An open letter to Sony and Epic Games

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have heard of the global sensation that is Fortnite. It’s surged in popularity and has been the breathe of fresh air so many gamers have been looking for after being given the same generic titles year after year. Also, it’s free, and who doesn’t love free stuff, right?

A quick breakdown of cross play

For those who don’t know, cross play is when you are able to play a game with someone who owns the same game, but on a different console. Its still a fairly new concept (that gamers have been wanting since… forever) but it’s slowly being adopted.

Fortnite is one of the first games to truly support cross play. If you’re on a PC, you can play with PC players, Nintendo players, iOS players and vice-versa.

Xbox supports it, Nintendo supports it, PC supports it, iOS supports it… PS4 does not. Why you ask? Money, of course! Sony/PS4 have been the market leaders with the current generation of consoles, so they want to keep their customers locked into their ecosystem. I get it, it’s business… whilst I’m here, their motto is ‘for the players’… and I’ll probably mention this a few more times throughout this article.

A message to Sony

I’ve done the rounds with consoles when growing up. Collectively, I’ve owned a PS1, PS2, PSP, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Wii and a Nintendo Switch. Over time, i decided that you were my favourite, and the PS4 has been the only console I’ve played for the last 3+ years. Since Fortnite came out, I’ve been playing PS4 a lot more. It’s been great, I haven’t loved a game this much for years. I have friends that I’d love to play with on Xbox, but I’ve always understood because of business and competition, this wasn’t a possibility. It sucks, but I think I speak for everyone when I say, we get it.

That’s why I was very excited when it was announced PS4 was coming to Nintendo Switch. When at home, I could use my PS4, and when on the go, I’d be able to log in on Switch and continue progressing my account, as obviously the PS4 isn’t a portable device.

Yet… for some reason… you’ve locked my account so I can only use it on PS4? It’s been 5 days since this all happened, yet I and many others still can’t figure it out. Is Nintendo Switch really competition? If I’m at home, I’d always choose the PS4, as the gaming experience and quality of the games is in another league in comparison. I use the Switch when travelling simply because it’s impossible to do so with my PS4, not because I prefer playing it.

Sony did give a response to the issue… but I think the community collectively agree that it was just… arrogant. Stating they DO support iOS and PC and how they have a huge player base already. Nobody cares, stop avoiding the obscenely obvious question everyone is asking.

Honestly, I don’t even want to play with players on different consoles. I DO however want any time I spend playing Fortnite on the Switch to progress the same account I’ve been using on the PS4!

Did Sony create Fortnite? Do Sony own the Fortnite account I created with Epic Games? I’m pretty sure they don’t, Epic Games do as they created and own the game. The nerve, the audacity…

Can you imagine if Apple, a market leader like yourself, said that after viewing your email inbox on a MacBook you could no longer view it on any other device? Without giving reason? I honestly think they’d be pressured into changing in within 3 days. It’s pointless, unjustified and an abuse of power.

So that brings me to my next question — out of principle I don’t even want to play Fortnite on my PS4 anymore. Why would I when I can use the same account on every other console I own? So what happens to all the digital assets I’ve purchased within the game that you’re essentially holding at ransom to ensure I stay faithful to you? I spent that money because I love the game, not because I love the console…

I hope a lawsuit or something is in the pipeline because god knows, you’ve brought it on yourself Sony.

What next? Epic Games… it’s your time to shine

Paul Tassi (Forbes) wrote a great article with what I think would be the best solution to this problem. Epic Games should offer a mass migration service to essentially ‘de-infect’ Fortnite accounts from having the flag of being used on a PS4. In doing so, you’d essentially accept you can no longer play on PS4, but your account, progress and purchases would be redeemed and usable on the other consoles that Sony won’t play friendly with.

Let me tell you, I for one would not hesitate for a SECOND to do this, and I’ve been a PS4 die hard for a very long time.

I think it’s the perfect counter to Sony’s unreasonable power play; everyone who owns a locked account would be happy, having the option to migrate if they want to. And Sony would lose an INCREDIBLE amount of players and money (from potential in game purchases), which frankly, they deserve.

… PS4’s motto is ‘for the players’, yet they’re the only console who doesn’t allow cross play, and they’re holding player accounts at ransom to ensure you keep spending money on their system only. That doesn’t seem very ‘for the players’ to me, if anything it’s the exact opposite.

I truly hope something comes of it, whether it’s Sony changing their tone (unlikely) or Epic Games offering a migration of sorts, as I now enjoy playing Fortnite on the Switch more, but all my past purchases and progression are essentially trapped on my PS4.

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