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Minecraft CEO confirms Xbox Live login on Switch, really wants Sony cross-play.

The_Lump

Banned
do you think google would be ok with you going to youtube and then having to sign into twitch to view someones livestream they post on youtube?

Wu.....wut?

Do you think Sony would be OK with you going to Netflix and then having to sign in to Netflix to view some Netflix?
 

MrS

Banned
As opposed to signing into like, Square Enix or Uplay or any other service? most online centric games do this.
It has already been stated, ad nauseum in fact, that Square Enix and Uplay are not platform holders who compete directly with Sony, unlike MS.
 

Cerium

Member
Does this mean if I own minecraft on Xbox and Switch, I can build a world on Xbox and continue on the Switch?

At the very least this will be possible with Realms and Servers.

Whether you'll be able to import local data across platforms, I don't know. Maybe. Can't see a technical reason why not.
 

Moneal

Member
Trying to wrap my head around this and figure out the analogy but I just can't.....

twitch is a direct competitor of youtube. xbox is a direct competitor of playstation. got that part. a video on youtube requiring you to log into twitch to see live would be someting google would be totally against. similarly a game on playstation that requires you to log into xbox live to play online would be something sony would be against.
 
Nintendo, of all companies, doesn't seem to give a shit.

The same Nintendo that was offered a Goldeneye 64 port if they let Xbox have it too and responded like this:

1HWQIPa.gif
MS should totally make a Goldeneye Remaster with online cross play between xbone and switch.
 
At the very least this will be possible with Realms and Servers.

Whether you'll be able to import local data across platforms, I don't know. Maybe. Can't see a technical reason why not.

It's possible, biggest issue would probably the massive size worlds can accumulate, and how devices can sync worlds from one another.

I say it's a fixable issue, but not one of big concern right now.

By the way, responding to your post in the Minecraft graphics pack since mobile is a pain, I can safely agree that inventory management and crafting is a tonne times better with a touch screen vs a controller.
 

Oersted

Member
You're surely not so naive as to believe that these platform holders want to create a cross-platform ecosystem for the sake of the consumer alone.

You are surely naive enough to represent the interest of one single plattform holder and not of consumers.


Is naive the right word for that?
 
Here's an idea, asking the the same parent that bought you the console, to help set the account up for you.

Don't need to give the child the details, plus, I'm pretty sure it'll be a one time login just like how uPlay/EA Access works.

I used children as an example because they're less likely to have a hotmail account (because hotmail isn't anywhere near as popular as it was in the 2000s), not because I don't think they could set one up if required.

You shouldn't have to set up a new email account to play a game that you own. Especially if it's a game that you've already purchased on a different service.
 

FaustusMD

Unconfirmed Member
To those acting as apologists for Sony here because they're heavily invested (monetarily and apparently emotionally) in the PS4: Guys, Sony is going to be fine. They're moving a lot of consoles, they're making a lot of great games. Everything is fine and your PS4 will not disintegrate amidst the threat that is adding extra value to games by giving more people more ways to play with more gamers out there.

Defending Sony's ossified stance at every turn out of corporate loyalty won't make the PS4 magically better. It'll just make the Xbox, PC, and Switch have something that the PS4 does not. Justify it however you want to prove your allegiance but that's the bottom line.
 

Moneal

Member
To those acting as apologists for Sony here because they're heavily invested (monetarily and apparently emotionally) in the PS4: Guys, Sony is going to be fine. They're moving a lot of consoles, they're making a lot of great games. Everything is fine and your PS4 will not disintegrate amidst the threat that is adding extra value to games by giving more people more ways to play with more gamers out there.

Defending Sony's ossified stance at every turn out of corporate loyalty won't make the PS4 magically better. It'll just make the Xbox, PC, and Switch have something that the PS4 does not. Justify it however you want to prove your allegiance but that's the bottom line.

I never apologized for sony on this. I just understand why they would make the decision they are making. If I were running a company and my direct competition offered something similar with the requirement that their branding was involved, I would turn them down. Its that simple. sure as a gamer I would benefit from sony going along with this. Its easy to see why they wouldn't though.
 

Head.spawn

Junior Member
What is the difference between this and signing in to other services linked to gamertags (EA, UBI, Battle.net) or MMO/F2P specific sign-in accounts?

Does this mean if I own minecraft on Xbox and Switch, I can build a world on Xbox and continue on the Switch?

I would hope so. They also said that if you bought DLC on one platform, it would be accessible in any of the other versions.

I never apologized for sony on this. I just understand why they would make the decision they are making. If I were running a company and my direct competition offered something similar with the requirement that their branding was involved, I would turn them down. Its that simple. sure as a gamer I would benefit from sony going along with this. Its easy to see why they wouldn't though.

Okay, but then how does Rocket League fit in to this discussion then? That game has nothing to do with signing in to Xbox Live.
 

truly101

I got grudge sucked!
So its the logging into XBL that has to be the point of contention. In Sony's mind this is promoting another brand on their system. I get why they are gunshy about that particular aspect, but I think they need to address how this goes in the long run. How many customers do you lose when they log into XBL on PS4 vs how many do you lose because your version of the game is greatly inferior to the competitors due to your decision making?

I dunno, but often times business execs function like accountants, they can only react to whats there. They see PS4 users logging into XBL to play a popular game and it stops there for them. They can't interpret the other side of the argument because its not presented in black and white.
 

Tumle

Member
I didn't say gunscape was too small. I said it's a game that no one is playing. No one owns it.

You can mock all you please, but it doesn't change the fact that it's Sony's decision and they are obviously financial and other circumstantial elements of the decision that they would attribute. You're surely not so naive as to believe that these platform holders want to create a cross-platform ecosystem for the sake of the consumer alone.

Maybe Sony will support cross platform play, but I don't imagine they'll rush into it just because Microsoft have. It's also not likely to simply be a floodgate that they simply want to open - cross platform play has different implications on a game by game basis.
I love how so many people keep telling others that Sony is not your friend but a company(duh).. but apparently MS is doing crossplay out of the kindness of there hearts, and there is no other motive behind it..
no one is trying to defend sony's decision (well I'm not anyways.. I think it's kind of dumb, and only does Microsoft a favour, with good press)
They are just pointing out that they can see a correlation with this and Sony not agreeing to crossplay.. and then people will start saying "what about rocket league then?" And yes that's an even shittier decision than this one.. and I have no idea why they wouldn't do that but it's two different instances with different metrics.. that don't have much in common other than they both include MS and Sony being shit.. but I'm pretty sure it's for different reasons..
 

Oersted

Member
I love how so many people keep telling others that Sony is not your friend but a company(duh).. but apparently MS is doing crossplay out of the kindness of there hearts, and there is no other motive behind it..
no one is trying to defend sony's decision (well I'm not anyways.. I think it's kind of dumb, and only does Microsoft a favour, with good press)
They are just pointing out that they can see a correlation with this and Sony not agreeing to crossplay.. and then people will start saying "what about rocket league then?" And yes that's an even shittier decision than this one.. and I have no idea why they wouldn't do that but it's two different instances with different metrics.. that don't have much in common other than they both include MS and Sony being shit.. but I'm pretty sure it's for different reasons..

Are you... okay? This is worrisome.
 
The more this issue gets discussed, the funnier quite honestly I find the situation. People posting simply to demonise and attack Sony for being 'anti-consumer' when the reality is that that they declined to agree to a proposition from another party? It's like arguing the local corner shop not having a cash machine for use is anti-consumer when the vast majority of grocery shops have one. They won't accept card payment under £10 so it means walking a considerable distance to withdraw money for small transactions at a location with another shop that I might as well shop with, as seen as it's right in front of me. At the same time they pay for the service and maintenance of the cash machine and they don't want people using it without buying anything in store and they run the risk of being robbed for it's value. Just like my local shop was this week. You could argue that it's anti-consumer, but there are far more in's and out's than what has been mentioned or being discussed.

The biggest thing that's been thinking about is the language that has been used here. Because if a conversation took place and Sony 'politely declined' it sounds far nicer and simpler than 'refused' which can be taken as an offensive way of ending the dialogue. I mean if Phil Spencer called Shawn Layden and they talked about the proposition, for argument sake and Shawn said something like, "Yeah, you're our competitor, we aren't doing anything with you." then yeah - I imagine refused would be the right word. Whereas if he said "Thank you for your generous offer Phil but for (whatever reason) we are going to politely decline." then it would be a different story.

Quite honestly, I feel it's unprofessional in a way to go around talking about private discussions and agreements in this way. Liverpool FC have been guilty of it with a Southampton player after the end of the season and it highlights that some things should be kept private. Rather than out Sony and demonise them without knowing the full specifics, I would have just said that it isn't coming to PlayStation platforms at this time. Okay, it does make it seem in some ways like Microsoft is the one being the dick, but it leaves the table open and causes less controversy.

I mean there is no win-win situation here, either Sony is a dick for saying no, or Microsoft is a dick for purposefully leaving a major platform out.

But what are the logistics of this? My memory seems to serve that the nefarious PlayStation Network hack was only possible because of a way in which PSN was linked to Amazon. So Microsoft are implementing an XBOX Live log in service on the Switch, which to be fair, I think could lead to Microsoft benefiting from Nintendo's customers if they're allowed to advertise their content to Switch owners, but that's another discussion entirely. Let's say Sony have agreed to this proposition and everything is fine for a time, then due to a security flaw somewhere in the system, the network gets hacked again and all three companies get hit by a scam. Having learned their lesson prior, I don't think Sony really want to see their network suffer at the hands of someone else, especially with so many big entities getting hacked.

Would Microsoft want to advertise their content to PlayStation owners through the XBOX Live connection? Would Sony be comfortable with that? Nintendo I imagine are quite pacifistic there because I don't think they directly compete.

Most of what I am saying could be so far from the truth that it sounds stupid to anyone who knows the reality of the situation. But that's the thing, I don't think the full in's and out's of the situation have been discussed. I don't think Jim Ryan was being completely honest when he answered the question about why in the interview the other day but I don't think it's a question he thought he'd end up being faced with at E3 either.

The Minecraft update that's coming out is dependent upon cross play because there are dedicated shared servers for the game. mS didn't shut sony out, sony opted out themselves. Even the title says the CEO wanted Sony in.

Also, security is not the issue here as Pysonix stated that they have what it takes to make PC x Switch x Xbone x Ps4 to work, they just needed Sony's permission. If security was such a concern for Sony in regards to cross play , then they wouldn't have allowed Rocket League and Street Fighter 5 in the first place
 
For those who are defending this let me pose a question.

What is going to happen to the current version of Minecraft on PS4? Will Mojang and MS keep updating it well into the future? How many years does that version have left?

I dont think MS is going to cave to Sony on this. They have enough users on each platform to be fine. This isnt a game of chicken.
 
You are surely naive enough to represent the interest of one single plattform holder and not of consumers.


Is naive the right word for that?

The remark doesn't even make sense. If I were naive to represent my own views, then what does that suppose that your comments represent?

I didn't at any point say that I wouldn't like cross platform play. I'm indifferent, on the one hand it'd be cool to be able to play with other people, on other platforms, more universally. I'd like to be able to play something like Destiny with everyone. However, on the other, I have concerns about cheating, input devices and any additional hassle it adds to the user experience.

Like on Street Fighter V for example, they added cross play to PC. That's fine, whatever, I get to play people on PC. However, as a result of that, all players have to work through a cumbersome CFN service. Cross platform play has degraded the user experience as a result of Capcom's implementation.

I also find it annoying that you can't message people who aren't on your console, so as a result if you want to rematch, congratulate people for a good game, etc, you can't do that. Rocket League has achieved it more seamlessly, but because you can't do private matches or party up with people on PC, it's a useless feature. It doesn't matter to me if the people I encounter in matchmaking are on PS4 or any other platform, if anything it's actually worse if they're on PC because they can't use the chat features to communicate with one another. Again, no real benefit of cross play has been seen there.

You post as if it's a clear-cut decision to feature crossplay with other platforms, but I don't see it that way. I'm sorry if that's enough to irritate you, and warrants the persistent, sarcastic, condescending responses that you seem to be throwing out.
 

Moneal

Member
For those who are defending this let me pose a question.

What is going to happen to the current version of Minecraft on PS4? Will Mojang and MS keep updating it well into the future? How many years does that version have left?

I dont think MS is going to cave to Sony on this. They have enough users on each platform to be fine. This isnt a game of chicken.

while minecraft is a huge game, it isn't the end of the world for sony if MS drops support. PS4 is probably one of the least used ways to play minecraft, so the lost sales are not as large as they would be for ios or android or pc.
 
while minecraft is a huge game, it isn't the end of the world for sony if MS drops support. PS4 is probably one of the least used ways to play minecraft, so the lost sales are not as large as they would be for ios or android or pc.

What metrics are using this "least used way to play minecraft"? Thats a bold statement. Got numbers to back that up?
 

Woo-Fu

Banned
At the end of the day an XBL account is just a Microsoft Account.

You also log in to your Google account when you used YouTube on Nintendo platforms going back to the Wii, and that wasn't a big deal, was it?

I'm seeing a lot of comparisons in this thread that ignore the simple fact that it is two direct competitors we're talking about here. Google doesn't have a console in this race, nor does YouTube. If you had to login to Google to check your Yahoo mail? That would be a similar comparison.

In any case, Sony did the risk analysis and said no. Complain all you want about how they've handled everything after that decision but the decision itself you don't have any data whatsoever to judge.
 

Oersted

Member
The remark doesn't even make sense. If I were naive to represent my own views, then what does that suppose that your comments represent?

I didn't at any point say that I wouldn't like cross platform play. I'm indifferent, on the one hand it'd be cool to be able to play with other people, on other platforms, more universally. I'd like to be able to play something like Destiny with everyone. However, on the other, I have concerns about cheating, input devices and any additional hassle it adds to the user experience.

Like on Street Fighter V for example, they added cross play to PC. That's fine, whatever, I get to play people on PC. However, as a result of that, all players have to work through a cumbersome CFN service. Cross platform play has degraded the user experience as a result of Capcom's implementation.

I also find it annoying that you can't message people who aren't on your console, so as a result if you want to rematch, congratulate people for a good game, etc, you can't do that. Rocket League has achieved it more seamlessly, but because you can't do private matches or party up with people on PC, it's a useless feature. It doesn't matter to me if the people I encounter in matchmaking are on PS4 or any other platform, if anything it's actually worse if they're on PC because they can't use the chat features to communicate with one another. Again, no real benefit of cross play has been seen there.

You post as if it's a clear-cut decision to feature crossplay with other platforms, but I don't see it that way. I'm sorry if that's enough to irritate you, and warrants the persistent, sarcastic, condescending responses that you seem to be throwing out.

This is the first genuine sounding response from you and I'm thankful for that as nonbelievable as I sound. And I understand your indifference, I'm also indifferent to a whole lotta things. I'm indifferent towards Minecraft, but I saw the happiness on my FB stream, so I know the demand.

On the other hand I care about what Wargroove offers. World sharing sounds cool.

Sony blocks both, Wargroove and Minecraft.

You might be indifferent towards that aka not caring. But than this might be the wrong thread for you.

I'm seeing a lot of comparisons in this thread that ignore the simple fact that it is two direct competitors we're talking about here. Google doesn't have a console in this race, nor does YouTube. If you had to login to Google to check your Yahoo mail? That would be a similar comparison.

In any case, Sony did the risk analysis and said no. Complain all you want about how they've handled everything after that decision but the decision itself you don't have any data whatsoever to judge.

Google and Microsoft are competition and I check my Yahoo mails in the official GMail app.
 

Moneal

Member
What metrics are using this "least used way to play minecraft"? Thats a bold statement. Got numbers to back that up?

notice i said probably, no i have no numbers, but i believe back when NPD had sku order in their top ten ps4 was always behind xbox1 and behind xbox360.
 

Clancy

Banned
So its the logging into XBL that has to be the point of contention. In Sony's mind this is promoting another brand on their system. I get why they are gunshy about that particular aspect, but I think they need to address how this goes in the long run. How many customers do you lose when they log into XBL on PS4 vs how many do you lose because your version of the game is greatly inferior to the competitors due to your decision making?

I dunno, but often times business execs function like accountants, they can only react to whats there. They see PS4 users logging into XBL to play a popular game and it stops there for them. They can't interpret the other side of the argument because its not presented in black and white.

Unless something’s changed, this wasn’t Sony’s stated excuse, nor does it explain why Rocket League doesn’t support PS4 cross play.
 
Dedicated servers that run through XBOX Live yes? Switch owners will require an XBOX Live log in to access cross play will they not?
Superior dedicated servers, and Switch users get to enjoy the best version of the game, and as a Ps4 owner that's what I would have wanted as well?


So what access would Microsoft have through this agreement? I seriously doubt this is so simple as "Hi Sony, can we please let PlayStation users log into XBOX Live to play online with their friends?" The CEO can want them in until the cows come home, if the deal isn't right, then they won't do it. At the end of the day, there are so many variables here that it's quite a complicated situation. What if Sony agreed and then due a difference of opinion, Microsoft threatened to take it away? How would Sony then explain to their install base that they won't be able to play with friends on other consoles anymore?

I am absolutely positive that is far more complicated than a simple, lets be friends, lets hook up and allow all our users to play together. A simple concept, but what about the execution of it? I tell you now, if I was Sony and Microsoft approached me with this and told me it required logging into XBOX Live, then yeah, I'd be a little apprehensive about it too.

Edit: I thought Rocket League wasn't cross platform? Google seems to think so.
Rocket League is cross platform, what sort of Google searches are you doing?

Anyways, regardless of what sort of ins and outs happened with this deal, Sony would not have been losing any money; it would have been a free update, Sony would say yes and PlayStation owners get to enjoy the best version of the game with the rest of them. We are on the consumer end of the spectrum, what does it matter to us if Sony thinks it hurts their brand image?
 
Google and Microsoft are competition and I check my Yahoo mails in the official GMail app.

You can check Yahoo in GMail (and vice versa) because of the open standard that allows any third party client to access an e-mail server. Without it, things like Outlook wouldn't have existed/been able to function.
 

DLaicH

Member
I liked the way Portal 2 did cross-platform on PS3 with allowing a Steam login. I can understand Sony not wanting to allow an XBL login, but I'd think something like Steam should be allowed since it's not a direct competitor.

Google and Microsoft are competition and I check my Yahoo mails in the official GMail app.

Off topic, but this hurts my brain. Like, how even?
 
Well, this was the first result and is said this:



So Rocket League is cross platform on PlayStation or not?
That's exactly the point of a thread like this, dude. Didn't you read what I said? Psyonix said they have what it takes to make Ps4 join the rest, they just need Sony's permission. When the game debuted, it debuted with cross play on Steam.

And when you say superior dedicated servers, what exactly does that say about PlayStation Network? What kind of message does that send? Nobody is saying that it would cost money and nobody is saying it wouldn't be beneficial to the players but like all things in business, there has to be an agreement. Now they've clearly stated they've worked with Nintendo to get an agreement in place so there must be some negotiating required, rather than simply patching the game. I.e. both Microsoft and Nintendo want something and had to agree on some principles to make it happen.
If PsN really is that inferior, then that's another point of fault at Sony's for charging their user base and not improving their infrastructure however - it's largely irrelevant to this discussion since devs have already said they can make it happen - make PsN join the rest.
Microsoft still require an XBOX Live log in, would I really want my users signing up to another platform manufacturers online service and risk them migrating to another system?
I would gladly create an xbl gamertag if that's all it takes to play Minecraft with my friend on Xbone.
 

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I'm seeing a lot of comparisons in this thread that ignore the simple fact that it is two direct competitors we're talking about here. Google doesn't have a console in this race, nor does YouTube. If you had to login to Google to check your Yahoo mail? That would be a similar comparison.

You can log into Sony's Crackle on Xbox. Think about that.

lol I just made you think about Crackle.

I'll just say that this whole "they're competitors so they can't work together" zero-sum thinking is specifically being purged within Microsoft under Satya Natella, and that's why we're seeing wild things like Minecraft cross-platform online. It's not like I'd expect Sony who is philosophically in a very different place to just turn on a dime and embrace a similar policy, but it certainly doesn't have to be this way in business.
 
Third is Wargroove 😛 Fourth is Gunscape.
oh fuck, sorry i actually heard about the war groove case in one of these threads, I just had to look up the name of the game before posting and that's why I wrote third - I was able to find the name of the game through google before posting
 

Oersted

Member
were they the reason with FFXIV?

Probably no. That was 4 years ago. Things changed.

You can check Yahoo in GMail (and vice versa) because of the open standard that allows any third party client to access an e-mail server. Without it, things like Outlook wouldn't have existed/been able to function.

No need to explain, just pointed that out as a not so good example.

I liked the way Portal 2 did cross-platform on PS3 with allowing a Steam login. I can understand Sony not wanting to allow an XBL login, but I'd think something like Steam should be allowed since it's not a direct competitor.



Off topic, but this hurts my brain. Like, how even?

They added Outlook (Hotmail), AOL and Yahoo support a while ago.
 
I'm just going to have to agree to disagree. I wouldn't want to create an XBOX Live account personally and I don't think it's that simple at all. I think it's been made to appear to be made that simple to pressure Sony into doing it. Whether I am right or wrong, no idea. To be honest nobody is qualified to say unless they're working for Microsoft or Sony and were a part of that dialogue but this whole situation is just become another big social media event in my humble opinion.

Sony having a version of Minecraft that wont be updated for the modern features wont be a big social media event if they keep this up.
 
I'm just going to have to agree to disagree. I wouldn't want to create an XBOX Live account personally and I don't think it's that simple at all. I think it's been made to appear to be made that simple to pressure Sony into doing it. Whether I am right or wrong, no idea. To be honest nobody is qualified to say unless they're working for Microsoft or Sony and were a part of that dialogue but this whole situation is just become another big social media event in my humble opinion.
I think the fact that it is that simple with the Switch, a console that has been out on the market less than 6 months means that it would be just as simple for a console that's been around just as long as the Xbone. I also feel like the fact that Psyonix is saying it is very simply reinforces the notion.
 

dLMN8R

Member
Totally see why Sony don't wont to be a part of this.
But then what's the excuse for Rocket League, which does cross platform play without requiring an Xbox Live login unlike Minecraft?

Sure, Minecraft requires an Xbox Live login on Switch, but that's the exception here since Minecraft is owned by Microsoft.

You can't pretend that Sony is against cross platform play because of Minecraft requiring XBL when other games don't have the same design.
 
But then what's the excuse for Rocket League, which does cross platform play without requiring an Xbox Live login unlike Minecraft?

Sure, Minecraft requires an Xbox Live login on Switch, but that's the exception here since Minecraft is owned by Microsoft.

You can't pretend that Sony is against cross platform play because of Minecraft requiring XBL when other games don't have the same design.
there's two other games that are also doing cross play apparently that sony didn't agree to
 
That's my entire point :)

Two other cross platform games that don't require XBL, so trying to justify Sony's decision by blaming XBL is malformed.
yup and me personally i don't have any problem having to log into xbl on Ps4 to do cross play in minecraft
 

truly101

I got grudge sucked!
Unless something's changed, this wasn't Sony's stated excuse, nor does it explain why Rocket League doesn't support PS4 cross play.

I'm not talking about RL, and it also wouldn't be Sony's stated excuse, they aren't going to admit to the real reason. I could surely buy that Sony doesn't want users on their platform to sign into XBL via a PS4, far more than its all about the welfare of the kids.
Even Sony PR realizes that stating they balked at this huge crossplay opportunity was because of infrastructure branding sounds kinda petty.

EDIT: Just to be clear, I'm not stating the XBL thing is the reason either, just in speculating about the particular Minecraft deal, its certainly believable that they'd balk at that.
 
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