Just when the heat on Sony was finally dying down, here comes the company’s CEO to re-ignite the controversial Fortnite PS4 crossplay issue. While we were already given a rather simplistic reason for this (money) when former Sony Online Entertainment boss John Smedley tweeted about the issue in June, this is the first time that we have heard from Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida himself commenting on the ongoing issue.
Speaking at the IFA technology show in Berlin (via Independent UK), Yoshida provided a reason for why Fortnite PS4 crossplay with other platforms like the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch still isn’t happening. From his statement, it seems like Sony simply wants its customers to have the best experience when playing Fortnite, which it believes only the PS4 could deliver. Yoshida said: “On cross-platform, our way of thinking is always that PlayStation is the best place to play. Fortnite, I believe, partnered with PlayStation 4 is the best experience for users, that’s our belief.”
Is that all that’s stopping Sony from allowing Fortnite PS4 crossplay? Yoshida continued: “But actually, we already opened some games as cross-platform with PC and some others, so we decide based on what is the best user experience. That is our way of thinking for cross-platform.” The Fortnite PS4 crossplay issue initially began at the height of E3 2018 when Fortnite for the Nintendo Switch was announced and subsequently released on the same day. It was then that gamers complained that they couldn’t log into their Epic Games account on the hybrid console if they have ever previously played it on the PS4, or vice versa.
In comparison, Microsoft and Nintendo have been heavily promoting to the world that Xbox One and Nintendo Switch players can play most games with each other without any barriers whatsoever. Both rival companies have also voiced out their disagreement against Sony’s Fortnite PS4 crossplay stance, issuing statements that called out Sony’s mishandling of the issue.
