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Sony CEO Says Cross-Platform Play Not Happening Because "PlayStation Is The Best Place To Play"

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Published: September 4, 2018 4:53 PM

Sony has been getting a lot of heat recently about their position on cross-platform play. The platform holder controversially stated their disinterest in enabling their players to play alongside people on rival platforms. Despite the inevitable backlash of such a statement - and despite Microsoft's willingness to allow such cross-platform gaming - Sony has continued to double down on this position.

This has particularly been an issue for games such as Fortnite, Rocket League, and Minecraft which all have thriving communities on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch, and mobile.

Speaking at the IFA technology show in Berlin, new Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida explained how the PS4 was the best place for people to play games and how that shouldn't be compromised.

"On cross-platform, our way of thinking is always that PlayStation is the best place to play,” he said. “Fortnite, I believe, partnered with PlayStation 4 is the best experience for users, that's our belief. But actually, we already opened some games as cross-platform with PC and some others, so we decide based on what is the best user experience. That is our way of thinking for cross-platform."

These comments contradict remarks that Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Shawn Layden recently made. In a conversation with Eurogamer, Layden said that Sony was listening to people's feedback and stated that they were "looking at a lot of the possibilities".

Yoshida also said he welcomed competition from rivals Nintendo and Microsoft. "I think competition is always good. Healthy, fair competition is always good for the industry and growth," he said. "I think competition with Nintendo and Xbox is a healthy situation."

Xbox Vice President Mike Ybarra had the following to say on Twitter regarding Kenichiro Yoshida's comments.

https://twitter.com/XboxQwik/status/1036646206187827200

He went on to say "We run Windows and Console. Larger gaming audience who wants to play together. Gaming is diverse, if you only serve to bring joy to part of an audience then you are behind in many, many ways."

What are your thoughts on cross-platform play? Do you think Sony is missing the boat here? Share your thoughts in the comments below!


tempstaff
| Staff Writer

Dan is a lover of games, music, and movies from the UK. He can usually be found buried in RPGs, shooters, roguelikes, and sometimes World of Warcraft, but… More about Dan