A recent article on The Verge discusses Microsoft's cross-platform update named the "Better Together" update for Minecraft which will allow players to converge their gaming experiences with other players from different computers, consoles and softwares including the Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, Windows 10, IOS and Android. This is potentially revolutionary for the world of gaming as it opens the door for there to be complete convergence throughout gaming where players are not forced to compromise when selecting one console or online network over another.
Online child protection when gaming should not be much of a cause for concern as most if not all online networks give players identities through gamertags where their real life identity tends to be kept anonymous from other players. Online networks for gaming differentiate from social networks where users are inclined to rely on their real life identity whereas on gaming networks players practically have second identities. It is highly unlikely for children to be in any actual danger when gaming online; cross-platform gaming would have little to no impact on the safety of children online.
As long as the two largest online gaming networks being Xbox Live and Playstation Network are competing there will not be true cross-platform gaming a huge concentration of the gaming community will be segregated by their networks. Of course there will be convergence with smaller less significant networks. If of course the competitiveness between Xbox Live and Playstation Network no longer benefits the Microsoft or Sony there may be covergene between their online networks, breaking a barrier between two of the largest gaming communities in gaming history making truly becoming a revolution. A pro of cross- platform gaming is that players are no longer forced to compromise when making the decision of which network to choose, minimising the regret they experience later on. Of course there are cons for cross-platform gaming, more so for the owners of the gaming networks as players are less inclined to purchase their consoles since they can still interact with players from that console's network from a different console and network. For the game developers it may remain relatively the same as they will still be producing and distributing games for all the consoles they had been before unless of course the games are console exclusive in which case the number of sales may increase or decrease depending on the aftermath of the cross-platform revolution.
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