Phil Spencer: Xbox 360 and Windows Cross-Platform Play “Where The Future Of Gaming Is Going”

In an interview, Team Xbox’s Phil Spencer was noncommittal about cross-platform play between Xbox 360 and Windows, but he has said that he thinks this is where the future of gaming is going.

In prior interviews, Microsoft has clarified that cross platform play between Xbox One and Xbox 360 has proven to be impossible, due to the differences in architectures for both platforms. Subsequently, Microsoft, as well as Sony, have talked up the merits of buying cross generation games like Battlefield 4 and Final Fantasy 14 A Realm Reborn. These schemes include discounts and even free transfers, but all involve switching accounts over so that you could not play in your older consoles anymore.

Xbox One to PC cross platform play is theoretically a different beast. Particularly, it’s notable that both Windows 8 and the Xbox One operating systems were designed in around the same time frame, so this functionality may have already been planned well in advance.

Phil expressly says he is not allowed to leak anything. However, he agrees that cross platform play between Xbox One and Windows 8 is an idea that makes sense. He also brings up Microsoft’s prior experiments in this regard with Shadow Run, Skulls of the Shogun, and Halo: Spartan Assault.

In this end, Phil may not necessarily be talking about Xbox One players playing the same game online with Windows 8 players. His examples bring up other forms of cross-platform play, such as carrying save data over between different versions of the game, as well as connectivity between different, but related games.

Phil concludes that he does not see cross-platform play as something developers have to do, but something they will have the capability to.

Microsoft is uniquely positioned to be able to offer cross-platform play between Xbox One and PC in ways its competitors are unable to. Although my gut feeling tells me they may not go beyond having you look at XBL data, or the Windows 8 App Store, with their big talk of the cloud, there’s a glimmer of hope they may bring online multiplayer between the two platforms yet.

Source: AusGamers