Both of these games "technically" emulate their PC counterpart and use an external server. Destiny does neither. It uses p2p and matchmaking systems of their respective platforms (which are separate) which in turn makes them platform specific. For a game like Destiny, hosting a global server is not really feasible. There are similar PC games (meaning aRPGs) that do that (Path of Exile, Marvel Heroes", but they are PC only games and as such are not bound publishing rules of Sony and Ms and don't have to share their profits with them. Even DCUO does this, even though the PC players are kept apart from the PS3/PS4 crowd, but that's because Sony has its dedicated PC MMO platform, also known as the place where MMOs go to die. The only reason the games you mention do bother with that is because they already have a central framework for the PC version, creating one without a PC version is not financially feasible to the best of my knowledge.

I figured that their chosen network infrastructure didn't support play across generations. But even as you pointed out, DCUO has allowed for it meaning that it is technically possible. As for whether it's feasible, profitable, or practical, I cannot say.

I don't think it is, especially since you already sharing your already share revenues with console vendors. Either way I would think that the quote refers to Destiny itself due to how it was designed to worm, not a general statement. I generally don't think cross platform play is not a wise investment no matter the size of the project and are a waste of developer resources.

Actually, when DeeJ made the statement in the video, he said that it wasn't possible with "just about all console games." As we've both pointed out with various examples, that isn't completely accurate. It is possible. It might be that the particular network architecture that Bungie is using makes cross-gen play not a viable reality, but I don't necessary think that it isn't possible. It's disappointing, but it is what it is. I'm not particularly strong when it comes to understanding business. Conceptually, I would think consolidation would be easier than fragmentation. Considering that the full potential of Destiny on current generation consoles is being hampered by making the game for last generation, it would demonstrate a model that caters to broad applicability. As for an example that shows profitability with a fragmented approach, one only need look to the Android platform on mobile devices. That market is VERY fragmented as there are multiple versions of the OS across many varied devices. While Apple favored a more restricted environment with uniform hardware & software, Android has proven successful with flexibility.

And outside of franchises that are owned/published by the owners of t their systems, or in the case of FF, desperately trying to recover from a huge flop, no one seems to be that interested with bothering. Consoles are a very closed environment, even in the same family. And this generation is way too obsessed about social media and gimmicks to change that. The only reason 360 and PS3 versions are a thing is because they still have a decent enough player base, but no one is going to invest their time in a audience that is pretty much going to only diminish. And that makes taking the effort to maintain cross platform servers and deal with restrictions of each platform not worth it, especially outside of Japan, where the next gen consoles haven't sold that well. Guess which platform Destiny is not being released over there ;P That had always been the reality of consoles, even Apple and iOS are way more flexible then them. This generation isn't that different in that aspect.

Extremely true. The last gen user base will eventually be phased out with support declining. It might be that it isn't worth the effort as they might not see the value. I agree that the current generation is more interested in social connection & gimmicks, especially at the expense of features that should be no brainers at this point in the technological cycle (i.e. more robust media playability, interface customization, external storage, etc). I would have liked there to have been cross-gen play as I feel that it would help bridge the gulf between the console generations & made the social aspects of the game more exciting. At least from my time in the alpha, the game seemed very empty & unpopulated.

I'm really disappointed that it won't be cross-gen. It seems like a lot of my friends are moving to the PS4 on this game, and being independent from my parents, I really can't afford to put hundreds of dollars into the new console right away. You guys mention a video with Deej as a source. Anybody have a link to this?