Cross-Console Gaming

"ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)" (adabofoppo) 01/05/2015 at 12:09 • Filed to: Video Games

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Why does this not happen? How hard would it be to make happen?

I have Destiny on 360. Many of my friends have it on XBone. Why can we not play together without me buying a new console, other than MS would very much like me to buy a new console.

I do not see it as very difficult to have inter-ecosystem cross-console gaming. Would it be possible to have PlayStation and Xbox gamers play with each other at all if they are within the same game?

Bungie hosts a bunch of the data already for Destiny, how else would you be able to carry your character progress once you upgrade consoles, so why can't we all play the same game together?

spanfucker retire bitch > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/05/2015 at 12:11

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44444444444 > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/05/2015 at 12:15

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Because MSFT and Sony want more money and more market share. This is why PC gaming is better (among other reasons such as graphics, lower cost, better game selection, mods, and GabeN). Consoles are proprietary. The so-called nextgen may use PC like x86 hardware (albeit from a mid end 2012 laptop) but MSFT and Sony each use different OS's which don't play nice on purpose.

deekster_caddy > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/05/2015 at 12:28

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There are some games that successfully cross-platform play. But the game developer has to think outside the box for this to happen, and develop with that in mind from day one on the drawing board.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/05/2015 at 12:45

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'48ish Chevy, I believe?

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 01/05/2015 at 12:48

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No idea. I searched for 'crazy pills car' and that was the first car image to pop up.

AdverseMartyr > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/05/2015 at 13:25

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I'm sure it is possible, and if a company would do it they would make tons of money as everyone would buy the game. I don't think Microsoft or Sony would allow it as then the need for brand loyalty would be gone. I'm guessing companies like EA would prefer it to not happen as well since they couldn't sell multiple copies to one person (I don't know who would buy the same game twice, but I am sure there are people out there who will).

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/05/2015 at 13:43

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I also imagine that part of it would be that a game might just be "better" for one system versus another. If I'm playing a game on the XBone and someone else on the PS4 and I somehow have an advantage, then it isn't fair. Now that being said, how many people use hacks to play online? I know I've run into a bunch when I was playing FPS's on the 360. One of the many reasons I stopped playing online.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! 01/05/2015 at 14:00

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MS and their respective studios have been very draconian about 'hacking' and playing online recently.

With Forza 4, anyone who even does something as benign as to hack their console to add more camber than the game allows or to remove front bumpers/body panels just to make their cars more true to real life is banned for 30 years for their trouble.

I haven't seen anything in the way of hacking or cheating when playing online in Destiny.

I stopped playing Fourtza online except with friends a while ago, but that's mostly because the people playing were horrid and trolls.

PNW Hoon > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/05/2015 at 14:28

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For Destiny, I don't think it was ever a feature that was important to Bungie. I don't think anyone has ever decided not to buy a game because it lacked cross platform. I would be willing to bet that avoiding cross platform likely sells more games. Customers have to get a copy to play with their various friends and family groups.

MS is pretty firm in not wanting to play with others (Sony, Nintendo) as they want to drive console sales through policy. People will buy hardware to play with their friends. But interestingly enough, there isn't any policy for developers preventing play across MS properties. Skulls of the Shogun was the last title to set this up (that I remember).

PNW Hoon > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/05/2015 at 14:32

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Draconian = consistency.

I think most of the Xbox enforcement guys get a good giggle or nod of approval before handing out those bans. The problem is, you let one guy bend the rules a little, you get more folks that want to do the same. And any lawyer can tell you that bending the rules brings in a certain amount of subjectivity. And subjectivity will always lead to the community picking up torches and pitchforks.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > PNW Hoon 01/05/2015 at 14:37

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My post did not imply any value judgement on those actions, only that there are serious consequences.

Draconian = very strict, which is exactly what those punishments are.

RockThrillz89 > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/05/2015 at 14:54

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It can be done. Sony is allowing cross plat with PC and PS4 for the upcoming Street Fighter. But MS is adamant about not allowing cross plat. That's why the game is not coming to Xbox One. As far as cross gen - you have to remember that games that are cross gen generally don't have all the same features (think Forza Horizon 2). So it would only be fair until the first expansion. Not to mention differences in frame rates (depending on the type of game, higher frame rates can give a massive advantage).

Hell, with this current generation, they can't even seem to get multiplayer working for people playing the same platform. I can't imagine how bad it would be if they had to also account for multiple platforms on a server.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > RockThrillz89 01/05/2015 at 14:57

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For exclusive titles, that all makes sense. FH2 is pointless on the 360 compared to the content you'll miss not having an Xbone.

A game like Destiny specifically should have been cross-platform though, as it all takes place on Bungie's servers and really only uses the XBL/PSN services for authentication.

Perhaps Destiny 2 will finally break out of the mold. (I'm still doubtful. You're right about MS not allowing anything cool.)

PNW Hoon > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/05/2015 at 14:57

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Truth.

Destructive Tester > AdverseMartyr 01/05/2015 at 15:10

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People have been buying the same game over and over since the first Madden game...

RockThrillz89 > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/05/2015 at 15:13

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I don't know about you, but I would not want to play a FPS like Destiny against someone on a PC. All dem PC Gamer Master Race fps vs my dirty console peasant 60fps would not a good fair fight make. Or for that matter, play 60fps PS4 player on my Xbox at 30fps. But, I do agree that it should be available as an option for developers if they want it as part of the game.

I look at it this way - when all you have to focus on is one platform, it's easy to make sure shit just works.

Are you sure Bungie actually hosts the multiplayer servers? I don't know how it really works, but I thought the actual multiplayer servers were owned/leased by the console company, not the developer/publisher of the IP. I though all Bungie has is an account that is linked to your subscription service that has your progress data (hence why these games that allow character carry over require you to signup to the online community; it doesn't carry with your gammertag automatically).

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > RockThrillz89 01/05/2015 at 15:15

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I don't actually know anything.

RockThrillz89 > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/05/2015 at 15:17

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I don't either. And I quickly tried to look up how it works and couldn't find a quick answer (just a shit ton of info on setting up minecraft servers).

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > RockThrillz89 01/05/2015 at 15:19

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That's not helpful at all.

Who plays Minecraft anyway???

Lolz.

RockThrillz89 > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/05/2015 at 15:23

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For real. People act like it would kill them to play with Legos or something. Or go outside, perish the thought. Speaking of going outside, I wonder if there is a weather app on the Xbone. It's such a long walk to look out the window.

Axial > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/05/2015 at 15:35

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Part of it has to do with performance. Did you know that the rate of fire on some weapons in Bungie's previous games is tied to the number of frames the machine is drawing per second? Yeah, sounds like an idiotic thing to do because it is an idiotic thing to do, but maybe they did it again with Destiny. Shit like that is what makes cross-plat not a great idea. Then there are control disparities, feature disparities, and of course, the desire to get you to buy a new console.

Also, seriously, fuck Xbox Live and PSN. Con jobs, both of them.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Axial 01/05/2015 at 16:33

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XBL is only $5/month. I think it's a good value as it enables me to play online with my cousins who live 150 miles away and I would spend way more than $60 in gas getting there and back to play games with them. Same for my friends who in elsewhere around the state.

It's no replacement for actually meeting at the same location, but it does make for a nice option to at least play the same game simultaneously while not in the same location.

Axial > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/05/2015 at 16:41

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A.) You shouldn't have to pay to play online when you are already paying your ISP and the same games on PC don't have that extra $5/mo. fee.

B.) Until PSN started giving away games with PSN+, forcing Microsoft to do the same, Xbox Live provided you, literally, nothing. The servers for the games you play are hosted on the console in the match with the best connection. For games with dedicated servers, Microsoft FORCED publishers to use theirs when those publishers would have rather used their own, creating a false economy. In the case of EA, EA told Microsoft to suck it or it wouldn't get EA's games, so EA gets their own non-Microsoft dedicated servers. More publishers should have been like EA.

C.) Stat-tracking was literally the only thing Xbox Live was providing players for the longest time, and that's something it does even for non-paying Silver members, so what was the point?

tl;dr: I don't like Xbox Live on the principle that it's a false-market forcing people to pay for something they shouldn't have to (online play). If online play didn't require Xbox Live (and it shouldn't), it would have failed. That's why Sony decided to go with the same model for PSN on the PS4, because they wanted the same easy cash cow.

Yes, I am very salty over the whole thing.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Axial 01/05/2015 at 16:44

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The games I want to play are not on PC...

All that is probably true, I'll still pay $5/month for someone else to figure out how to host those connections.

Axial > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/05/2015 at 16:51

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Nobody is figuring out how to host the connection. You are hosting the connections. You are paying them $5/mo. to do nothing for you but flip a switch that allows you to play online while they use the hardware you already bought and paid for to do most of the work (i.e. Halo) and make publishers pay them to use servers they shouldn't have to (i.e. GTA Online). It's a brilliant piece of market manipulation, up there with the Apple ecosystem and the whole concept of German luxury.

I'm not telling you to stop paying for it, because that boat sailed back in 2004, but people should know what their money is going toward. It's pretty much pure profit into Microsoft's books.

AdverseMartyr > Destructive Tester 01/05/2015 at 18:26

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It was in context of buying the exact same game for two different consoles; not graphics updates or new character skins/storyline/armor. If my PS3 game was compatible online with my friends xbox360 then I wouldn't have to buy a xbox360 copy in addition to the PS3 copy I prefer to play (all hypothetical, I don't have a PS3). I know there is a segment of the public who will purchase the same game for multiple consoles so that they can play with everybody, and I am sure that game companies see those sales as an unacceptable loss compared to the work to make a game work across consoles.

Destructive Tester > AdverseMartyr 01/05/2015 at 18:47

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Yeah I know, I couldn't resist getting in the annual Madden re-skin/"update" jab.

On your original point though, I really don't see that happening anytime soon the market forces just aren't in place and too many gamers are content to be the game studios' bitch http://kotaku.com/5909105/stop-p… . Furthermore there are entirely too many gamers out there with the devotion/insanity to actually purchase multiple platforms... When you weigh those factors with the fact that so few high profile titles are actually ready for prime time at launch, http://kotaku.com/new-video-game… I seriously doubt they could even get cross-console gaming to work anyway. It's a nice thought though, there are just too many things in the gaming industry that would have to change for that to happen; I sincerely hope the studios prove me wrong on that but I doubt it...