for getting something like CoD on consoles is the multiplayer is better there because there are more people. If you could access that on PC, I think that there is little reason to not just get the steam version.

I mean it'll take time we aren't 1 generation from consoles collapsing. But I know personally steam has started becoming my system if choice for 3rd parties and this would accelerate that trend for me.

@cleveland124 Well, the thing is, it will hurt them in the end, because they're sticking out like a sore thumb. In the other thread about this topic, it was already mentioned that they also put up the same barriers when EA wanted to offer their services on PS Network, so it seems to be a recurring problem.

Of course, Microsoft is slightly different since they are a competitor, but if it truly is so bad for their business, then you would have to wonder why Nintendo did agree (and it's not like they can afford to lose revenue either, even more so than Sony) and Microsoft really doesn't stand to gain as much from it as people seem to think.

The profit model will more than likely be revenue from advertising, customer data and so on, but other than that, no harm will come to any party or person, so Sony should just suck it up and join the effort already. They can either contribute to players having a better experience, or stay behind and lose out on them.

@ThanosReXXX

I guess I'm not sure how you montetize people not playing on your hardware or on your network. I also think crossplay helps the people chasing the market leader a lot more than the market leader.

I also think that the 2 games they announced for crossplay are but a drop in the bucket and it won't negatively affect Sony. Most people already have the expectation of a closed network. If we reach the point the expectation is opposite it may hurt them but we have a long ways to go. I also think most gamers don't pay near enough attention to these things to develop a negative opinion.

@cleveland124 Exactly. And even if it was more than those two games, it is never really going to make any dent in anyone's wallet.

And agreed on those gamers and their attention span: most of them quickly browse through these articles and subsequently have all kinds of baseless nightmares of having to pay extra monthly fees in order for them to be able to play these cross-platform games.

I don't think it's going to go that route, it'll just be free accounts and Microsoft harvesting the data for advertising purposes and such. There's WAY more money to be made from that than some monthly online subscription...

Translation:
"Dear rival consoles' fanboys, we sold twice as many Xbox Ones, which in turn have outsold Wii Us and Switch. We don't need to cooperate with you guys, our network is big enough as-is, players won't need to find online opponents among you, so enjoy your kiddie pool while we bathe in banknotes coming from all over the world.
I can see your eyes rolling, but I don't care. There's nothing wrong in cross-play per se, but our investors don't want us to kneel before you in the name of sportsmanship, leave that crap to Phil Spencer - investors' money is more important than tweaking our servers to allow you guys to get in for just two games.
All we had to show was a bunch of remakes and stuff, nothing more. We already sold our product, we can hide all of the dust under a comfortable carpet reading "This is for the players".
TL;DR version: #%ck you kids, call back when we'll need you, which is never, in case you're wondering."

Understandable! Imagine Pokken fighters suddenly appearing on Sony/Microsoft devices with cross-play. Nintendo would block it too!

Wow. I have a Wii, and PS3, and this article make me want to throw me PS3 out the window from the 4th floor.
PLAYSTATION SUCKS!!