Speaking out on the company’s decision to allow cross-platform play with Minecraft and Rocket League on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo of America’s Charlie Scibetta told VentureBeat, “If it’s right for gamers, we’re going to entertain it. If we can make it work, we’re going to do it.”
When GamesBeat asked how Nintendo is ahead of Sony in allowing cross-platform play, Scibetta talked about how they’re trying to be more flexible:
They’re a great partner. Our publisher and developer relations team is always talking to different companies and seeing what we can work out. I’m really happy just as a gamer, let alone working for the company, that that’s going to be possible, that cross-platform play. We’re trying to be more flexible as a company. We’re reaching out to try and get people to interact with our IP.
All in all, Scibetta says Nintendo wants people to have a good time, and if people want cross-platform play between Switch and Xbox One and PC, they’ll make it happen. “It’s really not more complex than that,” he added. “Every game is different. Some games are great for multiplayer, some are better as a single-player experience, some are better in all kinds of situations for all kinds of games. Rocket League works best with cross-platform play. Let’s make it happen.”
In terms of cross-platform play with future Switch titles, Scibetta says Nintendo will “place those decisions in the hand of the development team. Obviously the Rocket League team wanted to go cross platform, so we said, let’s do it.”
Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney also weighed in on cross-network play, saying all platforms should embrace it and that he bets there’s more to the Sony story::
- “Excellent news from @PsyonixStudios and Nintendo! All platforms should embrace cross-play; it benefits everyone.”
- “With a bunch of engineering work, I think an engine (or individual game) could implement that functionality on its own.”
- “I bet there’s more to this story. Sony has been super cool in supporting our successful PC+PS4 Paragon cross-play efforts.”
- “‘I wish Android owners and iPhone owners could make phone calls to each other’ – on the absurd state of console cross-play restrictions”
Judging from recent comments by Sony, it doesn’t sound as though cross-platform play will come to PS4 anytime soon.
[Source: VentureBeat Tim Sweeney (Twitter 1, 2, 3, 4) via GamingBolt, The Wolf Hall]
