Fans have been wondering why one of this years biggest game releases, Destiny, isn't going to be supporting cross-platform multiplayer when it launches on two generations of gaming hardware on September 9. In a recent interview, developer Bungie has provided a satisfactory answer.
Destiny is primarily a cooperative game in the vein of a MMO or the shooter/RPG Borderlands, but it also features a robust competitive multiplayer mode. It is here where Bungie was weary of matching opponents together across generations of hardware. Bungie engineer Roger Wolfson explains that it is a matter of making sure the game experience is nearly identical for all players across all platforms.
"I'll speak for the hypothetical player," Wolfson says to Digital Trends. "I have a disadvantage sniping across the map because [my opponent with a next-gen console] is only two pixels on my screen and I'm four pixels on his. You see that in the world of PC gaming, where people are always racing to the best video card to give themselves the advantage."
Wolfson goes on to say that the decision to disable cross-platform play is about having a level playing field for all players. "Regardless of where the reality is, there's definitely a perception among gamers that better hardware means you have an advantage," Wolfson says. "We don't want to have to enter that fray, so to create the best, most level playing field, both actually and perceptually, we separated it by platform."
Bungie's goal of equality across all platforms has paid off says Wolfson. While next-generation consoles feature a higher level of graphical fidelity, the experience is nearly the same when compared to Destiny on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
"I've been playing some on the Xbox 360 as well as the PS4 [at home] as we head into the beta window, and I've been really pleased at how I can almost forget that I'm playing on a last-gen console," Wolfson says. "There's really no difference at all in loading, the action game is as fluid and as action-packed, there are as many combatants on the last-gen, [and] the loading times are equivalent."
Both next-gen and last-gen Xbox players will finally get to experience what all the buzz is about get theirs hands on Destiny come July 23, a full week after PlayStation owners have been enjoying the beta and nearly a month after PS4 owners had the opportunity to play the alpha version of the game.
