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Microsoft Says It's In Talks With Sony For Minecraft Crossplay And Updates
In a FAQ for Minecraft's upcoming "Better Together" update, Microsoft answers the question about how the game will work on PlayStation 4 and Switch.
"While we are thrilled to be able to confirm the new version of Minecraft is coming to Nintendo Switch, we are still in discussions with Sony about PlayStation and have nothing to confirm. We would love to work with Sony to bring players on PlayStation 4 into this ecosystem as well."
This is the first word on Minecraft crossplay, and the Better Together update for the PlayStation 4 and Vita, since the update was announced at E3 2017. During an interview with Eurogamer, Sony Global Sales and Marketing Head Jim Ryan defended the decision not to pursue crossplay by insisting Sony had a responsibility to protecting children that cannot be accomplished if there were crossplay with other services.
Psyonix, developer of Rocket League, is also keen to integrate crossplay between Xbox One, PC, Switch, and PlayStation 4, but says Sony is the sole holdout.
[Source: Better Together FAQ]
Our Take
Crossplay benefits consumers, but doesn't benefit Sony. Its inability to come up with good reasoning, though, will harm them long term as more and more players will wonder why they can't play with friends on other systems. Never mind the fact that PlayStation 4 Minecraft owners aren't going to get the updates everyone else will.
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