PlayStation doesn't allow cross-play because its network is superior says Sony boss

By Asher Madan
published

Sony won't allow cross-play anytime soon.

Fortnite is a free-to-play third-person shooter which features building mechanics and even a PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds-like battle royale mode. The title has garnered incredible popularity over the past few months due to the developer's continued support and its addictive nature.

Fortnite supports cross-play between Xbox One, PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch, and mobile. Sony is the only company that keeps on blocking the ability due to its dominant market position. Instead of focusing on making cross-play a reality, it seems like Sony plans on keeping its network closed off from others.

According to a report by The Independent, Sony chief executive Kenichiro Yoshida believes that PlayStation Network is the best place to play games, that's why cross-play isn't needed. Speaking at the IFA technology show in Berlin, Yoshida said the following.

On cross-platform, our way of thinking is always that PlayStation is the best place to play. 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.

Despite evidence to the contrary — an independent IHS Markit study (opens in new tab) said Xbox Live beat the competition — Sony is firm in its stance. However, the issue that needs to be addressed here is that cross-play doesn't offer any advantage to the company.

Sony has a large volume of users, and it doesn't seem like there's a lot of demand from PlayStation 4 owners for cross-play. While it may be a consumer-friendly move and dramatically increase the number of players for Xbox Live and Nintendo Switch owners, PlayStation Network already has access to a lot more.

What do you think about this statement? Should Sony implement cross-play even though they don't need to? Let us know.

See Fortnite at Microsoft Store (opens in new tab)

Keep an eye on WindowsCentral.com/Gaming for all the latest in Xbox and Windows 10 gaming, accessories, news, and reviews!

Asher Madan
Asher Madan

Asher Madan handles gaming news for Windows Central. Before joining Windows Central in 2017, Asher worked for a number of different gaming outlets. He has a background in medical science and is passionate about all forms of entertainment, cooking, and antiquing.

87 Comments
  • Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
  • Yo if it was superior it would allow cross play!! Haha! Superiority means enhanced to the max for consumers! Hahaha!! 😂😂😂😅😂😅😂
  • I was laughing at the fact they said it's superior. When it clearly isn't.
  • Right!! I saw the title of the article and I literally spit my drink out with laughter. I'm still rolling! ROFL
  • I agree. Just adding onto their ridiculous claim. ;)
  • Wii60 lives on as SwitchBox. Nintendo and ms recognizes the importance of customer relationship and their subtle friendship methinks theyre gonna collab on a game sharing each others charavters into one
  • Can't wait for them to fail at yet another category, like they alreaady failed with phones. They clearly have no idea what they're doing. As for the console space, they already lost their lead as far as performance and technology goes - zero innovation. The only thing they have are some exclusives, and that's also going to end soon. Amazing how a company that lead the tech revolution in the world suddenly starts acting like a petty child.
  • Sony has become arrogant, just like Konami. Konami is pretty much out of mindshare these days. Sony is next, i remember ages past Sony used to sell batteries as well.... they were pretty much everywhere. Only thing they have going for them is their TVs and Playstation, both of them are going down the pan. They have been forcing the Smart Tvs to upgrade thus ruining them as a guise for you to upgrade. After this Sony Bravia TV dies we'll be getting something else.
  • Exclusive are one of the few reasons to even consider a console, let alone choose between consoles. Not sure why their exclusives would end, aside from coming to the new gen. They are still the biggest console platform and the biggest VR platform. Well, next gen, new battles.
  • Fortnight is hugely popular because it is NOT an exclusive to one platform / console; showing that Exclusives just lock more people out than you could have people in.
  • I think Microsoft and Sony strategies have diverged quite a bit of late, will be interesting to see which way the next gen goes. No doubt Sony has won on numbers in this generation but the x360 won the last so...
  • I believe last gen was pretty much 50/50 as far as units went. Not sure which made more money (the one who didn't sell until they released a stripped down slim version, or the one which needed an average of 2.5 replacements).
  • Not just phones, you forgot they failed even more in PCs when they had to trash their whole VAIO brand.
  • Sony don't lead the tech (esp game tech)... MS, intel, NVidia, AMD, ARM are the major player. When Dx decided to do programmable shader or DXR, others need to follow. * Sony do have some special tech packed inside PS4 and Ratchet and Clank (I heard), is the only game uses it. But cause the tech is not a standard... will def have a hard time if they decided to do BC/FC on PS5. And speaking of BC / FC... what are the chance for Sony to create a Win10+UWP equivalent than spending resources bring ps1/2/3/4's assets to ps5/6/7?
  • Anyone wanna take the troll bait? Yeah, me neither.
  • He said it in very polite way also said they "believe".. Not really a statement one can get mad at..
  • Surely you can get mad at this ridiculous comment, though: "so we decide based on what is the best user experience." Uh, how about you let the consumer decide what's best for him or her? So arrogant.
  • Because consumers, for the most part, are morons and don't actually know what they want. If you follow the advice of consumers, you end up with the Homer-Mobile.
  • The main issue is that the consumer should decide what's best for them, not the company.
  • Hopefully the consumer does decide by buying an Xbox or Switch...
  • I did it already. I sold my PS4 pro and bought an Xbox one x
  • "Sony is firm in its stance. However, the issue that needs to be addressed here is that cross-play doesn't offer any advantage to the company If I wanted in on Fortnite and had to choose a console to buy, I wouldn't be buying a PS4 for the obvious reasons mention in the article. The advantage to Sony is that they could sell even more platforms, or stick to their guns and let the most popular game in the world right now lean people towards other consoles. My kids (and myself) have all the consoles and Fortnite isn't even installed on the PS4, because they play with Switch players they know from either the xbox or switch. I also login from work and play with them from my PC.
  • Ugh! I'm going to be that guy. I apologize in Advance. ... The thing is, the online customer agreed to use the Sony's network and console in the manner that Sony does have a right to dictate. he didn't mean the general consumer in this context. He meant Sony's customer.
  • It's incredible how they are such idiots when it comes to this. When they introduced the PS4 I thought they were smart about games, but it is clear that they were just benefiting from others (Xbox) mistakes. They aren't smart after all. They are idiots.
  • Sony did / implemented nothing new, it's still the same old ps1/2/3 business strategic. Bring Win10 and UWP to Xbox is def the smartest move as it give us BC, FC, XPA and GamePass.
    Allows dev to open XPA game's API to Mixer, integration between Mixer and MsStore is also a smart move. Then there's e-sports, free unlimited storage cross-platform cloud save, cross-play, cross-save, cross-gen-play and many more.
    Win10 + AI + Azure for IOT, AR, MR, PC, WoA, Xbox, GitHub, Havok, VisualStudio, etc, the more synergy the more benefits there is down the road.
  • I don't know about XPA, but for the other three things there, none of them are actually dependant on Windows 10 or UWP. They could easily be achieved without them.
  • 🤣 Idiots!
  • This is so arrogant. Sounds same like their statement about EA Access.
  • They have a stance and are sticking to it. It seems ppl who don't have a PS4 are the ones complaining about Sony not having cross platform support. it doesn't seem to be hurting them having this position. In my case it didn't deter me from getting rid of my Xbox One and getting a PS4 Pro.
  • Nope people with multiple consoles look at this as a ridiculous position to take and will influence what platform they will play certain games on going forwards. The account locking on PS4 for Fortnite was an incredibly short-sighted and consumer unfriendly decision.
  • Don't complain when even more devs refuse to release PS versions of their games in the near future.
  • Oh, stfu. The "you only think that cause you own an Xbox" argument is so juvenile. I own an Xbone AND PS4 and there should be crossplay. You're a sheep just like Apple users if you actually think what they're doing is consumer friendly. "Theyre #1 so it's fine. It doesnt seem to be hurting them."
  • Believe me, Apple is also not-dev-friendly, not just to consumers.
  • @downhillrider
    Right. Most of the people I see complain happen to be XB/MS fanboys. And this type of news are mostly popular on MS fan site like this one.
    This is ammo for fanboys fighting their console war... LOL
    XB1 does much less cross-play than PS4, but you don't see these fanboys complain about that. LOL
    Bunch of hypocrites all of them... :)
  • I am an Xbox fan boy but also own a PS4 for the exclusives and I'm just rolling with laughter. Can't play with ps4 friends cause of that unless I'm gonna play on a new profile with nothing
  • More AAA games will become crossplay overtime, wonder if Sony will keep this stance then when they are jumping to Xbox, PC, etc.
  • I’ll take a Xbox but not a PlayStation. Xbox #1
  • I heard from Sony FB they said it is Xbox mistake. hahaha
  • Cause we need to protect our kids who're playing in our network. People working in MS, Minecraft and Rocket League can't be trusted, Sony said.
  • Yeah, but still they allow crossplay with PC? If the have protection filters against PC players, they certainly can have that against other console players as well.
  • That's The Most Bulls** I've Ever Heard
  • Bwaahhaaahaa, Sony using Microsoft's own words from last gen against them, priceless. In reality, the reason for both is still the same: there is no financial incentive to. So unless people avoid PS5 because of it, or start completely switching to other platforms now for multiplayer, it ain't going to change.
  • Its not just people; developers are already abandoning PS for multiplayer cross platform games. The self inflicted demise of PS has already started and it will be nice to see it go just like VAIO went before it.
  • Which developers? I seriously doubt anyone wants to miss out on the biggest console market, even if those players only get to play against each other. But yeah, hopefully next gen will be more even, it's always bad for the consumer when one face stomps the other.
  • Bethesda threatened to not bring The Elder Scrolls: Legends to PlayStation 4 because it was built for cross-play and doesn't work in closed systems.
  • Ok, thanks. Good that they are taking a stance, let's see if they hold to it. Would rather they would threaten with a mainline game, but I guess they aren't that brave. edit: actually, apparently it is already on PS4?
  • The Elder Scrolls: Legends is a card game. It's not on PlayStation 4 or any console at the moment. It's coming later this year. Bethesda knows it can't threaten Sony with a major game like Fallout 76 because they would lose out on sales, so its threatening with a small game.
  • Oh, OK, I just took a quick look at the Wiki-page and mixed the release dates for mobile and consoles. Thanks for the correction.
  • Their network is much better than it use to be but xbl still has the better network.
  • The other thing to remember is that Sony has NEVER played nice with others. Sony never won with bluray, the others pulled out and handed the market over. VHS was always inferior but Sony wouldn't share Betamax so the industry backed VHS. The rest, as they say...
    No one should be surprised by Sony digging in and refusing to play. Sony's dominance of other industries has fallen over the years and Sony now relies on a couple of products to keep it relevant; along with it's domestic market mind share.
  • That reminds me of all other media types and storages. And who says Sony don't drop supports of their products, they eventually ditched VAIO.
  • Hahaha superior my arse!
  • Once again Fony thinking they can dictate terms and conditions putting the user base second. They've spent their entire life span trying to be Apple, always flat out building proprietary products and trying to force people into a walled garden.
    Mistake after mistake sending them down the drain, they just never learn.
  • U should see the angry twitter mob Yoshida created with that statement. The demand is there even tho media makes it seem ps4 players do not want the feature and that is exactly what Sony wants... Just shut up people. Also A best place to play goes beyond than just the games. Its the engagement with players, putting the players first, listen to what they have to say, come with solutions to offer what the players want. Being social not only online but at events as well. Things like that Sony is heavily lacking. They should have a hard look at Xbox and Nintendo and why they are so open in creating a solid relationship with each other.
  • If more and more games start going to/offering cross play, then developers may start to bypass Playstation to develop for the other systems to reach a larger audience. In time making Sony have shot itself in the foot. Just a thought.
  • LOLOL Sony are such ******* idiots; just wait until Playstation crumbles and fails like their whole VAIO line due to their arrogance and stupidity.
    Hope Sony never allows crossplay to ensure their demise sooner then later and give the console market to Microsoft.
  • Sony unquestionably had the third party support this generation, but anybody that says that their online is comparable to Microsoft’s is doing some serious drugs.
  • PS Plus is a Joke of a network. But many of the big media outlets are all Pro Sony and despite third party games running better on the X, they still show them running on PS4. Despite them saying that they will always review games on the better hardware.
  • Sigh...the greed of these companies
  • BUUAHAHAHAHAAAAA!! 🤣🤣😂😂 i just can't stop laughing out loud 🤣😂 🤣😂
  • It's great, keep that position sony 😉 what goes up most go down 🙈🙉
  • I own all platforms, but that is why I could never truly love Sony. But I love this because as a gamer and consumer I will continue to get awesome things from all three. Phil is coming and like Snake did to Cipher in MSG 4. They will take Sony off there high horse. Then they will be begging for cross-platform play. But they also need to Upgrade there Netscape type online service.
  • You got me, you Netscape? … Memoryyyyy
  • I remember Netscape. I like the design of their browser.
  • Hey Sony, I have done testing on your and Microsofts Networks. Microsoft has the superior network. Here is some help. Your network needs a complete rework in these areas:
    Security, Speed, latency.
    Maybe to put it simply, YOUR ENTIRE NETWORK NEEDS TO BE REWORKED.
  • But that's just you though.
  • Sony is number 1 this generation cause MS blew it when they launched the X1. It was over priced, underpowered and not everyone wanted a kinect. I think kinect would be still going strong if it had remained optional. MS has very few 1st party titles this generation. Hopefully that changes soon.
  • And... Don told people to buy xbox360 instead... as the head of Xbox, that's quite inappropriate.
  • That was a real dumb move on his part too. It piss ed off alot of xbox fans.
  • That's probably what pushed him to leave MS. His position became untenable at that point.
  • Yeah, made no sense either.
    And made me wonder... do you want to sell Xbox One or not? Are you a spy or something trying to help your competitor?
  • What a load of *****
  • Nope. Couldn't finish reading that article with a straight face. Sony are clearly delusional. Expect this stance to also extend to them not getting the PS movie store on board with Movies Anywhere. You heard it here first!
  • they also don't need EA access because PlayStation Store is superior experience for buying games
  • Playstation does have some really good game sales. Alot of times I'll buy a game on Playstation because it was cheaper than the store on Xbox. MS needs to have sales like that on their platform.
  • Since mid 2016, when I buy my games, I think of FC, future compatibility. Why? Because MS offered. I'm not gonna buy the same game multiple times on each generation (and pls give me cloud save cause I' def not gonna play a game twice e.g. I skipped Blood&Wine on xb1s for other new games and I can pick it up on b1x or Xbox Next when I don't have anything new to play). Plus, I get to use XPA on my Alienware or Surface.
  • "PlayStation doesn't allow cross-play because its network is superior says Sony boss" BHUAHUAHAUHAUHAUHAUHAUAHUAHAUHAUAHUA … joke of the century
  • I didn't know about consoles, but I tested network(mobile data) performance between Android, iOS and win8.1M where Windows Mobile OS is faster than both Android and iOS device.
  • Unless you tested on the same device, it's meaningless.
  • I always love when the competition makes huge mistakes, hopefully this helps my Microsoft stock and Xbox in the long run!
  • Sure and I won't buy the Rolls Royce, because I am rich. 😀
    It all makes perfect sense.
  • Outside of their cameras I don't think Sony has much room to brag these days.
  • Err what about their library of games? They even have more cross-play than MS.
  • Microsoft has never exposed my credit card details to hackers, like Sony did. That by itself is enough to state that Sony does not now and never will have the best network.
  • Wow. "Superior?" Not by any stretch of imagination and that is demonstrable on any given day I am not afraid to say.