Fortnite accounts linked to the PS4 cannot play on the Nintendo Switch. The reason? Money. At least that’s what a former head of Sony Online Entertainment says.
The problem: Those who want to play Fortnite on the Switch and try to log in with their account linked to the PlayStation 4 are out of luck. Once connected to Sony, the account can only be used on PS4, PC, Mobile, and Mac. But why doesn’t Sony allow accounts to function on the Nintendo Switch as well?
The real reason back then was money: John Smedley has now spoken up on Twitter. The former head of Sony Online Entertainment explains what the internal reason for rejecting crossplay with other consoles was back then and still is: Money.
Smedley explained in his post: “When I was still at Sony, the internal reason was money. They didn’t want people to buy something on Xbox and then be able to use it on PlayStation. It’s that simple. A dumb reason, but that’s just how it is.”
Smedley demands: Keep up the pressure
More pressure could soften Sony. However, Smedley is optimistic that with increasing pressure at Sony, there could be a change. After all, previous games with the same problem did not attract as much attention as Fortnite. So there is hope that something will change in the medium term if players continue to apply pressure and urge Sony to reconsider their decision.
Who is John Smedley? Smedley is a video game developer. Since 1996, he was part of a development studio under Sony that was long known as “Sony Online Entertainment”. Smedley later served as CEO of the studio. In this position, he developed and published video games such as PlanetSide, Star Wars Galaxies, or H1Z1 for 19 years. In 2015, Sony sold the company. This also marked Smedley’s exit from Sony’s services. He is thus a long-standing former Sony insider.
Whether this is the actual rationale or whether there are other reasons since Smedley’s departure from Sony cannot be said until Sony comments on it.
Are you also suffering from this restriction? Have you played Fortnite on the PS4 and would now like to switch to the Switch – or vice versa?
