Hey it's been at least a couple of weeks since that whole cross-play thing was in the headlines, so it's about time someone sparked the conversation again. Cue Bethesda's Pete Hines talking to Game Informer about The Elder Scrolls Legends, and that the game may not actually launch on PlayStation 4 if Sony doesn't allow cross-play functionality.
"[The Elder Scrolls Legends] is a strategy card game that encompasses both single and multiplayer. It is both cross-platform play and cross-platform progress," Hines states rather specifically. When pressed on the matter, he explains, "it is our intention in order for the game to come out, it has to be those things on any system. We cannot have a game that works one way across everywhere else except for on this one thing."
Hines continues: "The way the game works right now on Apple, Google, Steam, and Bethesda.net, it doesn't matter where you buy your stuff, if you play it on another platform that stuff is there. It doesn't matter what platform you play on, you play against everyone else who is playing at that moment."
So, it seems as though Bethesda is pretty adamant about all this -- the publisher clearly wants an equal experience on all platforms. When asked if he's pointing a finger at PS4 in particular, Hines goes on to say, "those [terms] are essentially non-negotiable. We can't be talking about one version of Legends, where you take your progress with you, and another version where you stay within that ecosystem or its walled off from everything else. That is counter to what the game has been about."
In other words, it sounds like the ball is now in Sony's court. With all due respect to The Elder Scrolls Legends, it's not exactly a blockbuster release, but it's still interesting to see Bethesda take such a firm stance. If the publisher really is pushing this, then Sony will either have to miss out on the game, or it'll have to allow cross-play. And as we've said before, once the cross-play gates are open, closing them is no easy task.
[source gameinformer.com]
Comments 93
Wow.... really ballsy move.
We'll see.
Whilst the wider implications are not lost on me, this hardly seems like a major loss. Ill be enjoying spiderman and the multitude of other quality single player games on the platform to lose any sleep over this
My immediate reaction to this was...
"So will you be taking this stance with Fallout 76?"
Something tells me no.
I'm surprised he didn't go whine about this on Fox Business like Reggie did.
Honestly more people should start threatening this, Sony would soon snap out of it
GG Bethesda
More publishers will do this and it will undoubtedly force Sony's hand to allow cross-play. This is the start, hopefully, of something great!
I'm glad they're doing it. I don't care about the game, but that means I miss nothing while someone can try and push Sony to allow cross-play. It's a win win.
bethesda is full of themselves 1st they will be suing a gamer that selling his ew2 copy on ebay, how bout not releasing fo76 on ps4 and let see what will happen to that game.
Yeah, sure. Ignore more than 80m users. That makes sense.
@naruball honestly do they need it?
@Derpie1 what do you mean?
@naruball Mobile is like the most accessible platform they already released it there from what I can remember heck im surprised this game wasn’t just a mobile game & nothing more...
Bethesda has never played nice with playstation and it's players, this doesn't surprise me that they're doing as little as they can to accomodate PS gamers and I think Sony should take a hard stance against them for once.
@Derpie1 Well I think that's the point, isn't it? The gesture's pretty empty when it's a game that very few care about to begin with. Like @ShogunRok said, they could really set off a rocket with something like Fallout 76, but they're not because it's too big.
@Derpie1 Did MS need Japan? They still released xb1 there. Does Sony need European countries that sell insignificant numbers compared to the UK, Japan and the US? They don't, yet they try to get as many users as possible.
But yes, since it's just a mobile game, it's really not a big deal so they may not even bother.
@viciousarcanum would be funny as heck if Bethesda was like Square Enix Vs THAT company who eventually never bothered w THAT company’s Systems for years...
@get2sammyb although if they dropped support for Sony
Minds will be blown...
@Derpie1 They will because it's not going to happen.
Yeah, sony won't budge for fortnite, I'm sure as heck this game isn't the one that open cross-play gate lol.
Sounds like this guy received a nice bonus from either Microsoft, Nintendo or both
It'll be interesting to see what happens next. I'm betting Sony will cave on this game, but if they cave on one inconsequential game, the floodgates may open for more.
@wiiware Sony prob won’t ever budge since the PS5 WILL sell well and really there’s nothing stopping that since Sony’s 1st Party IPs & Studios are the best in the industry & it is unrivaled. Sony is practically unstoppable at this point.
Also by saying this and following through, they will have gone back on what they said at E3 and fed false promises to consumers.
@Derpie1 The only way for sony to budge is if the next playstation sold less than the next xbox, but if that happens, I think it's microsoft that suddenly doesn't want cross-play anymore lol. Nintendo just doesn't give a f**k, they cross-play with anyone.
The tables have turned!!! Wooohahahahahah!!!!!
...never heard of this "game"
@wiiware well that’s because THAT company currently doesn’t really have a crazy big playerbase on thier platform so crossplay could be needed... Sony has a big enough base on thier platform that they don’t or ever will need crossplay & it doesn’t look like that’ll change as I think it’s gonna be obvious that PS5 will do just as well as PS4. So once again Sony is unstoppable, Sony always wins.
Im sure the PS4 base is distraught at the prospect of losing a crappy card game that they can play on their mobile or tablet or laptop, I guess we will just have to put up with Red or Dead 2 and Spiderman as some sort of consolation
@Derpie1 I think the only thing that can forced sony to support cross-platform play is if the big publishers like ea (with sport games), activision (cod), and rockstar (gta) want to do it too.
"Shove it up yo ass then, Pete."
Wouldn't it be refreshing if Sony made a statement like this?
Internal mods all over again. You already caved on this and made it work differently on PS4. It's hollow to claim this stance for the game whose absence has the least impact on revenue and then take games like Elder Scrolls Blades and Fallout 76 and put them on PS4 when they are impacted the same way by cross play. ES Legends doesnt need cross play unless you are just worried too few people will play it to get a PvP match. Just seems like a chance to pretend they are taking a stand, as long as it doesnt matter at all. This and mods on PS4 are the only times I've ever been embarrassed for Bethesda, both due to Pete getting a bit vocal about frustration with Sony policies. I do think cross play is great, but put your money where your mouth is and try this for Fallout 76 and ES Blades. That would actually spark something.
I'm sure I won't lose any sleep at night just because a card game potentially won't release on my console. Heck, I have my phone to play them mobile games 😂
@AlternateButtons
I’m not blinded by fanboyism, I don’t want cross play and I play a mix of single player and multiplayer games. I think it’s pretty ignorant to think Sony doesn’t know how to run it’s company. They think it’ll hit revenue which is bad for me as less money to be spent on exclusives. My favourite games are Sony exclusives. Not because I’m a fanboy but because I love them and all the creativity and funds that go into their development. You should never forget there are always 2 sides to an argument.
Doubtful 😂
@wiiware Ik apparently EA said they wanna touch at Cross Play but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’ll be a everything that ain’t THAT company’s Handheld (So that Box w the X on it, PC, Mobile & again separate but Mobile, PS4, PC) cus EA isn’t really a fan of THAT company after both getting burned & refusing to let Origin come to that console that had the letter U in its name...
EA & Activision prob won’t wanna hurt the relationship w Sony But Bethesda can get away w it cus thier real audience is on PC.
Take Two is all about Microtransactions & money so Ofc they’re gonna stick w PlayStation & Take Two owns Rockstar.
I even forgot about this game,so it Will not be a loss for me.
Bethesda always has been a believer in the "pc master race" Joke and the only Reason they like xbox more then playstation is because it is owned by Microsoft.
again have Them make a game that does not rely On the players to be fixed with mods,and then they can talk.
@AlternateButtons yes I think it will harm their revenue. A little bit. By far not enough to justify not allowing crossplay so I agree with you there. But it will most likely harm their revenue, exactly because they are the marketleader
Fair play to them if they want to ignore the massive customer base that PlayStation offers compared to Xbox (currently)
yeah dropping a card game isn't hat big of an issue but i doubt they wouldn't release Fallout 76 on the PS4, it's the best selling system of this generation and they wouldn't lock out millions of players just because there is no cross play
@Shepherd_Tallon
10/10 well said.
Seriously though this is the making of a monopoly and I see gamers are pushing for this which is more sad then frightening imo.
@Kai_ That definitely won't work at all. The PS4 is too far ahead of everyone else. Sony literally has all the leverage and Bethesda knows it. Sony doesn't have to budge because they know no one has the balls to do what Bethesda claims they're gonna do. It's 100% certain that Bethesda will chicken out.
my guess is sony will pass on it then, it seems unlikely to me that they'll be bullied into it. if they aren't going to do it for fortnite, they're sure as hell not going to do it for this.
for me, i don't want cross-platform play in general, and i can't see the likes of EA and activision widely embracing it either.. it's just as much lost revenue for them, as i'm sure there a lot of people that buy FIFA, CoD, or Destiny on more than one platform.
@AlternateButtons It's called having a different opinion but sure call it fanboyism.
The amount of fanboysh comments in this specific article is astonishing.
I'm an elder scrolls legends player and a PlayStation player but I don't want to be traped inside a separated ecosystem, nor I want to start everything again or tie my account to a PlayStation only ecosystem.
Defending this Sony garbage decision is stupidity, unless you're making money out of this fact, consumers gains absolutely nothing from this.
I swear to God, corporatism is worse than communism, people defending companies anti consumer and decisions is insane.
@VRDart Oh give it a rest, some people just don't want cross play yet some have a hard time grasping that fact so they resort to calling people fanboys because they have no other argument.
@adf86
Exactly my feelings. When you start calling names you’ve lost the ability to argue you side of the case. There is no middle ground in this argument just different opinions. Not sure why some people have a hard time grasping that
@adf86 there's absolutely no reason to not want crossplay, you can just don't care about it but not wanting is being either a fanboy or a Sony shareholder.
@VRDart Lol rest my case
i know sony allow cross-platform play with PC on a few titles, but has tended to offer it on a game-by-game basis, and not typically on competitive games. once the door is opened it's going to be a free-for-all, a genie out of the bottle that can never satiated. it's a total lose-lose for sony at the minute. generally i prefer the idea of a closed platform for competitive games, it's the same for everybody. same copy of the game, same performance of the game, same specs for everyone (which is why i wasn't really in favour of the PS4 pro as a so-called 'mid-term refresh' even though i have one).
Keep it i guess
@Derpie1 You know why we dont have FF14 on the Xbox because they only wanted it to work with Xbox Live.
@VRDart A big Sony crowd means big blockbuster games for me. And yes the 80 million consoles makes you get more different games with no massive microtransactions. 😜
So yeah for i rather keep it this way you go applaud Xbox and Nintendo for their "open mind" which they only have because they have to gain stuff this way.
@leucocyte In this case it's a card game, it doesn't have any difference in any platform. When I play on my Android, I'm playing the exact same game with no disavantage over someone playing with me on a pc.
@Flaming_Kaiser and this is why I'm talking about fanboyism, I'm not applauding Xbox or Nintendo for this it's just something that I think it has to be the standard, this is not about comparing consoles I care not about Sony or nintendo success, if they made trillions of dollars it wouldn't make any difference in my life, there isn't a war between consoles the war is just in the imagination of the children, it's just Sony being unfavorable to their consumers for "little" profit, to me this looks exactly like EA modus operandi.
And just so you know, since the original PlayStation, all of my consoles have been from Sony, but when they start to act like greedy bastards they won't have my support.
There's some serious brain-farting going on at Bethesda at the moment, what with this, and the "new" game shenanigans.
I do not need it on ps4. No, thank you!
Sony literally gives zero f###s.
And neither do I lol XD.
@AlternateButtons @Tsurii I own a Switch, but I'm against cross-play as that leads to a unified online community.
This is in the big publishers best interest and not in mine. That is one step closer to the 'death of console gaming'.
I would much rather continue to have the 'walled garden' that is traditional console gaming.
As others have mentioned it's in the best interest of both Nintendo & MS, but it's not in mine- a fan of traditional console gaming.
@Tsurii (don’t curse dude you know this site)
I don’t see Sony budging on this. If Fortnite couldn’t force Sony to extend cross-play then I don’t think a niche card game will do it. Bethesda might end up with a struggling game because of this. I’m hoping Sony doesn’t budge to be honest.
@Fight_Teza_Fight true in all points.
I doubt Sony are that bothered in this instance but if it was a blockbuster AAA game then they would be. If that starts happening then I think Sony's hand would be forced to join in...
@AlternateButtons It's not an obvious bad business move, just YOUR opinion, not an actual fact. In fact it's more in Sony's interest to not allow it in the first place. They want those that haven't bought a PlayStation yet to actually get one and if they start allowing xbox and switch gamers to play with their PlayStation friends then that's one less reason to actually buy one in the first place.
@AlternateButtons well they so big & Sony fans get a form of deserving superiority complex/let’s mirror Sony. Some Sony fans don’t remind me of THAT company fans but more the PCMR. But hey people can believe & view things how they want to believe it’s a to each of thier own.
@Constable_What Hey genius....Sony already allows cross play with PC....Its only Xbox that nobody wants to play with....LMFAO oh no Bugthesda threatening to keep their crappy free to play card game....LMFAO lets see if they do that with Fallout 76, oh wait they wont because they want access to the 80+ million userbase....
@Flurpsel What revenue? Its a free to play card game.....
@Dodoo They already are there skippy, the ONLY people PS doesn't have cross play with is Xbox......Sony already allows cross play with PC, Wii U and Switch......
@__marc Hey buddy. Get a life; sorry if my comment offended you.
@__marc uhhhh what game allows PS4 to CP w those systems?
@__marc the revenue from the microtransactions in the ps store
@__marc Ah ok didn't know that thanks!
@AlternateButtons I also dont want crossplay. Not because of fanboyism, like you want to believe, i simply don't condone the leeching that microsoft is trying to engage in. It's a dirty scheme concocted by microsoft to put pressure on sony. A move that benefits(keyword) all other parties except sony. You say it wont hurt sony and that may be true but, it wont help them either. sony is a business, a business mind you, that i would rather see succeed. My preferred platform is ps4 thats not being a fanboy, thats exercising choice. Let microsoft gain their player base the old fashioned way, be better.
@VRDart Watch the language please.
@Tsurii Watch the language as well please. I had to edit two comments of yours next time could earn you a tempt vacation from the site you mind the language
Bethesda have shown their hand here. I wonder if Sony have an ace up their sleeve?
@Tsurii They do have confidence in their exclusive content, have you seen their output of late? What no one that's for cross play has been able to do is come up with a good point on how this benefits Sony from a business pov, instead you and others resort to calling people "fanboys" cos like I said before, you can't come up with a better argument other then "you're all wrong".
@adf86 It benefits Sony to support cross play because anti-consumer practices can be used against them in the same way Sony used them against Microsoft in 2013. Remember, people attribute the PS4's success over the Xbox One to the anti-consumer features the Xbox One was going to have when first revealed even though Microsoft went back on those before the console launched. None of the features people complain about PS4 lacking (cross-play, backwards compatability, etc.) are a big deal on their own, but if these little issues keep popping up, it will eventually add up. Brand loyalty can easily be lost.
Also, the reason they're calling others fanboys is because the people who agree with Sony not having cross-play are supporting something that is bad for gamers. At least on a site like this where most of us are PS fans, people are criticizing Sony for not including cross-play because they don't want this company to repeat the same mistakes it made in the early years of the PS3.
You ask what the benefit of including cross-play is, but what's the benefit of omitting it? How many people who already own a console are really going to spend hundreds on a PS4 just to play a game with their friends? Maybe a fair amount, but it's more likely that people would buy a PS4 for the strong lineup of exclusives. Sony doesn't need to divide online communities to drive sales of one of their most successful gaming platforms, but anti-consumer practices like this could hurt them in the long run.
I'm wondering what agenda Bethesda is pushing here. Yes they want to seem like they're "Pro Gamer" and all but they have to realize the implications this has on the whole industry.
the sony fan boys are strong on this one
doesn't affect me personally, so bring it on bethesda! you guys have been acting like idiots of late — what, with that whole second hand sale fiasco. are you guys trying to take ea's place as most hated company in gaming? keep it up, guys!
one side note... do you guys mean to tell us that cross play between ps4 and pc is not good enough? because last time i checked, sony is A okay with that form of cross play... suddenly ps4-x1 crossplay is mandatory for this particular, low rate, sorry excuse of a game? sure it is... but this stance is being alleviated on fallout 76, because??? o, right... that game cost you a whole lot more money and to recoup your investment, you need the sony userbase to purchase as many copies as possible... how convenient double standards are, huh?
@hadlee73 lol... thanks for the chuckle... i was thinking something along those lines as well. the only game franchise i can appreciate from betheda is doom and that is developed by id, not bethesda at any rate.
Is there anyone who owns a PS4 and not a smartphone???
Why would I want this on my PS anyways???
@VRDart Ok so i guess you didnt read what i said thats ok. 👍
The last thing I want is cross-play with another consoles and many Sony gamers think the same. If Sony is aware, they know that the majority of their players don't want that. MS would benefit a lot with this because they have a low fanbase, that's not Sony's problem, only you can fix your problems. Again, Sony wanted cross-play in the last generation, MS didn't want and the likes of Aaron Greenberg was laughing. Well, who's laughing now? The console wars are annoying already on the comments section of sites like Ign and Gamespot, no way that I want to play like this online. Last thing, only the usual suspects are defending cross-play and calling the others fanboys. If you don't know how to deal with different opinions, or facts like this case, create a blog.
The day I have to log into an xbox live account to play games is the day I quit gaming.
As for crossplay itself... I dont care or want it, however, Sony should just say that they will allow it as long as everyone using it from another system has a plus account. It would kill crossplay on xbox as not many people would want two accounts and it would be the same on switch as they would probably opt for ps plus over live.
After a couple of months after announcing crossplay in this way they could cancel it saying that there wasnt any interest in it. Done.
My opinion is that there are a couple hundred vocal xbox/switch owners on the internet that are very salty about picking the wrong box and wanting to play with their friends.
To be fair, the discussion on Cross-Play is really boring. It's just jused as fuel for those who want to debate console wars. It's something that will probably be worked out for the next generation, so... whatever.
And to people heralding "pro consumer": exclusives aren't pro consumer either, but you can understand why Nintendo doesn't release Mario on the PS4, right? There's your answer.
No one cares about yout crap game Bethesda.
If Bethesda had some serious balls on them they would not release any of their upcoming games on PS4 unless universal cross play was available. So no Fallout 76, no Rage 2, no Doom Eternal. But Bethesda loves to make real money and they need to save face from all the crap coming out lately about Fallout 76. So as a good will gesture they threatened not to release their awful card game on the PS4 unless they play nice with everyone else.
@Splints
You are fully aware you can make a free Xbox Silver account correct? Also the only reason you would ever have to sign into Xbox Live is if you are playing a Microsoft title (Like Minecraft), but if you are playing Rocket League on the PS4 and crossplay was enabled it would require no further account sign in on your side, you would simply start see players called M@STERCHEIF2007
So what % of their game sales will they potentially lose if Sony call their bluff? Will they seriously give the finger to that many potential punters? I doubt it. I love the ES games, but have never been a fan of Bethesda's attitude toward PS4 players, and I could live without their games on principle if necessary.
I think there is an element of both fanboyism and the cross-play fanatics both missing the point on this issue.
First off, cross play is for Sony to decide on. They don’t need to enable cross play and people are making a mountain out of a molehill on it. Yes, I would like crossplay so my son can play with his cousins, but hey.
Second, the publisher isn’t doing this move to “force Sony into crossplay”. They have a very specific idea for what they want this game to be. It is a mobile game and their biggest audience is mobile (which dwarfs all consoles) and they want people to be able to play on mobile on the go and transfer their progress to their console or pc when they are at home. That is all.
People here are on one side dissing the people who make great games, calling this game crap (despite people’s hard work going into it) or just showing Sony fanboyism in other ways, or they are dissing Sony and going OTT on cross-play. Both sides are wrong.
Let’s just respect this companies decision to create an experience they want without being restricted by the policies of another company.
I'm really tired of people making this some kind of statement of Bethesda against Sony...It's not, even though the media like to make look like this to get clicks.
Legends is a game that won't work with a closed community, period.
They won't damage the already estabilished community because of Sony's decisions, that's it, there's nothing like "Bethesda is trying to pressure Sony" or anything like that. Jesus Christ, and the PlayStation community nowadays is way worse than Nintendo's, they're both looking like religions. Next thing we'll be having people Killing one another over what is best for the company they think they have to protect..
@DMG361132 No, I'm saying that there's no reason to not wanting crossplay other than being a fanboy.
And I'm not leaving anything, I'm not stupid, I like to play my games and I like PlayStation exclusives, that doesn't mean I have to support something that's bad for me because it'll be good for a company that has nothing to do with me, it means I won't be playing anything that has the slightest chance of having online crossplay on ps4 because I don't wanna risk get trapped.
And hey, I'm sure Sony will send you a email with a thanks note for protect them against anyone who doesn't lick their boots unconditionally.
@DMG361132 That was the highlight of my month, someone's calling me a sjw while I'm called Nazi right in the next internet corner.
You sure like to talk about me just giving my opinion while you're doing the exact same.
You say someone can be against crossplay whitout any reason but I just don't believe it, no one is pro or against something whitout any reason and because people that are against crossplay can't even say why they're against I'll continue to assume the only possible reason in my mind and it's fanboyism.
And more, the fact that you think I "hate" Sony because I don't agree with every decision they make just reinforce my views about fanboys.
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