Sony has blocked Microsoft from releasing Minecraft’s big ‘Better Together’ update on the PlayStation 4, and this story’s probably going to rumble on until it changes its mind – or everyone gets tired of talking about it. The patch aims to unite communities across consoles, but as announced at E3 2017, the Japanese giant wants no part in it.
While its official reasoning – would someone please think of the children – has been poor thus far, it’s since been rumoured that the Redmond company requires users to sign in to Xbox Live to take advantage of the features, which was never going to fly at PlayStation headquarters. Of course, the company’s philosophically against cross-console play in general, because it sees its own community as a competitive advantage.
Nevertheless, Microsoft’s said that it continues to be in contact with Sony about the new version of Minecraft. “We are still in discussions with Sony about PlayStation and have nothing to confirm,” it wrote as part of an FAQ. “We would love to work with Sony to bring players on PlayStation 4 into this ecosystem as well.”
[source minecraft.net]
Comments 20
Sony is doing this imo to prevent microsoft getting to its huges install base. Nintendo did it because it is trying to win its fans back from the failed wii u.
I still feel Sony have been backed into a corner on cross-platform play and feel Microsoft wouldnt have even contemplated having this on the table if they were still market leader. Particularly as playstation was always open to the idea even last gen (with pc). Dont remember Microsoft getting the abuse Sony has attracted on the issue.
That said, if Nintendo can agree to cross-platform play on minecraft, I think Sony probably will give in at some point (for this game, but probably not more widely)
@tonyp1987 Basically, yes. I actually don't think Sony would have a problem with cross-console if it was just Minecraft or just Rocket League, but they can't set the precedent in case FIFA or Call of Duty or Battlefield does it. At that point they would lose a competitive advantage.
Seems pretty ugly and arrogant to me, but I'm not actually terribly invested in this issue to begin with.
@get2sammyb imo i feel Microsoft looks at minecraft as a get of jail free card because they are not doing so hot. They see people that play minecraft as easy money with modded worlds and skins.
"rumoured that the Redmond company requires users to sign in to Xbox Live"
If that statement is true then there's your answer to why Sony wont allow it. You cannot blame Sony for doing that under those circumstances if true.
@solocapers was about to say the same thing and it wouldn't surpirse me if this was true. Considering I needed to make an XBL account to play Solitaire on my PC
Couldn't give a fig. It's a lovely idea, and Sony has handled the PR surrounding this situation as deftly as the average contestant tackles Takeshi's Castle, but no matter which way you slice it, Microsoft has a lot to gain by doing this, and Sony gains nothing from it. If this was the PS3 era, Sony would be pushing for cross-platform, and Microsoft would be laughing their backs off.
Ie "we good, they bad"
If Nintendo was smart they'd run all of there games through Xbox live, neither Microsoft or Sony see the switch as a competitor its more of a "secondary console" the niche Nintendo has been filling since the Wii
"it’s since been rumoured that the Redmond company requires users to sign in to Xbox Live to take advantage of the features"
that's not a rumour that is a FACT, Nintendo have already confirmed it as has Microsoft and i agree with Sony on this one, why should they let a competitor get a foot in their door? it's not going to benefit Sony at all
the main question is though as you are REQUIRED to use XBL will you also have to pay for XBLGold as well as Nintendo Network if your on the Switch? because if you do the service wont last long on there i can tell you
@NintendoFan4Lyf well that's good news then because imagine the outcry if you had to pay for both
Of course Sony may have the 'bigger' console install base, however I am willing to bet that MS has the much bigger install base when it comes to Minecraft - all those PC gamers using MS Windows...
With MS trying to unify its Xbox division and PC division into one big MS user base, you could argue that Sony are very much in the minority compared to MS gamers. Nintendo are certainly the smallest numerically but by joining up with MS, they have a much larger pool of gamers to enjoy gaming with.
Personally I see no reason why it can't happen. I don't necessarily believe that ALL games should be cross-platform and it certainly can be 'discussed' on a per-game basis.
I certainly wouldn't say games like CoD or BF for example are a competitive advantage. What is more so is the exclusives, the controller, the community etc. IF MS still had CoD and Fifa, do you think they would have changed the 'dominant' console in terms of sales? I don't think so as MS had Cod up until BO3 and Fifa up until 2017 and still fell behind. I can't see games like CoD, Destiny and BF working cross-platform anyway as I would imagine that Party chat for example probably wouldn't work and that's quite important for some modes. Still would be good if gamers, regardless of console, could unite to play games - especially games that the lobbies drop away quickly and instead of having 3 or 4 small groups trying to find a game in the mode you want, you have a much larger, universal group...
I know its also such a toxic place at times. Instead of being united as gamers who enjoy a certain game, the choice of console to play on can become a reason to be verbally abusive. Its bad enough in some games without bringing in console choice too.
I do understand Sony's perspective though. Its not as they can protect their users from 'abuse' online and 'ban' a gamer on MS or Nintendo for obscene behaviour. If you look online, their is so much hatred between gamers because of the console they have so I understand why Sony may be reluctant to open up to MS and potentially end up with conflicts to resolve. I know the same principal applies to both MS and Nintendo too but it does seem as though they are more willing to co-operate.
As I said, it could be done on a per-game basis and games like Minecraft or Rocket League could be acceptable but games like CoD and BF may not be OK - maybe even wouldn't work properly either for one reason or another. It doesn't seem quite as violent as say rival football fans can be when rival gamers get together at Gamescom for example but the internet does seem quite volatile...
Wouldn't PS4 players then feed into Microsoft's Xbox Live "active users", "engagement" and "hours spent" that they now use as metrics to gauge "success"?
Why would Sony want to feed into that?
Also, let's not forget that the reason Final Fantasy XIV isn't available on Xbox is because Microsoft refused cross platform play, while Sony allowed it. It wasn't until Microsoft fell behind in sales and had to pivot from console sales numbers to the metrics listed above that cross play even became an issue for them this generation.
Sony doesn't have a problem with cross-play that why i'm playing with PC Players every day on Paragon, if Sony had a problem with cross-play that wouldn't be possible. Not only that Sony has the most games with cross-play with PC Players, over both Microsoft & Nintendo. Microsoft wants cross-play for its own agenda not because it for the players, otherwise thay would have a lot more games with cross-play.
Tbh in in the fence with security risks but also competition. It could effect sales. The console war keeps the sales strong and that helps sony. The more money the more they invest. Cross play would hurt profits/security . So bad move financially . In the other hand I have friends that have an Xbox so don't get to olay with them . One my my friends recently sold his ps4 to get an Xbox.. .. traitor
Will this game ever die? (Not that I want it to. Minecraft is a decent game. It just seems absurd that it's still so popular)
@tonyp1987
Exactly. Sony benefits ZERO from this.
@NintendoFan4Lyf This is the direct opponent of Sony maybe. Do you think MS would ever allow a game on their platform where you have to sign in to the PSN?
When the shoe was on the other foot, Microsoft refused to let Xbox 360 users play with Playstation 3 users. So much that FFXIV was originally targeting the Xbox 360 and PC with PS3 to come later. SquareEnix had to shift focus to the PS3 and "postpone indefinitely" their Xbox 360 version because of Microsofts stance on cross platform play.
Now that Microsoft is far from the lead, they are clamoring for cross platform play, which is to be expected, but loading it down with Xbox Live is just a recipe for disaster.
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