written by Rhett Quiban
Cross-platform play is one aspect of gaming players have been critical of the last couple of years. It is lauded when it is present and demanded when it is absent. The gaming community’s response to this is completely understandable, of course. We’ve always loved playing games with our friends. Even before the pre-internet days of old, being able to play with our friends using modem cables or split screens has always been a delight.
This is the beauty of online multiplayer games. Being able to experience a game you enjoy alongside people you enjoy playing with or strangers that share your love for the game. The dividing factor that can become a hindrance to this enjoyment, however, is platform exclusivity.
Online multiplayer used to be exclusive to PC gamers. That was until the sixth generation of video game consoles started incorporating online availability, with Xbox Live at the forefront. It was around this time Final Fantasy XI got released and offered online cross-play for the PS2, Xbox 360, and PC; becoming the first game to allow players on multiple platforms to play together.
Since then, the discussion has only become louder. Although several online games do offer cross-platform playing today, such as Rocket League, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Minecraft, and Fortnite, this form of service isn’t exactly an industry standard. A few of the aforementioned games didn’t even originally start out as cross-platform multiplayer games. There is no unspoken rule or arrangement that forces developers and companies to make their multiplayer online games to be played across multiple platforms.
There should be and the birth of the next generation of consoles is a good place to start.
Why cross-platform play should be a standard for next-gen consoles
How many times have you ever encountered an acquaintance or colleague and discovered that you play the same game? Excited with the notion, you invite them for a match some time, only to find out you play on a different console?
This is a dividing wall that exists in the world of gaming that, quite frankly, we’ll be better off if it is torn down.
A lot of people see the company’s refusal to provide cross-platform play as an economic move. One company will see it as a loss if a consumer decides to play a game on their competitor’s console instead of theirs. However, giving the players the ultimate freedom and inhibiting a cross-platform standard for most, if not all multiplayer games will be more beneficial in the long run.
In 2017, Epic Games released a free-to-play online battle royale game called Fortnite. You might have heard of it? Initially, Fortnite console players, both on the PS4 and Xbox One, were able to play with PC players, but not with each other.
Sony even refused to allow Fortnite accounts from other consoles to be accessed with the Playstation 4. Following this, Sony received backlash from fans so immense that their stock shares took a blow, decreasing in value by about 2%.
If a producer wants to please their consumers, they actually have to listen to them. And today, it seems more and more players are pushing for cross-platform availability.
Developers will be able to cast a wider net of player base with their games, leading to more projects in the future, which ultimately will mean more sales for a console.
A game’s longevity can also be owed to its multiplayer features. If the game can be accessed by multiple consoles, more and more players will be in it for a longer time.
Exclusivity can still be maintained through single-player exclusives. Multiplayer games, on the other hand, is a different story. People want to play online, with their friends or with strangers, and they won’t let something as silly as an invisible wall of console exclusivity stop them. If a player wants to play with others on the same consoles they’re on, a dedicated server can be created. This is technologically and conveniently viable.
Is this wishful thinking? Maybe. But I keep picturing a future for gamers where cross-platform play is a standard. A player will be able to play their favorite online multiplayer game with anyone, regardless of the console they’re on. The avid, dedicated gamers who are loyal to their console and brand will be able to battle it out online with players who are loyal to the rival console. In the end, once cross-platform play becomes a standard for multiplayer games on the next generation of consoles, everybody ultimately wins. Gamers, developers, and companies that make the consoles.