Fortnite devs inadvertently prove cross-console play is possible [Updated]

Fortnite devs inadvertently prove cross-console play is possible [Updated]

Update: As if to reconfirm Microsoft’s interest in cross-console play, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer said on Twitter that he “would have liked to see [Epic] leave it on.”

Original story

People playing Epic’s Fortnite on consoles recently were surprised to discover a new feature had been quietly added to the game: the ability to play with gamers on other consoles.

Over the weekend, a number of Reddit users posted evidence of players from other consoles showing up in their Fortnite games, including a father/son combo playing on two different consoles in the same room.

The cross-console connection became apparent because of a little-known naming convention between the two consoles: Microsoft’s Xbox Live allows players to use spaces in their online handle, while Sony’s PlayStation Network does not. Thus, when PS4 players noticed random opponents in their matches with handles that included spaces, they knew something odd was going on.

An Epic spokesperson confirmed to Ars Technica that cross-console play had been turned on for the game recently, adding in the same breath that the addition had been a mistake. “We had a configuration issue, and it has now been corrected,” the spokesperson said by way of official comment.

While further on-the-record information isn’t forthcoming (Sony has yet to respond to a request for comment from Ars Technica), it’s not hard to guess what happened here. Since Microsoft started publicly pushing for cross-console play last year, a number of developers have gone on record complaining that Sony is the only remaining bottleneck to letting PS4 and Xbox One players join together for online play. “All we have to do is check that box and it would be up and running in less than an hour all over the world,” Psyonix VP of Publishing Jeremy Dunham memorably told Polygon about cross-platform play on the PS4.

The reality of Fortnite‘s brief “configuration error” allowing Xbox One and PS4 players to connect only goes to further prove that there are no remaining technical issues to be overcome here. While developers do have to deal with complications surrounding friends lists, invitations, and voice chat when tying the two networks together, no intractable compatibility issues prevent the servers from talking to each other. As Fortnite has inadvertently proven, the only problems keeping PlayStation and Xbox gamers apart are now political.

Fortnite devs inadvertently prove cross-console play is possible [Updated]

Xbox chief says Sony won’t allow cross-platform Minecraft, probably never will

Xbox chief says Sony won’t allow cross-platform Minecraft, probably never will

The release last month of the Better Together update for Minecraft brought together Minecraft players on most of the game’s many platforms: the Xbox One, Windows 10, mobile, and VR versions of the game now all use the same engine and can all play together without borders. Servers and content will be accessible from any Better Together platform. Microsoft has also announced that this version of the game will be coming to the Nintendo Switch, and it, too, will be able to join in the cross-platform play.

But one major platform is being left behind: PlayStation 4. Minecraft players on the PlayStation 4 will only be able to play with other PlayStation 4 users. Not because of any technical constraint, but because Sony won’t allow it.

Speaking to Gamespot, Xbox chief Phil Spencer said Sony regards platform lock-in as a way of driving sales and “that reason [for blocking cross-platform play] is not going away.” Spencer doesn’t hold out much hope for things changing, either: “I’m never going to call anything a lost cause, but I think some of the fundamental reasons and certain scenarios—they’re not really going away.”

In June, Sony execs insisted that the company has no “profound philosophical stance” against cross-platform play, and it has permitted play between the PC and PlayStation 4. But cross-console play is clearly a sticking point. While Microsoft isn’t the first developer to cite Sony’s refusal to allow cross-platform play—Rocket League developer Psyonix and Gwent developer CD Projekt have both blamed Sony for the limitation—this is the first time the company has itself fallen foul of Sony’s restrictions. Moreover, Spencer’s comments make clear that Sony’s desire to create lock-in appears to be its overwhelming concern.

Xbox chief says Sony won’t allow cross-platform Minecraft, probably never will

Years Later, The Laputa: Castle In The Sky’s Minecraft Recreation Is Done

Years Later, The Laputa: Castle In The Sky’s Minecraft Recreation Is Done

For the past several years, Mocchi Hajikura has been working on recreating the classic Studio Ghibli film Laputa: Castle In The Sky in Minecraft. His work is now finished.

Hajikura started uploading his Laputa recreations to YouTube in 2013.

In 2015, he created this clip to correspond with Laputa: Castle In The Sky’s Japanese television rebroadcast. You can see how his work had improved.

As Net Lab notes, he uploaded his most recent (and final efforts) for the film’s 2017 TV rebroadcast.

Previously, Kotaku posted a Laputa recreation, but Hajikura’s effort has to be the best one yet.

Years Later, The Laputa: Castle In The Sky’s Minecraft Recreation Is Done

Minecraft: Xbox One Edition      Xbox One

Minecraft: Xbox One Edition Xbox One

Microsoft and Mojang have made good on the promise from E3 2017 that Minecraft would become a cross-platform gaming experience. With the “Better Together” update, players from mobile, Xbox One, and Windows 10 platforms can all play together. It should also be noted that while the Nintendo Switch version is still in development (with a “soon” release date at best) it will be cross-platform compatible upon its release.

Being able to play with your friends regardless of platform is a great step in the right direction for gamers as a whole and adds value to whichever edition players get theirs hands on. That being said, Sony opted out of being a part of this togetherness, meaning neither the PlayStation 3 nor PS4 versions will be compatible. Whether or not the comments in the video about the universe not exploding and everything being better together are meant at Sony directly will probably never be answered.

Xbox One is the only console that this update will take effect on, currently. Further, it should be noted that at the time of writing this that there has been a bit of word of lag-related issues in the community when playing on servers. While this is not ideal, Mojang and 4J Studios have been known to keep a steady stream of updates flowing, meaning that anything that needs ironing out post-update will probably be tended to.

Minecraft has launched across nearly every platform since its 2009 debut on PC, spanning Android, iPhone, X1, X360, PS3, PS4, Windows 10 and a future port to Nintendo Switch. The game features both local co-op and online across the platforms via split-screen and internet, respectively.

If you have any questions about what features or versions of the game are supported, Mojang put together an FAQ on the minecraft.net website.

Minecraft does an outstanding job of incorporating the co-op that we here at Co-Optimus are so fond of; you can read our review here (short version: we gave it a 5 out of 5, it’s amazing.) meaning that this update is just frosting on the cake. Will you be playing together with your friends, or has the lure of caves, monsters and diamonds wore off of you? Let us know in the comments below, and for all things co-op, stick with your friends here at Co-Optimus.com.

Minecraft: Xbox One Edition Xbox One

Our robot future: New Detroit trailer out of TGS 2017

Our robot future: New Detroit trailer out of TGS 2017

The fifth game and first PlayStation 4 exclusive from Paris-based studio Quantic Dream lays out a world where humans and robots are almost indistinguishable.

Previously announced in 2015, Detroit: Become Human continues several traditions laid down by Quantic Dream predecessors like Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls.

Live actors’ performances have been recorded and digitised in pursuit of increasingly photorealistic portrayals, while storylines written by studio founder David Cage aim for parity with cinema or television.

Those have become prominent trends in video gaming; 2016’s action-oriented Xbox One and PC release Quantum Break alternated between interactive sections and short, pre-recorded episodes; August debut Hellbalde: Senua’s Sacrifice took advantage of not only motion capture techniques but also binaural sound mixing techniques that had players reaching for their headphones to feel like they were inside the main character’s mind.

As for Detroit: Become Human, it takes questions about the nature and value of life and holds them up to the mirror of artificial intelligence, casting us into a world where androids are near indistinguishable from biological humans.

Three main characters have been introduced over the course of the game’s pre-release period: police negotiator Connor, escaped servant and revolutionary leader Markus, and advanced model Kara who can pass for human in a way that other machines can’t.

All three feature in a new trailer released for PlayStation’s showcase at the 2017 Tokyo Game Show, ahead of a planned 2018 launch on the PlayStation 4. — AFP Relaxnews

Our robot future: New Detroit trailer out of TGS 2017