Article on crossplatform gaming and Defiance

n this slowly unifying world of technology and gameplay that we live in, it seems weird how we still have the segregation between consoles in the online space. Trion Worlds put on a private demonstration on development hardware to show just how that barrier can be easily knocked down. Unfortunately, the console companies involved will never let it happen.

The game in question is Trion Worlds' upcoming Defiance,an MMOFPS that will interact with the Syfy television series of the same name. Trion showed a crowd how it's entirely possible for one player on an Xbox 360 to fight against or with another player on a PlayStation 3.

Trion Global Brand Director Alex Rodberg said that while this cross-platform mingling can be done, it's extremely unlikely that such a thing would ever reach live servers: "Microsoft won't let Sony players play against them."

A Microsoft spokesperson agreed with that sentiment: "We have a high level of expectation for our game developers to ensure that all Live experiences remain top notch. Because we can't guarantee this level of quality, or control the player experience on other consoles or gaming networks, we currently do not open our network to games that allow this cross-over capability."

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Originally Posted by Bee

n this slowly unifying world of technology and gameplay that we live in, it seems weird how we still have the segregation between consoles in the online space. Trion Worlds put on a private demonstration on development hardware to show just how that barrier can be easily knocked down. Unfortunately, the console companies involved will never let it happen.

The game in question is Trion Worlds' upcoming Defiance,an MMOFPS that will interact with the Syfy television series of the same name. Trion showed a crowd how it's entirely possible for one player on an Xbox 360 to fight against or with another player on a PlayStation 3.

Trion Global Brand Director Alex Rodberg said that while this cross-platform mingling can be done, it's extremely unlikely that such a thing would ever reach live servers: "Microsoft won't let Sony players play against them."

A Microsoft spokesperson agreed with that sentiment: "We have a high level of expectation for our game developers to ensure that all Live experiences remain top notch. Because we can't guarantee this level of quality, or control the player experience on other consoles or gaming networks, we currently do not open our network to games that allow this cross-over capability."

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then they should ask Microsoft why Final Fantasy XI on XBox Live is cross platform with ps2 (and backwards compatible PS3s) and PC?

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Originally Posted by Bee

A Microsoft spokesperson agreed with that sentiment: "We have a high level of expectation for our game developers to ensure that all Live experiences remain top notch. Because we can't guarantee this level of quality, or control the player experience on other consoles or gaming networks, we currently do not open our network to games that allow this cross-over capability."

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Translation into English:

"If we let you do this, how the heck would we continue to fleece the millions of Sheeple™ that currently pay that silly network fee?"

I would imagine that servers would be great if this could happen. It could open up a bridge for deosoftvelopers in the future. But I guess we have to wait until defiance threatens to close xbox servers, and its either merge or die.

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Originally Posted by Bee

I would imagine that servers would be great if this could happen. It could open up a bridge for deosoftvelopers in the future. But I guess we have to wait until defiance threatens to close xbox servers, and its either merge or die.

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knowing microsoft theyll choose die lol

"Because we can't guarantee this level of quality, or control the player experience on other consoles or gaming networks, we currently do not open our network to games that allow this cross-over capability."

Regulate content? Server Monitoring? Hackers? I don't know why. I'm just defending Microsoft. In the end it always about money.

I can kind of understand what Microsoft means that it could open up issues if say, an exploit emerged on ps3 that affected the global server, but I think it's mostly wanting to make sure "If you want to play with your ps3 friends, have them buy an xbox!" It's a jerky move, but I really wish we could at LEAST get xbox/pc crossover.

Also the unfair advantage any PC player will have over any console player.

A mouse and a HD monitor with any decent graphics card will give any PC player an advantage over their console counter parts.

A mouse's DPI will always be > than a controller's.

As a console player i would feel at a disadvantage in game modes such as PVP.

Its a great idea and i liked how someone reference FFXI. But in a game which involves hit box's and latency and large scale world environment. A PC will provide a faster, cleaner, crisper experience than any current console could muster.

Just my opinion about the difference in gaming between the two in general. Even FFXI ran slower and you couldn't see the enemies as far away or couldn't see ALL the people in Jueno vs's a PC. (^.-)b I should know i played on both for 5 years.lol

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Originally Posted by Archangel

Also the unfair advantage any PC player will have over any console player.

A mouse and a HD monitor with any decent graphics card will give any PC player an advantage over their console counter parts.

A mouse's DPI will always be > than a controller's.

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I can understand that but at the same time there are plenty of my games I feel more comfortable playing using my 360 controller. Personally I feel it's just so much more appealing to hear "Play on the platform of your choice with ALL of your friends."

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Originally Posted by Archangel

Also the unfair advantage any PC player will have over any console player.

A mouse and a HD monitor with any decent graphics card will give any PC player an advantage over their console counter parts.

A mouse's DPI will always be > than a controller's.

As a console player i would feel at a disadvantage in game modes such as PVP.

Its a great idea and i liked how someone reference FFXI. But in a game which involves hit box's and latency and large scale world environment. A PC will provide a faster, cleaner, crisper experience than any current console could muster.

Just my opinion about the difference in gaming between the two in general. Even FFXI ran slower and you couldn't see the enemies as far away or couldn't see ALL the people in Jueno vs's a PC. (^.-)b I should know i played on both for 5 years.lol

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My PC wouldn't... And I still think they should set it up so that you can play keyboard and mouse on console via usb... it's not all that complicated. Mostly, microsoft sucks. I still play xbox, but I recognize that they are a terrible, ruthless business. Sony does have its own sordid history, but this one seems to all be MS's fault.

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Originally Posted by Archangel

Also the unfair advantage any PC player will have over any console player.

A mouse and a HD monitor with any decent graphics card will give any PC player an advantage over their console counter parts.

A mouse's DPI will always be > than a controller's.

As a console player i would feel at a disadvantage in game modes such as PVP.

Its a great idea and i liked how someone reference FFXI. But in a game which involves hit box's and latency and large scale world environment. A PC will provide a faster, cleaner, crisper experience than any current console could muster.

Just my opinion about the difference in gaming between the two in general. Even FFXI ran slower and you couldn't see the enemies as far away or couldn't see ALL the people in Jueno vs's a PC. (^.-)b I should know i played on both for 5 years.lol

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PC wasnt included in the discussion, however the experience wouldnt be extremely different if the latency wasnt a problem, although the graphics obviously suffer a bit the game would still be the same for both parties.

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Originally Posted by Dekar

I can understand that but at the same time there are plenty of my games I feel more comfortable playing using my 360 controller. Personally I feel it's just so much more appealing to hear "Play on the platform of your choice with ALL of your friends."

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Yeah my wife is a controller gal. She has broken her wrist in her younger years in 1 sport or another which effects her endurance for gaming on a PC. Which is why we bought her a controller. So i am happy to hear that on our PC she can use her MS controller for easier play.

But as far as Xbox playing with PC or Consoles playing with PC's it would seem like an unfair advantage. thats all (^-^)

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Originally Posted by Bee

PC wasnt included in the discussion, however the experience wouldnt be extremely different if the latency wasnt a problem, although the graphics obviously suffer a bit the game would still be the same for both parties.

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Ah sorry i thought the discussion also covered consoles playing with PC users. My bad (^-^)

In the end I support segregation.

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Originally Posted by Bee

A Microsoft spokesperson agreed with that sentiment: "We have a high level of expectation for our game developers to ensure that all Live experiences remain top notch. Because we can't guarantee this level of quality, or control the player experience on other consoles or gaming networks, we currently do not open our network to games that allow this cross-over capability."

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now you have to see the sence of moronic irony about this statement from ms.

they dont want cross over because they want only the best for there customers. except for the fact that because of these wonderful dedicated servers they are hacked and people cheat all the time, lag switches are so rife within the xbox world...

its down to 2 reasons, 1 they want people to buy both xbox and ps3 so everyone can play with all there friends making more money, and 2 they dont want there gamers playing with people who dont pay a sub fee and get exactly the same service.

comes down to 3 reasons why ms wont allow it, money, money and errrr money.

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Originally Posted by Archangel

Also the unfair advantage any PC player will have over any console player.

A mouse and a HD monitor with any decent graphics card will give any PC player an advantage over their console counter parts.

A mouse's DPI will always be > than a controller's.

As a console player i would feel at a disadvantage in game modes such as PVP.

Its a great idea and i liked how someone reference FFXI. But in a game which involves hit box's and latency and large scale world environment. A PC will provide a faster, cleaner, crisper experience than any current console could muster.

Just my opinion about the difference in gaming between the two in general. Even FFXI ran slower and you couldn't see the enemies as far away or couldn't see ALL the people in Jueno vs's a PC. (^.-)b I should know i played on both for 5 years.lol

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lol "unfair" advantage doesnt mean automatic victory...

I can tie one hand behind my back and blindfold myself in a fight... that would give someone a HUGE advantage... that doesnt mean I still couldnt beat them to a bloody pulp.

I'm not so sure about there being that much of an advantage using a mouse on a computer over using a controller. I know that with the hardware differences it's more likely that a pc would have an advantage but I use my Xbox controler for games on my computer and seem to do better than a keyboard. I think it's whatever you are most comfortable with. It may take me a fraction of a second longer for a precision shot but it is much easier to control movement and other aspects which makes up for it in my opinion.

tbh kb/m vs pad. yes it can be true in some very certon circumstances, take COD. where fights are won and loss in a spilt second. 1 bullet here or there and the fight is over. because that is a fast paced game that requires high amount of accuracy with speed of reaction (this is where the mouse comes in being able to move to target a very spilt second faster). slower pvp games and things are evend out. most fights in bf are about tactics and knowning where they are and where you want to be. its rare to have a fire fight in close quarters, but more about having the right weapon in the right situation.

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Originally Posted by Wildbill

In the end I support segregation.

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lol Separate but Equal

My main thing is my buddy has a junker PC, but also a 360. He would have a much better time on the Xbox ofcourse, but an mmo is all about joining together with friends and he may not be as interested without that. This is not trions fault, they went out of their way to show it can be done. I blame only the state of the industry.

This in theory would be a great concept and perhaps it is about money. I have to say though alot of console players have terrible connections. Microsoft can't seem to get it right even on their own system and there maybe nothing they can do. Dedicated servers is the way to go but I have played so much multiplayer even on those types of servers and it's awful. If it was truely just about money, I'd pay more just so online could run smooth but I don't see that happening either.

Well, MS hates Sony and vice versa. MS had some plans to allow Xbox and PC players play together but then they found out that console players were getting destroyed in PvP by PC players so they axed all cross platform capability.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news...-Platform-Play

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Originally Posted by Cavadus

Well, MS hates Sony and vice versa. MS had some plans to allow Xbox and PC players play together but then they found out that console players were getting destroyed in PvP by PC players so they axed all cross platform capability.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news...-Platform-Play

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Sood's sources claim that Microsoft pitted the best console players using control pads against "mediocre" PC gamers with mice and keyboards and found that the console players were "destroyed every time." It was apparently so bad, he wrote, that cross-platform play would have been an embarrassment to the Xbox team.

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Makes you wonder where they dredged up their players. Sounds more like they found mediocre console players to justify killing the concept when they realized they wouldn't be able to milk PC players for that XBox Live account.

Said this in another thread but the bad blood between Sony and Microsoft dates back long before xbox was even a concept. IGN actually did a pretty good article on this a few weeks back. They've never played nice together and i don't think anyone expects they ever will lol.

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Originally Posted by Mindfix

Said this in another thread but the bad blood between Sony and Microsoft dates back long before xbox was even a concept. IGN actually did a pretty good article on this a few weeks back. They've never played nice together and i don't think anyone expects they ever will lol.

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Kotaku did a good article as well. In the article it states that microsoft wanted to partner with Sony to make the playstation crossplatform with windows and Sony turned them down. Microsoft built the xbox out of spite.

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Originally Posted by bperky38

Kotaku did a good article as well. In the article it states that microsoft wanted to partner with Sony to make the playstation crossplatform with windows and Sony turned them down. Microsoft built the xbox out of spite.

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Yeah that's pretty much what the IGN article read and built out of spite is a good way to put it lol.

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Originally Posted by Cavadus

Well, MS hates Sony and vice versa. MS had some plans to allow Xbox and PC players play together but then they found out that console players were getting destroyed in PvP by PC players so they axed all cross platform capability.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news...-Platform-Play

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im sure many of us have heard these tales from ms. Funny thing is everyone elses results disagreed. Alot of games support kb/m on console. Native. Plus 101 ways to fit one. If they were really that bothered they wouldn't allow it at all.

Its ms hiding behind smoke and mirrors for them holding back the market.

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Originally Posted by bperky38

Kotaku did a good article as well. In the article it states that microsoft wanted to partner with Sony to make the playstation crossplatform with windows and Sony turned them down. Microsoft built the xbox out of spite.

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Besides hurting ps3 customers, xbox has also botched deals for their customers, DC Universe, MGS4, And uncharted were having talk about cross platform and that never happend. Hopefully they drop the code of honor and try to build a working relationship gamers can benefit from.

the only way i can see any kind of progession is if one of them, sony more likly, push for cross platform with the pc. if they start making it a more regular item it will force ms to react with the xbox. otherwise risk loosing gamers.

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Originally Posted by Dead_Phoenix

the only way i can see any kind of progession is if one of them, sony more likly, push for cross platform with the pc. if they start making it a more regular item it will force ms to react with the xbox. otherwise risk loosing gamers.

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they already have at least 3 cross platform pc games

The only way this is likely to ever get resolved is if something comes along (read ((hopefully)) Defiance) and forces these companies to re-evaluate their stance. So long as the client base sits back and does nothing, other than complain, they have no reason to change their ways.
Big business everywhere has gotten it into their heads that they hold the power, and individuals like us cannot, now, and never will have any power to change things, if we cannot (all) get behind a force of change. Face it as a society we have, in general, become complacent, and big business knows it, and knows, therefor, that they can get away with pretty much anything.
Few and far between in these days are the companies that even care to give the impression that they care at all about their clients, fortunately Trion seems to be one of those few.
After seeing, from these forums, the lengths that some (if not most) Trion folks are willing to go to help the player base they have certainly more than earned my support.
Kudos Trion, you've turned me from a cynic to a hopeful.