Microsoft just extended what felt like an open invitation to Sony and the PS4. ID@Xbox director Chris Charla wrote a release on the Xbox News wire...
“...in addition to natively supporting cross-platform play between Xbox One and Windows 10 games that use Xbox Live, we’re enabling developers to support cross-network play as well. This means players on Xbox One and Windows 10 using Xbox Live will be able to play with players on different online multiplayer networks – including other console and PC networks.”
It’s a perfect dare from Microsoft’s point of view. The company has nothing to lose by offering their network of players: the Xbox One is second place in the current console war, and access to the PSN player base be massive for any games that allowed cross-play.
Sony, however, has everything to lose my breaking down that particular wall. The PS4 has a massive lead in the console war, and that means anyone looking to buy a new machine has to consider that games on PS4 are likely to have more players, and statistically speaking, their friends are more likely to be on PSN.
I’d be surprised if we saw any sort of cross play between Xbox One and PS4 players, for all the reasons above. But by putting the idea out there, Microsoft continues to make its company look ahead of the curve, and that’s good business for a gaming division that was in a pretty bad place just a few years ago.
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