Just last week, Epic Games made its wildly popular and successful multiplayer sandbox survival shooterFortniteavailable for Nintendo Switch, with many on the Big N’s hybrid mobile console then discovering thattrying to sign in on the Switch using a PS4-linked accountwith Epic Games forces players to make a new one. Loads of fans were understandably upset at this, and according toSonyOnline Entertainment Ex-CEO John Smedley, the primary reason that PlayStation 4 crossplay is blocked with other platfroms is due to money.
The image directly below depicts whatFortniteplayers on Nintendo Switch encounter if they want to use their Epic Games account that was previously linked to their PlayStation 4 console, with Smedley saying this practice stays in place due toSony’s concern of the bottom line. As stated by the ex-CEO, “When I was at Sony, the stated reason internally for this was money,” Smedley said. “They didn’t like someone buying something on an Xbox and it being used on a Playstation. Simple as that. Dumb reason, but there it is.”
Several days ago, Sonyoffered a responseto the inability of many Nintendo Switch owners being unable to playFortniteon the Big N’s newest system, but the statement from the company did very little to actually address the issue, instead pointing out the type of crossplay it already offers. This sort of reaction from Sony definitely supports Smedley’s claim, as it points to the PlayStation firm’s fear of losing money in any of its revenue streams.
At any rate, it’s a safe bet to make that we will not see Sony capitulate to fans' desires to see crossplay occur between PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch – or Xbox One for that matter – any time soon. AsSonymentioned in its statement addressing the lack of Switch crossplay, the company has “more than 80 million monthly active users on PlayStation Network”, meaning that the company only seems interested in retaining and expanding that number.
