It’s become an argument that many gamers have voiced opinions to recently. Should the online and multiplayer landscape of consoles, namely the PS4 and Xbox One be combined? In principle, it seems like an awesome idea, in fact, exciting. However, when you digest the reality of the matter, the outcome is clear. Let’s explore.
Sony’s PlayStation 4 isn’t shy of success, it’s taken the gaming world by storm, creating a prime destination for any console gamer. With that said, Microsoft’s ambitions have gradually faded for the brand they once claimed would reign supreme; Xbox One.
With Xbox sales unimpressive, Microsoft issued the console community with a question; would you like to see cross-platform online integration. Ultimately, as an example, this would mean that you could play FIFA 18 in an online match – PS4 player vs. Xbox One player. I’ll be the first to say that this could be awesome, I mean, the competition level gets raised a bar, you have extra reasons to beat the opposition – you don’t just want your team to reign supreme, but the console you play and support, too.
Microsoft attempted to make Sony look like the bad guy – this was done by presenting an interesting proposal. That didn’t work.
Gamers love the idea of unity, it’s instinct. They also love competitiveness. It’s one of those ‘love-hate relationships’. It all sounds good until you delve deep into the dynamics, then you see things very differently.
One issue that Microsoft has come across is the lack of players they can connect with other players. It’s called match-making. Think about this for a second, such a scenario becomes a major problem when match-making online – since when was a deserted ever popular? You’ll love the next part of this article, read on.
Sony said, No.
Let’s re-imagine the situation, with a different scenario – You visit a dating site, but it only has a small membership count. The outcome? You’ll unlikely find a realistic match. Why does this matter in the world of console gaming? Because when you enter an online lobby, you’ll be ‘matched’ with other players, and if there aren’t many of them, the match will be weak.
Dadah! This is why Microsoft would love to encourage the idea of cross-platform unity. However, it would be more than naive for Sony to agree to such an ideology. After all, match-making on the Xbox console would go from quiet to loud, at zero expense. Thus, Microsoft continues to unify with its Window OS for this very reason.
PlayStation is the match-making console king, Microsoft doesn’t get to share that.
When you have a huge pool of online players, finding an ideal online game becomes easy. When you have a smaller community, such as that of the Xbox One, finding a reliable online game is sure to be more difficult. Actually, it’s this very reason as to why Microsoft has publically attempted to pull Sony into this move.
What are your views on this matter? Do you feel Sony should enable cross-platform play to a competitor that has entered ‘desperation mode’? Be sure you leave your comments below.
Jay is the Founder / Admin and Editor in Chief here at PS4 Home. Jay is dedicated to gaming, blogging & web enterprise.
If you like the effort I have put in to this site and the content, then feel free to see my Amazon wishlist. Highly appreciated.
11 Comments
Great article. Such a true point and Microsoft keep on trying to compete, but with what?
The funny thing is, coming to the end of 2017 now, how many games can Switch and Xbone players ACTUALLY play with each other in so far, RIGHT NOW? Minecraft Crossplay isn’t available yet with Switch and Xbox and I’m not even sure if Rocket League is out on Switch yet and if it is, I don’t think the Cross Play is there either.
So for all the talk of Sony not doing it, I don’t see anybody else doing it yet either. Sony could allow it tomorrow and people will claim that they copied Nintendo and Microsoft and yet both of those haven’t even done it successfully yet. Its just another one of those insane myths that people got into their heads and believe it to be 100% true.
Unless I’m wrong and Cross Play is live and everyone forgot to report on it or show videos of it in action.
I honestly think that it will be a different story when more and more games begin to run significantly different between consoles. The thing I am most looking towards is when one console can push 60fps and the competing consoles can only compete with 30……
Now how could crossplay really work there….? Come down to the lesser of them to match “gameplay………??”. I think not…..
I just hope they offer up options for 60fps+ in games with 4K 30fps (PUBG) so that the buyer has more options.
Microsoft doesn’t have anywhere near the same amount of gamers on Xbox Live vs. PSN. So, this would be far more beneficial to Microsoft. I see no real benefit for Sony here, and it would only make sense if both consoles were selling at a close rate – in which case there might be an argument.
There are about a half-dozen, maybe.
Youre just saying what everybody already knows. If we wanted to play with the Xbox community, we would have bought an Xbox. THAT’S HOW COMPETITION WORKS!!! I don’t choose to do so and have no regrets.
Micro$oft just doesn’t have the amount of exclusives to entice new gamers. This is why online player base is stagnant on XBL. Micro$oft even requires XBL Gold membership in order to play Free-to-Play games!! This is insane as Sony doesn’t require PS Plus membership for these Free-to-Play titles which in turn has a more massive player base.
It’s time and Micro$oft sees the writing on the wall. Stop being in the hardware business and just become a software publisher like Sega.
But more and more game aren’t going to do that.
hahahahhaha go fuck yourself Sony scumbag your consoles are trash and all the exclusives are trash also now that there is no Power Sony is worthless go suck that little Japanese dick …we all know you want hahahahahhaaha article is written by a fuckboy maybe 5 years old who is mentally retarded hahahahah
Why not trying to lose weight you fat ugly fuck Sony is garbage and so are the Sony fans scum community
Sony hahahahahahahaha they are as worthless as their fans haahhahahahaah