Sony has made it clear that it is not thinking about supporting cross-play as of now. During E3 week, Microsoft announced that Minecraft will support cross-play with the Nintendo Switch version of the game. Although the Xbox maker was hopeful that the Japanese company would make a similar decision, the PlayStation maker does not seem interested, notes Gamespot.
Why is Sony not joining Minecraft cross-play?
“It’s certainly not a profound philosophical stance we have against this,” PlayStation executive Jim Ryan told Eurogamer.
The executive added that Sony is always open to exploring opportunities like this with other companies. However, the company as of now is not in favor of participating in cross-platform play.
Cross-platform or cross network play enables gamers to play a specific game on one platform with players present on another platform.
Referring to Minecraft, Ryan stated “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.”
Ryan stated that it is the company’s responsibility to take care of children before subjecting them to external influences.
However, the executive added that not supporting cross-play is not permanent, but currently, it is not interested in opening games to full cross-platform mode. Ryan did recognize that Nintendo has a far-reaching appeal to young gamers, and therefore, it rightly adopted Minecraft.
“Everybody has to take their own decisions,” the executive said.
There have been reports that since Microsoft will own the dedicated servers for the cross-play, taking the PS4 into account matters more for Microsoft rather than Sony. If this angle is to be believed, one reason why the Japanese firm is not joining the platform could be that it will give a major financial boost to a rival.
Sony has never shunned the concept of cross-platform play, and this was briefly evident in games like Final Fantasy XIV and Rocket League, notes Comicbook.
New titles revealed and PlayStation Experience returns
Perhaps in a way of compensating for not supporting cross-play, during E3, the Japanese firm stated that the PlayStation Experience will return to California this year. The event will be held December 9-10. The annual PS4 conference, which was the first PlayStation Experience, took place in Las Vegas in 2014.
During the PlayStation E3 2017 event, the Japanese company also showcased a teaser for the Spider-Man PS4 game, a God of War trailer and a teaser for another title, Skyrim VR. Another new VR title unveiled at the event was Bravo Team. It is a first-person shooter from Supermassive Games.
The company also took its fans by surprise by announcing the Shadow of the Colossus remake and a new Monster Hunter game called Monster Hunter World. However, those waiting for The Last of Us Part 2 were left disappointed. The company also revealed that it has sold 1 million PSVR headsets to date, suggesting a growing audience for its VR titles.
