Sony addresses crossplatform multiplayer block

With true crossplatform multiplayer now very much a reality, Sony has tried to explain why PS4 has left itself isolated from the party.

An upcoming update to Minecraft will introduce online multiplayer across PC, Xbox, mobile and Nintendo, but not PS4. The same is true of Rocket League, whose upcoming Nintendo Switch version can play with all other formats except Sony’s.

When pressed on the reasons behind this decision, PlayStation global sales and marketing head Jim Ryan told Eurogamer that it’s certainly not a profound philosophical stance we have against this” and that Sony is always open to conversations with any developer or publisher who wants to talk about it”.

So why not do it?

Unfortunately it’s a commercial discussion between ourselves and other stakeholders, and I’m not going to get into the detail of that on this particular instance,” Ryan explained. We’ve got to be mindful of our responsibility to our install base.

Minecraft – the demographic playing that, you know as well as I do, it’s all ages but it’s also very young. We have a contract with the people who go online with us, that we look after them and they are within the PlayStation curated universe. Exposing what in many cases are children to external influences we have no ability to manage or look after, it’s something we have to think about very carefully.”

However, Ryan did hint at a possible change of tact in the future, at least, adding: Jim Ryan: I don’t think anything is ever a done deal. That said, to my knowledge, there is no live conversation ongoing at the moment.”