Sony's Fortnite crossplay account block is now covered by mainstream press [Sony Responds]

RadzPrower · Jun 14, 2018

deathsaber said:
I don't even think the issue is the crossplay- if sony doesn't want Xbox/Switch players joining up with PS4 players, whatever. But the fact that third party accounts can't be used freely (just because they were once linked with PSN) is the travesty. This is where bounds are being overstepped, because how the hell can they dictate how a 3rd party account works on another platform. And why be cool with PC/mobile, but hostile with Xbox/Switch (because of console war nonsense, of course). But while they probably *could* get away with it if MS and Nintendo were equally isolationist, they are not, so as odd man out, they are the bad guy here.

Yeah, the account's certainly the bigger issue here in terms of what might actually violate some form of anti-consumer law somewhere. I mean, I've got some friends who have PS4s and maybe we'd play together if they had crossplatform play, but my schedule rarely works out with other people anyhow, so it's not a big deal personally. I'm sure that it is for some though.

Deleted member 2145 · Jun 14, 2018

Scratches said:
huh?

there have been a ton of threads on this topic going back to GAF and you'll start noticing some patterns in how some people present whataboutisms

The Great Khali · Jun 14, 2018

chasingclouds said:
I'm not sure I understand your question? I'm saying that most kids playing video games today play on PS4s, and by not allowing crossplay the kids who don't have a PS4 are locked out of playing with all their other friends.

Imagine being the one boy out of your group of friends with an Xbox or a Switch, and your other friends all play Fortnite on PS4 together after school every day, and you can't join in. That kid then wants to swap to PS4 just so he can join in. Disallowing crossplay generates a lot of sales for them, all the time. Kids seem to usually want to play video games with their friends rather than their parents. Most kids currently have PS4s, not Xbox or Switch. Kids want the same console that their friends have, just so they can play together.

I was just saying how at work I see this translating into lots of sales. I speak to customers every shift and every shift there are people whose kids want to swap console (almost always from Xbox to PS4) specifically because their friends are all on PS4 and they are left out. No crossplay = kids forced to buy PS4s to join in if they don't have a PS4. So I don't personally see them allowing crossplay any time soon, because they would lose a lot of sales.

Pretty much I know real world examples of family and friends buying a PS4 to play a game with their friends.

Yasuke · Jun 14, 2018

I don't really give a shit about Sony's crossplay stance, which I find understandable, but locking gamer's accounts into an ecosystem for a specific game is horseshit.

Fix that.

Falconbox · Jun 14, 2018

Yasuke said:
I don't really give a shit about Sony's crossplay stance, which I find understandable, but locking gamer's accounts into an ecosystem for a specific game is horseshit.

Fix that.

One's a symptom of the other. They refuse to acknowledge other platforms exist, in fear that doing so will somehow draw people away from the PS4.

They need to just accept it and realize that they have nothing to fear. Their 1st party games offer something that Nintendo and Microsoft can't, and that's the reason people are buying the PS4.

konoka · Jun 14, 2018

PrivateWHudson said:
Although that might be true right now, personally, these decisions will effect which platform I invest in next generation. Between this and minecraft, I will choose xbox next time. Crossplay is here to stay, and Sony needs to get on board asap.

If this continues, PS5 will be only console that can crossplay and crossprogress with PS4, and this is big deal.

Perfectsil · Jun 14, 2018

Let's take over the trending #IGotBlocked

Yasuke · Jun 14, 2018

Falconbox said:
One's a symptom of the other. They refuse to acknowledge other platforms exist, in fear that doing so will somehow draw people away from the PS4.

They need to just accept it and realize that they have nothing to fear. Their 1st party games offer something that Nintendo and Microsoft can't, and that's the reason people are buying the PS4.

I agree that both decisions come from the same place, but disagree that allowing people to take their Fortnite accounts elsewhere should be done alongside allowing PS4 players to play with other consoles. They don't have to be a package deal.

wilkcarver · Jun 14, 2018

At least let unlinking the account fucking work, it's unacceptable that it's irreversible. I'm not sure if that's an Epic decision or a Sony decision at that point.

Falchion · Jun 14, 2018

I hope they take a ton of shit for this.

Deleted member 3190 · Jun 14, 2018

Perfectsil said:
Let's take over the trending #IGotBlocked

#crossblocked

Dark Knight · Jun 14, 2018

I still think #4theshareholders is the most appropriate.

Agent X · Jun 14, 2018

It's good that the mainstream press is giving this issue some attention. I sincerely hope something positive comes out of it.

The Iron Banana · Jun 14, 2018

Falconbox said:
One's a symptom of the other. They refuse to acknowledge other platforms exist, in fear that doing so will somehow draw people away from the PS4.

They need to just accept it and realize that they have nothing to fear. Their 1st party games offer something that Nintendo and Microsoft can't, and that's the reason people are buying the PS4.

But wasn't Sony tripping over themselves back when the Switch launched talking about how well a PS4 and Switch go together as a 2 console household?

It's also interesting to note that this has already been an issue with the Xbox and PS4. Now that Nintendo is involved though it's a bigger issue.

60fps · Jun 14, 2018

Awesome. That's how it started with the lootboxes scandal as well last year, remember.

Beer Monkey · Jun 14, 2018

The Iron Banana said:
But wasn't Sony tripping over themselves back when the Switch launched talking about how well a PS4 and Switch go together as a 2 console household?

Wii60 never forget.

Deleted member 35598 · Jun 14, 2018

I just cannot comprehend Sony's stance here. This will backfire.

Lackless · Jun 14, 2018

Beer Monkey said:
Wii60 never forget.

The Wii60 combo was god-tier.

ManaByte · Jun 14, 2018

Ex-Actarus said:
I just cannot comprehend Sony's stance here. This will backfire.

Not with people bending over backwards to deflect, defend, and try to change the narrative to "cross play" just to muddy the waters and protect their plastic game box.

Deleted member 10726 · Jun 14, 2018

Dark Knight said:
I still think #4theshareholders is the most appropriate.

What about #4thechildren cause no one except Jim Ryan seems to think about of them.

j/k

It needs to be something short and catchy. #Crossblocked might be the best one.

ManaByte said:
Not with people bending over backwards to deflect, defend, and try to change the narrative to "cross play" just to muddy the waters and protect their plastic game box.

Yeah, basically. With people coming in to drop some choice whataboutisms like "But what about Gold required for F2P games?", it'll never get anywhere since people don't seem to realize that one bad policy doesn't justify another or invalidate the discussion at hand.

petethepanda · Jun 14, 2018

Even if there's some sort of Sony bullshit preventing Epic from letting you unlink your PS4 account, it's still unacceptable that Epic wouldn't give you some sort of warning up front saying "If you link this, you can't go to other consoles." There's no way they didn't see this situation coming.

Funkallero · Jun 14, 2018

petethepanda said:
Even if there's some sort of Sony bullshit preventing Epic from letting you unlink your PS4 account, it's still unacceptable that Epic wouldn't give you some sort of warning up front saying "If you link this, you can't go to other consoles." There's no way they didn't see this situation coming.

It should be in the terms of service that nobody reads tho...

Wowfunhappy · Jun 14, 2018

Falconbox said:
Their 1st party games offer something that Nintendo and Microsoft can't, and that's the reason people are buying the PS4.

No, I suspect there's also a large contingent of multiplayer-focused players who buy PS4's because "that's where all my friends play," even if the game itself is multiplatform.

These outright account-level blocks are on a new level, though.

TheGhost · Jun 14, 2018

konoka said:
If this continues, PS5 will be only console that can crossplay and crossprogress with PS4, and this is big deal.

I mean a ps5 will still crossplay with PC and mobile

But if Microsoft and Nintendo allow crossplay with each other on top of mobile/PC?

Than yeah Sony will be the bad guy, better to get in on it now then crawling forward at the start of next gen when crossplay could play an important role for early adapter of new consoles

SinCityAssassin · Jun 14, 2018

Let's get this fuckin' thing started.

Malcolm9 · Jun 14, 2018

The Fortnite issue definitely needs to be addressed, so this going mainstream is great.

Deathglobe · Jun 14, 2018

https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/14/17462932/fortnite-nintendo-switch-block-sony-response-comment

apparently this is there response

"We're always open to hearing what the PlayStation community is interested in to enhance their gaming experience. Fortnite is already a huge hit with PS4 fans, offering a true free-to-play experience so gamers can jump in and play online. With 79 million PS4s sold around the world and more than 80 million monthly active users on PlayStation Network, we've built a huge community of gamers who can play together on Fortnite and all online titles. We also offer Fortnite cross-play support with PC, Mac, iOS, and Android devices, expanding the opportunity for Fortnite fans on PS4 to play with even more gamers on other platforms."

Heshinsi · Jun 14, 2018

Dark Knight said:
I still think #4theshareholders is the most appropriate.

The shareholders are losing money now, so who exactly are they doing this for?

Yoshida needs to step in now. When you're biggest division is causing the company a PR headache as well as loss in stock value, the boss has to get these fucking idiots in line.

Deleted member 198 · Jun 14, 2018

Deathglobe said:
https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/14/17462932/fortnite-nintendo-switch-block-sony-response-comment

apparently this is there response

"We're always open to hearing what the PlayStation community is interested in to enhance their gaming experience. Fortnite is already a huge hit with PS4 fans, offering a true free-to-play experience so gamers can jump in and play online. With 79 million PS4s sold around the world and more than 80 million monthly active users on PlayStation Network, we've built a huge community of gamers who can play together on Fortnite and all online titles. We also offer Fortnite cross-play support with PC, Mac, iOS, and Android devices, expanding the opportunity for Fortnite fans on PS4 to play with even more gamers on other platforms."

This hardly qualifies as a response

SCB360 · Jun 14, 2018

Deathglobe said:
https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/14/17462932/fortnite-nintendo-switch-block-sony-response-comment

apparently this is there response

"We're always open to hearing what the PlayStation community is interested in to enhance their gaming experience. Fortnite is already a huge hit with PS4 fans, offering a true free-to-play experience so gamers can jump in and play online. With 79 million PS4s sold around the world and more than 80 million monthly active users on PlayStation Network, we've built a huge community of gamers who can play together on Fortnite and all online titles. We also offer Fortnite cross-play support with PC, Mac, iOS, and Android devices, expanding the opportunity for Fortnite fans on PS4 to play with even more gamers on other platforms."

Same quote as from the BBC interview

Also for those complaining about Xbox users needing Gold to play online, its ALL games that need gold, plus most people that have a Xbox have Gold these days, been like that since the 360

Funkallero · Jun 14, 2018

SCB360 said:
Same quote as from the BBC interview

Also for those complaining about Xbox users needing Gold to play online, its ALL games that need gold, plus most people that have a Xbox have Gold these days, been like that since the 360

There's also no damage control for this live gold subscription required to play a F2P game that is free on PS4, unless MS gives the same type of Sony bullshit response like "we do as we please on our platform"
MS being the white knight here, GTFOH lol.

Deleted member 16908 · Jun 14, 2018

#ThisIsForThePlayers..?

ManaByte · Jun 14, 2018

It's the last day of E3, what game journalist will have the balls to ask Sony about this on camera?

IIFloodyII · Jun 14, 2018

Heshinsi said:
The shareholders are losing money now, so who exactly are they doing this for?

Yoshida needs to step in now. When you're biggest division is causing the company a PR headache as well as loss in stock value, the boss has to get these fucking idiots in line.

You're assuming the higher ups at Sony want to share, they probably don't. Also, their stock dropping 2% had nothing to do with this. If Sony were worried they wouldn't release that PR statement, they very clearly still don't care and are waiting for it to pass, we have to keep making a stink, if it dies down, Sony win.

Knight613 · Jun 14, 2018

ManaByte said:
It's the last day of E3, what game journalist will have the balls to ask Sony about this on camera?

What journalists are even getting interviews with Sony?

Kerozinn · Jun 14, 2018

SCB360 said:
Same quote as from the BBC interview

Also for those complaining about Xbox users needing Gold to play online, its ALL games that need gold, plus most people that have a Xbox have Gold these days, been like that since the 360

doesnt make it any less shitty if your competition is offering real free2play.

JigglesBunny · Jun 14, 2018

Sony is in the wrong any way you slice it. They can only stomp their feet and refuse to change for so long before people begin to migrate to platforms that offer cross platform play and only then will they look into changing their policy.

As seen with Batllefront 2, the only way to get change in this industry is to vote with your wallets.

Heshinsi · Jun 14, 2018

IIFloodyII said:
You're assuming the higher ups at Sony want to share, they probably don't. Also, their stock dropping 2% had nothing to do with this. If Sony were worried they wouldn't release that PR statement, they very clearly still don't care and are waiting for it to pass, we have to keep making a stink, if it dies down, Sony win.

Yeah this is sad honestly. Other companies would react to something like this.

Knight613 said:
What journalists are even getting interviews with Sony?

Bringing it up when interviewing their devs. Sony needs positive media, they know exactly what happens when the media sours on your product (they know this because they themselves used it to their advantage in 2013). Everyone needs to go in hard and relentless like they did with Microsoft after that Xbox briefing and the following E3.

WordsintheWater · Jun 14, 2018

SCB360 said:
Same quote as from the BBC interview

Also for those complaining about Xbox users needing Gold to play online, its ALL games that need gold, plus most people that have a Xbox have Gold these days, been like that since the 360

I mean free to play game shouldn't need a subscription in order to be played so that's bullshit, but this in no way excuses what Sony is doing, they need to get with the program and just allow this and be done with it. I don't understand the benefits of not allowing cross play between consoles.

Mysterio79 · Jun 14, 2018

Deathglobe said:
https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/14/17462932/fortnite-nintendo-switch-block-sony-response-comment

apparently this is there response

"We're always open to hearing what the PlayStation community is interested in to enhance their gaming experience. Fortnite is already a huge hit with PS4 fans, offering a true free-to-play experience so gamers can jump in and play online. With 79 million PS4s sold around the world and more than 80 million monthly active users on PlayStation Network, we've built a huge community of gamers who can play together on Fortnite and all online titles. We also offer Fortnite cross-play support with PC, Mac, iOS, and Android devices, expanding the opportunity for Fortnite fans on PS4 to play with even more gamers on other platforms."

Ask about why they are holding accounts hostage,
somehow turn it into a stealth brag about sales

lol arrogant Sony indeed
Downfall imminent

DrDeckard · Jun 14, 2018

Why are people bringing up the Xbox live issue in this thread? This isn't a tit for tat issue.

My main question would be how many of these games journalists are pressuring Sony about this at E3?

RadioJoNES · Jun 14, 2018

If they really don't let me use my third party account that I made on PC on another platform because of this, I might go Xbox :p

chasingclouds · Jun 14, 2018

Beer Monkey said:
Who the fuck wants the worst version of Minecraft that you can buy and that you can't crossplay with?

Same answer my friend - kids don't care about "best graphics" or "best version" they care about being included, about fitting in with the rest of their friend group and not being the one left out - and right now most kids have PS4s.

If their friends are all playing the PS4 version of Minecraft, they don't care that it's the worst version or whatever, they only care that they can't join in. Nowadays kids are socialising via headsets through games on consoles after school, not in person at each other's houses - it's where plans are made and in-jokes happen and what they then talk about at school the next day - if you're not part of that you're not one of the gang and that makes kids desperately unhappy.

Very few parents will buy their kid two expensive consoles - kids have to pick one, and they pick what their friends have.

Smiles · Jun 14, 2018

Is that response, we have 80 million players you can play with so fuck off?

ManaByte · Jun 14, 2018

DrDeckard said:
My main question would be how many of these games journalists are pressuring Sony about this at E3?

None because they're chicken shits who are more concerned about making sure they get to go to the Spider-Man review event and next year's E3 conference than having an actual spine.

bsigg · Jun 14, 2018

chasingclouds said:
and right now most kids have PS4s.

More kids have iPhones, which is crossplay with PC/Xbox/Switch

tzare · Jun 14, 2018

I understand their stance regarding crossplay. But locking accounts is just bullshit. Hope that reconsider it

Knight613 · Jun 14, 2018

bsigg said:
More kids have iPhones, which is crossplay with PC/Xbox/Switch

iPhones are also cross play with PC/PS4.

AztecComplex · Jun 14, 2018

nib95 said:

This is easy to believe but also a painful reminder of how homogeneous gamers are.

Are people lying when they say almost 50% of gamers are female? Everytime I see these statistics Im reminded something is up. Maybe if you take into consideration the mobile market and, like, Facebook and social games you get to that 40+% but when it comes to consoles? I think its bullshit.

bsigg · Jun 14, 2018

Knight613 said:
iPhones are also cross play with PC/PS4.

Specifically in regards to the other poster's Minecraft comments

Sony's Fortnite crossplay account block is now covered by mainstream press [Sony Responds]

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