If you’re a gamer, you’ve no doubt heard about Sony’s refusal to let gamers play with and against other gamers on other platforms (cross-play), namely the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. The pushback by Sony reaches as far back as Rocket League and continues as of late with the recent Fortnite fiasco.
In case you haven’t heard, those who played Fortnite on their PlayStation consoles found out the hard way that they are unable to use the same account to play Fortnite on the Nintendo Switch. Sony has actually locked gamers Epic Games accounts to the console to prevent them from cross-play — or even playing altogether — on the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One versions of the popular battle royale game.
Of course, other companies are quick to point fingers and Nintendo and Xbox have taken a swipe at Sony in the latest Minecraft cross-play for Nintendo Switch ad.
Can’t wait to see what we can create together in @Minecraft with @NintendoCanada! 🇨🇦🎮https://t.co/NyQoQGBDjo pic.twitter.com/jWIKaGVVIW
— Xbox Canada (@XboxCanada) June 21, 2018
Sony was quick to point out that you can play Fortnite on your PlayStation 4 with others on PC, Mac, and iOS but has remained silent on the reason behind why they’re blocking cross-play with the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. One former Sony exec states that it’s all about money.
“When I was at Sony, the stated reason internally for this was money,” John Smedley, the former Sony Online Entertainment president and general manager of Amazon Game Studios, said in a [now deleted] tweet on Monday. “They didn’t like someone buying something on an Xbox and it being used on a PlayStation.”
Check out the full Nintendo/Xbox Minecraft cross-play ad below:
What do you think about Sony’s decision to hold out against cross-play with the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One? What do you think of the latest Nintendo/Xbox Minecraft commercial? Let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.
