Microsoft made a big splash recently when it announced that it would allow developers on the Xbox One platform to make games that featured cross-platform play with PCs and even competing consoles. This opened up a lot of possibilities for both developers and fans, though it would depend on the other console manufacturers getting on board with the idea.
Now, it seems that Sony might be open to cross-platform play between the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4. The company released a statement that didn’t mention Microsoft by name but was definitely a nod toward the company’s recent announcement.
Releasing a statement to GameSpot, Sony pointed out that it had actually been in the cross-platform game for nearly 15 years. This set up a call for any developers or publishers who are interested in releasing cross-platform games to talk to the company about it, indicating that a future where players on different consoles can play against each other isn’t out of reach. Sony’s statement is below:
“PlayStation has been supporting cross-platform play between PC on several software titles starting with Final Fantasy 11 on PS2 and PC back in 2002.
We would be happy to have the conversation with any publishers or developers who are interested in cross platform play.”
Of course, cross-platform gaming isn’t exactly as novel as the current announcements make it sound. Various games have had cross-platform play over they ears, usually between console and PC versions of a game. In addition to games like the Final Fantasy 11 MMO that Sony mentioned, other titles like Microsoft’s Shadowrun have offered console/PC cross-play. In the current generation, Rocket League already has cross-platform play between PlayStation 4 players and those playing on PCs; Microsoft is now adding the same functionality for Xbox One players, so it will be the first game to potentially take full advantage of the cross-platform aspirations of console makers.
Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how widely cross-platform play is adopted by developers and publishers. If it becomes widespread, it could have a major impact on the gaming industry since purchases won’t be governed by which game version has the largest active community. Cross-platform compatibility may even make its way into the core concepts of the next generation of consoles, provided it proves popular among gamers and it’s a feature that a lot of developers want to make use of.
There’s been no word about possible cross-platform opportunities from Nintendo as yet, but this isn’t exactly surprising. Not only does the Big N not have a lot of third-party support on the Wii U that would be interested in cross-platform gaming, but it’s also building up to the reveal of the Nintendo NX platform. If Nintendo has any cross-platform aspirations or third parties interested in releasing cross-platform-compatible games on Nintendo systems, that information probably won’t come out until after the NX reveal later this year.
