Cross-play on PlayStation 4 is now available for all developers to use in their games

[RaptorChrist]

Here's the way I sort of see it: (I have a hunch that I'm going to say things that are unpopular, but I think that's because some of the things that people may view as a negative are not necessarily negative in my eyes. I'd like to see your take on this.)

I agree that Sony has generally been the one to play it safe, but it's mostly because of the part of the market that they have control of. It's not that they aren't a creative company, but that their product is targeting a market comprised of people that want a traditional gaming experience. They are not so much trying to invent something new as they are simply trying to perfect said experience.

Relatively speaking, in a market with only three major players, Nintendo has historically been the one to take risks. As a result, I think this is why Nintendo is overrepresented in gaming communities, as they are an easy company to like (don't take that the wrong way). In other words, I think Nintendo "appears" as though they deserve the most market share (let me explain).

Sony and Microsoft have created eco-systems that rely largely on third party software, and as such, the overall size of that market is less volatile than what Nintendo aims for. Nintendo has had major successes and major defeats, while the disparity between Microsoft and Sony's biggest defeat compared to biggest success is not as large.

Here's what I think, although I'm curious if people agree or not: Hypothetically speaking, if Sony disappeared, another company (possibly Microsoft, maybe a newcomer) would fill most of that gap. Contrastly, if Nintendo disappeared, the market would shrink drastically. And this is one of those negatives I mentioned in the beginning of the post. I think some may read this as if I'm saying "anyone can do what Sony is doing", and that's not at all what I mean. The reason Sony is where they are at is because Sony has done it best. So much so that Nintendo seemingly decided to re-strategize and focus more on their own thing. But if they disappeared, whoever is next best would have to suffice. That's what I'm saying. :)

Both companies have separate goals, and provide consumers with vastly different products. So much so that owning both a Nintendo console and a Sony console is common compared to owning a Microsoft console and a Sony console (no source; assuming this based on anecdotal evidence).

(Anyways, it's late, and at this point I don't know which side I've upset more. :P)