With the recent release of Fortnite on the Nintendo Switch, fans that have played the popular battle royale game on other platforms, specifically the PlayStation 4 are now unable to use the same account on the just-released Switch version of the game.
Since posting the original story, several mainstream news outlets have picked up on the issue plaguing PlayStation players from using their Fortnite account on the Switch, eliciting a response from Sony. Sony responded to the BBC after they picked up on the initial story, stating, ”With … more than 80 million monthly active users on PlayStation Network, we’ve built a huge community of gamers who can play together on Fortnite and all online titles. We also offer Fortnite cross-play support with PC, Mac, iOS, and Android devices, expanding the opportunity for Fortnite fans on PS4 to play with even more gamers on other platforms.
Instead of directly referring to the issue at hand, regarding not being able to play on the Switch using the same account, Sony instead brought up the fact that cross-play is supported with PC, Mac and mobile platforms. Sony ended with, “We have nothing further to add beyond this at this point.”
The original story can be read below:
Fortnite players that have synced their accounts with the PlayStation 4 version of the title are now effectively blocked from playing the title on their Switch, without resorting to the creation of a new account, resulting in a loss of all gear and level progression in the process. Users who do try and log-in will be greeted with a Login Failed error message, stating that the user’s Fortnite account is associated with a platform which does not allow operation on Switch.
Sony has been keen on keeping cross-platform games closed to PlayStation users. Titles such as Rocket League and Minecraft have paved the way towards a cross-platform future, prior to the release Fortnite, yet Microsoft and Nintendo have been the only ones that have stepped forward in embracing cross-play between their respected systems and PC, so it is strange to see Sony wall themselves off from the feature.
In 2017, around the time Rocket League launched on the Switch, PlayStation was called out regarding cross-play restrictions, with Sony of Europe’s Deputy President Jim Ryan stating, “We’ve got to be mindful of our responsibility to our install base. Minecraft – the demographic playing that, you know as well as I do, it’s all ages but it’s also very young. We have a contract with the people who go online with us, that we look after them and they are within the PlayStation curated universe. Exposing what in many cases are children to external influences we have no ability to manage or look after, it’s something we have to think about very carefully.”
In other words, it seems Sony’s excuse for not allowing cross-play between other platforms is apparently due to not wanting to pollute the PlayStation userbase, specifically the younger demographic with foreign entities.
Sony has yet to comment on the account restrictions surrounding Fortnite players wanting to play on the Nintendo Switch.
Fortnite is available to play for free on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and mobile platforms.
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