PS4/Xbox One Cross-Play Should Happen, Tekken Boss Says

The possibility for Xbox Live and PlayStation Network to connect for cross-platform play is an interesting idea--and it might actually happen. One person who supports the idea of cross-play between the competing platforms for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is Tekken boss Katsuhiro Harada.

Speaking to GameSpot at a recent Tekken 7 event in Sydney, Harada said he has spoken with Microsoft and Sony to try to "champion the cause," but it hasn't paid off just yet. As other developers have said, Harada explained that it's not a technical issue that is holding back PS4/Xbox One cross-play, but instead security protocols and policies are keeping the multiplayer breakthrough from happening.

"Since Tekken has three platforms, to do [cross-play] is much more difficult because fighting games are peer-to-peer, which means you connected directly to your opponent," Harada said through a translator, producer Michael Murray. "That means all the security protocols regarding PSN or Xbox Live, the user IDs and such, is quite difficult to match that--not technologically."

If Tekken 7 were only on one console platform then there could have been cross-platform play between console and PC, just like there is with Street Fighter V (PS4/PC in that case). But that is not the case with Tekken, so the problem persists.

"A lot of players, they don't know the problems involved with this," he explained. "Many assume it's a technical feature and if you overcome it you can do it."

"[But] until there is some kind of progress between the first-parties adapting their security policies and just policy in general regarding online, to allow that, it's not going to be viable at this time," Harada went on to say. "It's not to say that's the case forever. But until they change their policies, there's not a whole lot we can do."

Harada said he has been speaking with Microsoft and Sony about connecting their networks for "quite some time." He has been trying to "champion the cause," but it hasn't gone great.

"Maybe a lot of people don't see that. We have been trying," he said.

For more Tekken news, check out the stories below:

• Tekken 7 Has Third-Person Shooting And Quick-Time Events
• Tekken 7 Boss Talks Rage-Quitting, Possible Nintendo Switch Version, Guest Characters, And More