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PS4 Cross-Play Restrictions Are All About Money, Says Ex-Sony Dev

It says no cross-PLAYS, we're allowed to have one.

By Steve Watts on July 25, 2018 at 7:58AM PDT

The lack of PS4 cross-play in Fortnite and other games can be chalked up to money, according to former Sony developer John Smedley. The ex-boss of Daybreak Game Company, formerly known as Sony Online Entertainment, said that he saw the rationale first-hand when he was at the company.

"[W]hen I was at Sony, the stated reason internally for this was money," he said in a tweet (via Eurogamer). "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." This was presented in the context of telling fans to keep up the pressure.

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Now Playing: Fortnite On The Nintendo Switch Lives Up To Expectations - E3 2018 Gameplay Impressions

In other words, Sony doesn't want players to purchase content for Fortnite on one platform and still experience it on their own. This situation has come up before in other popular online games like Rocket League, and comments from Phil Spencer made it clear it wasn't Xbox blocking the pipes. At the time, Psyonix said it could activate the feature anytime it had Sony's approval. After cross-play was temporarily and accidentally enabled for Fortnite, Spencer more pointedly said he would have liked to see them leave it on.

Sony has roundly faced criticism over keeping its online games in a walled garden, most recently with Fortnite due to its massive popularity and recent launch on Nintendo Switch. Sony issued a response to the backlash, but it didn't exactly assuage concerns. Instead, it sounds like Sony plans to stay the course:

"We're always open to hearing what the PlayStation community is interested in to enhance their gaming experience," a Sony representative said. "Fortnite is already a huge hit with PS4 fans, offering a true free-to-play experience so gamers can jump in and play online.

"With 79 million PS4s sold around the world and more than 80 million monthly active users on PlayStation Network, we've built a huge community of gamers who can play together on Fortnite and all online titles. We also offer Fortnite cross-play support with PC, Mac, iOS, and Android devices, expanding the opportunity for Fortnite fans on PS4 to play with even more gamers on other platforms."

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Lol everyone seems to dodge the problem regarding Fortnite.

It's not about cross-play, it's about illegaly blocking third-party accounts from access without any previous warning.

4 • 6 years ago

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@cboye18: stop using the word illegal when you have no idea what you're talking about. If in the contract with the creator of Fortnite, Sony put in a clause that said accounts made through their platform can't be accessed on other platforms without their permission, and the creators signed it because why wouldn't they, then the only thing that would be illegal is if they activated cross play without Sony giving the go ahead, which in the end would be the end of Fortnite.

And you realize that's the case right? So would you like to rephrase your statement and try again?

2 • 6 years ago

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Edited By cboye18

@mentalrevolt: Except your forget the little but important detail that epic accounts made on other platforms are also made inaccessible to those platforms once used on the PS4. Unless that detail is written down in the terms of service agreement, it is illegal.

Crossplay and account accessibility are two completely seperate things, and this issue is NOT about crossplay. Sony can decide whatever they want regarding crossplay as their services are requiered for it, but they don't have they right to outright block the access of a third-party account regardless of platform it is accessed from. For the latter Sony needs to make specific a deal with Epic Games and highlight this in the user agreement. However such deal will never happen as neither company would benefit from account inaccessibility on a specific platform, gaining only a bad image, a divided Fortnite community and hurting Fortnite microtransaction sales due to the restrictions. Savvy?

It seems that everyone in the media are misinformed about this and are just kicking themselves in the foot.

2 • 6 years ago

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@cboye18: you calling other misinformed and thinking you know better somehow is pretty bold. Believe it's all written out and agreed upon between the two companies, they just didn't see the backlash over it. Will it be changed? Who knows. You spouting off about this and that being illegal like you're a part of the inner workings of it all is absurd. You aren't just misinformed of it all, you're completely ignorant to it.

Upvote • 6 years ago

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deactivated-5dd711115e664

@mentalrevolt: If suddenly your Netflix account was blocked from other devices because you once watched a movie on the PS4, and you were told to watch on other devices you had to create a new account and pay for another subscription...would you think that is all well and good and legal? Especially if you were never notified or warned or made aware that this was a risk to you? I don't think so. That is the issue and "legality" being discussed here. Whether or not they can do it is not the point. It's whether or not they can do it without properly informing users this was a risk/possibility and giving them a choice. The fact it is just an issue now tells me that practically nobody has both an Xbox and PS4 in the same house and if they do, they likely favor one over the other and don't bother playing the same game on both. This story came out because it is FAR more likely for people to own a Switch as a secondary console and EVERYONE assumed/expected that if they have a third party account for a game, that that account would allow them to play the game on the Switch. If I knew in advance this was going to happen, I likely never would have created the account on my PS4 in the first place. I certainly wouldn't have spent any money on the PS4 version.

2 • 6 years ago

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@ZIMdoom: the fact that it sucks has already been established. Whether or not it's its legal is let what is "about", but that's what this particular back and forth has been about, so I'm not sure why you thought to chime in here.

And again its in the way, but thats kind of what happens when you assume different companies are just going to play along nicely, and knowing Sony's stance on it.

Upvote • 6 years ago

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@mentalrevolt: Try to read my comments again and understand what I'm saying. Right now you're just sputtering a nonsensical reaction. Inform yourself better on what's actually happening.

Upvote • 6 years ago

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@cboye18: I'm still trying to figure out how Sony is hacking into Epic's servers to modify their accounts.

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deactivated-5dd711115e664

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deactivated-5dd711115e664

@Xylymphydyte: This is a complete straw man and borderline trolling.

Upvote • 6 years ago

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@ZIMdoom: I'm serious, how has Sony determined where Epic's accounts can be used? Is Sony controlling the Switch servers and disallowing Epic's accounts there? I really don't see how the functionality of Epic's account system is Sony's fault.

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@@Xylymphydyte: Oh, you are serious. Well then, you make an excellent point. It must just be magic that is causing Epic to lock and ban accounts this way. Sony has nothing to do with it and is just an innocent victim here and people are treating them unfairly. Curse those evil magics that have fooled us all!

Upvote • 6 years ago

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@ZIMdoom: I sense a modicum of sarcasm and you don't address the point. How is Sony banning Epic accounts from working on other platforms? Isn't that up to Epic? If Sony just doesn't want cross platform progression, can't Epic just give people another save file on the other platforms?

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@Xylymphydyte: Hey, I hear you and how serious you are. I'm right there with you. The fact that Epic games has been able to resolve this issue for every single other device in existence EXCEPT the PS4 must mean something is wrong with Epic. Makes perfect sense. I wonder why that is? I mean, it's not like Sony is somehow using their power and market leverage to force Epic to certain terms and conditions. Or that the system that runs the game can only implement Sony's terms and conditions in this manner. Nope, that sounds stupid. Must be evil magics then. Some evil creatures must have placed a hex on Epic Games making them unable to fix this issue for PS4 users only.

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@ZIMdoom: You're being ridiculous.

Epic is inventing this problem to try and force Sony to capitulate. The fact that Sony isn't allowing crossplay is shitty but playing these games to try and change policy is also shitty. I was there when Fortnite was cross platform with Xbox, PC and PS4 for a short time and they were trying to do it back then too. Sony didn't magic up any bans or anything then, they didn't fine them or take the game off their platform.

This whole thing is the video game equivalent of gerrymandering. It's not going to work and it's just going to sew more division in the community and damage Epic in the long run. Not that that would be bad considering the sheer amount of lying and borderline fraud they partook in leading up to Battle Royale, but that's another subject entirely.

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Edited By deactivated-64efdf49333c4

I am shocked. Really, I am. I never would have guessed it.

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Edited By santinegrete

Dude has common sense. Guess that's what made him to be in charge time ago.

Upvote • 6 years ago

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OldDadGamer Moderator

Here we go again. Outrage that game COMPANIES want our money.

We just have to accept that every single thing in gaming: consoles, GPUs, games, headsets, everything, is made by a for profit corporation. Not a single company in games is a charity. Not one.

And yet when we have to face the fact that these companies are trying to make money by selling stuff to their customers, you know, like every other company, we get mad because GAMES.

Yes, we love the hell out of games. But they are a product, just like every other product we love, from scotch to nice cars (though please don't mix the two). Always have been, always will be.

4 • 6 years ago

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Edited By eli150

@olddadgamer: True but it's not that black and white. Game companies often charge things that games just shouldn't pay for. That means no short DLCs, maps, skins, costumes and microtransactions. I hope gamers wake up and stop paying for stuff like that so people can just buy a complete game. That said, expansions like Blood and Wine fro The Witcher 3 or Dishonored 2: Death of the Outsider are a welcome edition to a game fans want to enjoy more of.

About the article.. Sony should not have a problem with cross-play no matter the platform

Upvote • 6 years ago

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@eli150: The industry is only giving people what they want. If folks have too much money nowadays and don't know what to do with it, then of course companies will offer stupid shit like fancy clothes in a videogame for them to alleviate that problem. I mean think of the economy and what would happen if people stopped spending all their money on pointless bullshit. All those companies selling useless shit would go broke. No, we really can't have that. And luckily people sure aren't changing for the better.

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deactivated-5dd711115e664

@Atzenkiller: clearly nobody wants this though. Isn't that why people are angry? they were sold something under false pretenses which, arguably, is illegal. Really, the solution to this is simple. Get rid of the epic account completely and just let people play with with their PS+ account. Problem solved. All purchases are solely attached to your PS account, and Sony is still the middle man who gets a cut of every sale. If they simply did this, nobody would have been given the false impression that progress and items bought/unlocked were solely locked into the PS4 game.

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@Atzenkiller: Folks don't have too much money but you are right. This problem is going to end only when people stop buying that shit

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@eli150: If people don't have too much money, then who's buying all those special editions that are getting more and more expensive? Aside from most games now coming in deluxe and gold editions there are also editions costing up to $200+ for lots of games. This stuff used to be rare, and still rarely ever came close to those prices, but today it's become a normal thing and people seem to be buying it all up.

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@Atzenkiller: Overall i agree with you but stupidly wasting hard earned cash doesn't mean they have the money. Some people just can't help themselves. Hopefully when enough time passes and games start to really get bad with all these microtransactions and DLCs people will wake up. Sometimes it seems like things are looking better so i guess we'll see what happens.

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@eli150: I assume that those folks are not starving because they've spent all their money on digital items, so I'd say they're well off. And if they considered that money hard earned they probably wouldn't waste it like that either.

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@eli150: Complete games pretty much only exist nowadays about 1 year after the base game launches.

2 • 6 years ago

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@PSYCHOV3N0M: Sad but true.

Upvote • 6 years ago

1583

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Well duh. Sony doesn’t care about their fans, just their wallets. This was obvious when they refused EA Access.

Upvote • 6 years ago

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deactivated-64efdf49333c4

@Daveof89: Well, if Sony has proved one thing, it's that they know how to build a roster of quality games that run the gamut from mainstream to unforgettable. EA knows how to...ruin games...yeah, gonna give it to Sony on that one.

2 • 6 years ago

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@Barighm: You dummy... Sony still happily sells EA games on PS4, they just don’t want to give people ways to save money.

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Edited By deactivated-64efdf49333c4

@Daveof89: Didn't say Sony doesn't sell EA games.

Why are you buying EA games anyway, cheap or otherwise? When you put money into Sony, we get all-time classics like Horizon or Bloodborne. When you put money into EA, we get ME Andromeda and Battlefront 1&2. And yet people think getting those games cheaper will...what? Stop the microtransactions? Who is the real dummy here, eh?

Sorry, no sympathy for EA supporters from me.

Upvote • 6 years ago

PlaystationZone

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PlaystationZone

They don’t want Xbox live accounts on there consle to do cross play . Sony had rocky start when PS3 came out but at end did recover can’t blame them . Off topic I think next gen

Consles like PS5 and next Xbox will come out same year but Xbox will have more cross play by then but cross play not big deal in my option.

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deactivated-64efdf49333c4

@playstationzone: Hey, now! MS was just as guilty of blocking Sony in the past, and we all know how ultra protective Nintendo can be. Sony does allow cross-play to PC (apparently). This could be just desserts.

Upvote • 6 years ago

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@Barighm: MS had crossplay with playstation on the 360. There, i believe, has been one case of MS blocking because psn was shit back then and they didnt want people on live to play with people on psn and have a bad experience. Because people would blame MS.

That seems logical to me, but psn is in a much better place.

things change.

Upvote • 6 years ago

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Shocking, they don't want their competitor to get stuff.

8 • 6 years ago

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