‘We’re hearing it’ says SIEA President
Lately, a large contingent of video game fans have been bearing down hard on Sony for not joining fellow industry giants, such as Nintendo and Microsoft, in regards to the thorny topic of platform cross-play, most recently exemplified in Epic Games’ popular online title, Fortnite.
At the Gamelab conference, taking place in Spain today, Sony held a presentation about the PlayStation brand’s legacy. Eurogamer reporter Robert Purchese was in attendance and took the opportunity to ask Shawn Layden, President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America, about the cross-play controversy.
“I thought it was fascinating you talking about PlayStation 3 flying too close to the sun, your Icarus moment you called it, and then PlayStation 4 coming back… to be more about the players” asked Purchese. “But there seems to be an issue at the moment, that Sony isn’t listening to its players – or doesn’t seem to be – and that’s cross-play, Fortnite particularly. And I wondered if there were any plans to open it up? It seems to be Sony’s not listening.”
“We’re hearing it,” replied Layden. “We’re looking at a lot of the possibilities. You can imagine that the circumstances around that affect a lot more than just one game. I’m confident we’ll get to a solution which will be understood and accepted by our gaming community, while at the same time supporting our business.”
Layden pre-empted his reply with the disclaimer that it was the “one short statement” he was able to offer on the subject. It falls in with the Sony’s previous “We are listening” comment. It remains to be seen what decision or solution will eventually be reached and if it will be accepted by the community as confidently as Layden suggests.
Sony offers hope on PS4 console cross-play [Eurogamer]
