There has been a long standing “rivalry” between two of the biggest gaming consoles to date: Sony’s Play Station and Microsoft’s Xbox. For years gamers have sided with either one, and, depending on personal preference, there are definte perks to each one. But with the popularity of both, gamers often find themselves unable to play with friends who don’t have the same console they do. Which begs the question: wouldn’t it be a less of a hassle for gamers if developers were to come up with a way for a cross play between the two?
It seems like our prayers have been heard after all. According the Digital Spy, there are some developers who have been publicly vying for the technology to be able to cross play different platforms. Microsoft, most notably, made a statement endorsing this technology. Back at the Game Developers Conference earlier this year, Chris Charla, Director of ID at Xbox, supported the idea for gamers to be able to cross play between all platforms.Their plans to support cross-platform gameplay between Xbox One and Windows 10 doesn’t stop there, Charla envisions they will be able to cross-network play as well, so gamers can play with different multiplayer networks – which include PCs and other consoles.
And Rocket League, from Psyonix, was the first game to take advantage of the cross-networking feature, which worked with both Xbox One and PC. President of Psyonix Jeremy Dunham has said everything is already set up for gamers with a PlayStation to cross play Rocket League:
We’re literally at the point where all we need is the go-ahead on the Sony side, and we can, in less than a business day, turn it on and have it up and working no problem.
But before we get our hopes up, there is one problem that’s getting in the way – one big problem: Sony. At first, according to Gamesopt, Sony responded to Microsoft’s suggestion to cross play their console with an open mind. But when discussions lead to Xbox Live, Sony stopped short of any commitment. Sony has yet to directly respond to Psyonix or Mircrosoft, leading many to believe they’ve gotten cold feet. CD Projekt has also weighed in on the matter stating their interests to allow gamers to cross play their The Witcher 3 card game, Gwent. CEO Marcin Iwiński said,
We also do have a technical solution in place for PS4 and would love to add Sony’s platform to cross-play at the start of open beta. All we need is a green light from Sony.
Sony may just be considering all aspect to what would be considered a weighty decision, but with many gamers and three companies all awaiting for them to confirm their decision, the pressure is on Sony to make this work out.