Fortnite's cross-play on PS4 ushers in a new era of console war

All over the world, console gamers are excited about the news: after months of bullish denials, Sony has surrendered and will soon allow PS4 gamers to connect to Xbox, Switch and mobile platforms – at least for some games third. While the cross-play beta for Fortnite It's important to remember that this feature has huge implications for how people buy and think about consoles, and may even erode some of the distinctions we've made over the years with respect to existing platforms.

Console wars are all differences, things you can get on one platform that you can not use on another. In the last generation of console, the PS3 had a more sophisticated exclusives framework, the Wii U had that special Nintendo touch, while the Xbox 360 had a more robust online community through Xbox Live. Each console was operating in its own space, allowing each community to gain a specific reputation. The PSN was a boxing affair next to the rowdy and hectic Xbox Live, while Nintendo was barely in the conversation at all – they still struggle to understand online even now.

As smartphones began to colonize our daily journeys, the idea of ​​a "console war" was beginning to be felt. Of course, people on social networks can still bicker on the console, but we live in a world where you do not need specialized equipment to play games. You can be a "player" without even touching a big budget triple A game with a controller.

The pillars that kept the console war going have been eroded over the last generation of consoles. Exclusivities are more of a concern to online video game enthusiasts than the average person, and even if you care, half the time we talk about stopwatch exclusives that will eventually appear on other platforms. It's also harder to say which console is objectively "better" – the PS4 might have fantastic games and a larger community, but the weaker sales of Xbox One prompted Microsoft to offer better services, such as backward compatibility. Average video game fans are less likely to buy a chip-based console than to simply access the console of their choice, or the most suitable offer. Fortnite skin. FIFA, destiny, Eve, and Netflix are all likely to be available to them.

Thinking consoles in terms of opposition becomes more and more difficult with the advent of cross play, which allows users of different platforms to play between them. Microsoft has pushed cross-play to win this generation, leveraging its dominant position in the PC market to provide more gaming opportunities for Xbox One users. Cross-play has also become a big selling point for popular games like Minecraft and Rocket League, although historically, this feature was only available to readers on Xbox, Switch and mobile platforms. Sony, still comfortable with the dominance of PS4 sales and seeing little reason to give up its biggest player base to its competitors, has been slow to adapt to the public's new appetite for connectivity.

Fortnite completely changed the conversation now. After all, the royal battle game is a global phenomenon, so the mere idea of ​​separating the base of players into walled gardens seems ridiculous. Fortnite does not belong to anyone or anything. Everyone plays it. Why pretend otherwise? Still, Sony hesitated for months to tell people that the PS4 was the "best way to play" the game. Although the answer is absurd, what discouraged people is that playing PS4 meant creating a separate Epic account that could not be synchronized with the Switch. This disadvantage, associated with the knowledge that Fortnite cross play was possible – Epic triggered by accident more than once – made public Sony. Pressure exerted on social media and information sites. Weeks after the Japanese firm rejected the idea of ​​cross play, it has now announced that it would allow people to play together after all.

"For 24 years, we have been striving to provide the best gaming experience to our fans by providing a unique perspective on PlayStation," Sony CEO John Kodera told the PlayStation blog. "Today, communities around certain games have evolved to the point where cross-platform experiences add significant value to players." In recognition of this, we performed an in-depth analysis of the business mechanisms necessary to ensure that the PlayStation experience for our users remains intact today and in the future, as we look forward to the future. open the platform.

Epic has not responded to a request for comment, but the moment is worth noting: we are on a day of the most recent Fortnite season, which will undoubtedly lead to the purchase of countless Digital Battle Passes. Part of this money is in Sony's pocket, so getting more people to play – like connecting friends on other platforms – can only be good for the company.

Although it is difficult to express the motivations of Sony, the news is nevertheless huge: the cross-play of this scale has never been possible before. The material distinctions are getting smaller and smaller over the years. The fact that Xbox, PS4 and Switch allow you to connect a mouse and keyboard, a feature that helps eliminate skill gaps between platforms, is even more blurred. When your game ecosystem is borderless, distinctions between communities are academic. Everyone can play with anyone. Welcome to the new era of console warfare. We are all friends here.