With an interesting justification, Sony explains why they do not offer cross-play for Rocket League and Minecraft. It’s about younger players.
In recent days, Sony has faced a lot of criticism from the gaming community for deciding against cross-platform play. Cross-play means: Players on PC, Xbox One, PS4, or other platforms can play together or against each other in the same world.
Now the responsible parties have provided a justification for why cross-play for Minecraft and Rocket League on the PS4 is out of the question.
As a reason, they mentioned the responsibility towards younger players.
Rocket League and Minecraft – No Cross-Play with PS4
During Microsoft’s E3 press conference, the developers announced that the popular survival game “Minecraft” will receive a cross-play feature between Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PC, Mobile, and VR devices. PlayStation 4 was not mentioned.
Yesterday, Nintendo explained at the E3 press conference that the car football game “Rocket League” will be released for Nintendo Switch. Cross-play between Xbox One, Switch, and Steam was confirmed simultaneously. Again, there was no mention of the PS4 console. What’s going on?
Sony Wants to Protect Kids
In response to a question from Eurogamer.net, Sony explained how this decision came about. Jim Ryan is the Global Sales and Marketing Head of Sony and stated that there will likely be no cross-play for now.
Generally, Sony is open to discussions with other developers and publishers, explains Jim Ryan.
“The player group of Minecraft is represented across all age groups and can be very young. We have the responsibility to care for the players who go online through us. Exposing players, some of whom are children, to external influences is something we need to think very carefully about. Because we cannot control these influences.”
This decision does not mean that cross-play with PlayStation will never happen. However, Jim Ryan adds that, to his knowledge, there are currently no active discussions within Sony on this topic.
So those of you playing Minecraft, Rocket League, or other games on PS4 should not count on playing with Nintendo Switch or Xbox One players for now.
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