Following the reveal of Rocket League for Nintendo Switch and Minecraft's cross-play compatibility announcement, the conversation about platforms no longer being a barrier has reached a new apex. This is in large part due to the revelation that Sony refused to allow cross-play support for Minecraft and the fact that their explanation was not satisfying the masses. Rocket League developer Psyonix, whose Nintendo Switch version will allow gamers to play against Xbox One and PC players, is a supporter of the cross-play initiative believes that the feature is the future of gaming and that there are "ongoing" conversations with Sony.
Psyonix VP Jeremy Dunham shared his stance on cross-play with US Gamer, using smartphones as the basis for his belief. He said:
"I have this analogy, and I know I use this analogy a lot, but it's like if I have an iPhone and my brother has a [Samsung] Galaxy. Y'know, we buy the phones for their unique designs or software or whatever, but not having cross-network is like saying 'Hey, you can't make calls to your brother because he has a different phone than you.'"
Dunham appears to remain optimistic about Sony's position on cross-play, which makes sense considering PS4 to Steam play is something that works in Rocket League. He said:
"There's probably someone from Psyonix talking to someone from Sony every day. Not necessarily about cross-network, but the conversation is always ongoing. Sony is such a good partner for us."
Microsoft has apparently found its soft spot in the eternal PR battle with its rival, Sony and they have been backing it up with their Play Anywhere Initiative as well. Games like Gears of War 4 and Sea of Thieves have been experimenting with crossplay between Xbox One and PC recently as well, and the idea of the feature has been gaining steam amongst gamers in a hurry.
On PC, retailers like GOG.com base their entire business around the idea that it shouldn't matter where you buy your games and that you should be able to play games with your friends without restrictions like DRM or retailer. Obviously, it's not as simple as just lifting the barrier, and everything is magically wonderful, as factors like network environment and a console and/or PC's technical prowess will continue to provide challenges that cross-play simply can't account for right now.
But one thing's for sure, platform no longer being a barrier seems like the inevitable future.
Source: [US Gamer]
