Reaching cross-networking play between PS4 and Xbox One users may not be a technical problem, according to President of Sony Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida, but rather one of a business problem.
At the beginning of the week, Microsoft revealed that they were opening Xbox Live to allow cross-network play between Xbox One and PC, as well as other consoles, saying the decision would be based per game and was ultimately up to the developer. Sony responded to the reveal with a statement saying the company “would be happy to have the conversation with any publishers or developers who are interested in cross-platform play.”
During an interview with Eurogamer at this year’s Game Developers’ Conference, Yoshida talked as if the technical aspect of cross-play could very well be the simplest part of the equation, where the business and policy problems could be the biggest issues.
“Because PC is an open platform, it’s much more straightforward,” said Yoshida. “Connecting two different closed networks is much more complicated so we have to work with developers and publishers to understand what it is they are trying to accomplish. We also have to look at the technical aspect—and the technical aspect could be the easiest. We also have to look at policy issues and business issues as well.”
As of right now, Xbox One owners are free to play with just PC gamers on Rocket League – but if all goes right, PS4 players may be able to jump into the mix someday too.