Microsoft Wants PS4 and Xbox One to Connect Online

IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME!!!

I think this is amazing! It's about time. I want the Nintendo NX to also join this fray. If Nintendo doesn't...(this coming from a core Nintendo fan that only ever owns Nintendo platforms and PC) It would make them giant a**holes not to join this. It would be a huge mistake! But I think they will and they better for MULTI-PLATFORM games sake. Seriously this is what we have been needing for TWO generations now. IMHO.

Sometimes timing is the thing. It woulda coulda shoulda been done but here we are today its finally going to be done. So yeah... great. Awesome move Sony and Microsoft and all. Good on ya. Nintendo NX MUST DO THIS TOO. K Nintendo? Thank you.

I envision a really simple menu in game that says Choose Networks:(for what gamers you want to play against):(Native Platform name here), ALL, PC, Xbox,Playstation)

This would mean more players online at all times for you to test your skill against. So if you platform network is say "dry" no problem...you will always have players to play. Games would have to be properly balanced though...pretty much spot on across PC,Xbox,Plasytation,NX. Wouldn't want any unfair advantage/ unbalanced kind of gameplay. Just saying. heh.

Good day all. Peace.

This is AMAZING!

-I really hope this takes off.

Cause it's soooo annoying that a small handful of my friends only have one console..

--BUT it's a fact that my friends that are make-believe spokespersons for a specific console seems to forget that they loved they're PS2 or PS3 and/ vice versa and they loved they're 360....

---I favor the xboxOne because of its relationship with PC..it's great if the lines disappeared.....

This is good news. This will stop me crom pestering my friends who got/want to get an XboxOne to get a PS4 instead.

Hope Sony says yes.

This is good news. This will stop me crom pestering my friends who got/want to get an XboxOne to get a PS4 instead.

Hope Sony says yes.

hey Microsoft develop Gears Of War to work cross play then we will see how serious you are about it...

I'm happy about this, buuut, when Sony was the underdog, MS would never let this happen...

This would only be cool if every battle was PS vs XB, imagine the trash talk, it would be EPIC!

I've wanted this for sometime so I'm happy.

The way this has been reported across the Internet doesn't do much to improve my self imposed stereotypes of all journalists, however. :)

Holy Shit! 1573 Upvotes. I guess I wouldn't expect anything less considering the title of the article.

This is a surprising development from MS. Whether Sony will reciprocate is another matter because they have nothing to gain from introducing such a feature, whereas MS have everything to gain. Initially the MS offer seems generous because it puts gamers first, but the cynic in me looks at the reality.

Xbox gamers have friends who have jumped ship to PS4 and PC, so in order to play with them, you either have to jump ship with them or have a system where you can play with them across platforms. MS are loosing gamers hand over fist so this is a measure to try and reduce those jumping ship.

Also, games with multiplayer rely on there being someone on the match making server to play with. If one platform has a small user base it's harder to find someone to play with. The larger user base will be full of people to play with and it looks like MS want to tap into that so more gamers don't desert them.

But unfortunately Sony have zero incentive to be charitable towards MS, especially after the Tomb Raider scam.

I have been hoping for this for a long time now

Please think this through, folks. And look to history.

It's not a magical ON switch that suddenly permits cross-network play for all games. It's up to the developer, obviously, and a number of other factors - I.e., are the games using the same version/maps/mods etc. such that they can be multiplayer-compatible across servers, are the clients compatible (like, does a Windows 10 version require Xbox Live to cross-play versus, say, the 'normal' PC version of the game in cross-play, as we currently see in several PC-PS4 titles).

Reminds me of people freaking out over Xbox One backwards compatibility, once again with this mindset that it was a magical ON switch that would suddenly allow all previous gen games to run on Xbone.

Again, that was a per-developer and per-game scenario, just like it is here.

If there's one thing Sony has to 'accept' in terms of an invitation, it's letting dedicated (server) PSN games cross-play with dedicated (server) Xbox Live games.

Third-parties, such as those who currently allow PC-to-PS4 cross-play with Warframe, SFV, War Thunder, Rocket League, DC Universe, FFXIV, etc., they get to make up their own minds to a certain extent because those are their own server shards. Sony just says it's okay.

They've been allowing that since, what, 2004? When FFXI was cross-play between PS2 and PC.

Microsoft made a brief, abortive attempt at cross-play in 2006-2007 with a couple of first-party titles that worked between Windows Vista and X360. They were talking up Windows Vista and Games for Windows Live like the next coming of geezus, suggesting dozens of cross-play games would appear on Vista and 360, and that Vista would one day be able to play 360 games natively from the game DVD.

Hasn't anyone been paying attention to Microsoft's 'PC gaming' narrative over the last decade? Whenever they decide they want a piece of the pie, the bullshit and misdirection starts to flow. This latest announcement is yet more subterfuge, or "We're the good guys, really!" in the wake of the repugnant Windows 10 'Universal Windows Platform' (UWP) nonsense.

Wait, what? Wasn't it them who wanted to get rid of cross platform multiplayer in the first place? No. They don't get to deal, they had the choice but their greed got the best of them.

Why instead of being foolish, won't you guys understand that by paying this "TAX" for multi-players, you guys are basically bending over to a market which will push this Business system up your asses and keep axing feature for more and more profit. BOYCOTT the Multiplayer bullshit, and also DON'T buy the VR headsets yet !!!!

Think smart and make these corporates understand you are not fools. "cough cough " "wink wink"

457 Comments.

For anyone getting hopeful about FFXIV on XBO in won't happen as long as this clause exists: "players will always have the option of choosing to play only with other Xbox Live players."

Square Enix has said that's exactly why they didn't put the game on XBOX to begin with. Microsoft wanted to segregate the community. They would have to make an exception to this and have the game ONLY playable on cross-platform.

I think it should be universal. I hate having to decide which game for which platform. Basically who do I want to play this game with. It should have been done yrs ago. Oh n plz don't reply it's my opinion n I'm happy with it thanks!

.. I'm waiting for "The_Crap Gamer" to make another "On principle Phil" or "It's not right!" tweet lol :D

on a more serious note, this is excellent news, I'm talking MMOs (or just competitive multiplayers in general) PS vs XBOX camps (PS Guild vs Xbox Guild) an actual "console war" worth having fun and fighting over :D

This is the best and biggest news in gaming!