Of course Sony may have the 'bigger' console install base, however I am willing to bet that MS has the much bigger install base when it comes to Minecraft - all those PC gamers using MS Windows...

With MS trying to unify its Xbox division and PC division into one big MS user base, you could argue that Sony are very much in the minority compared to MS gamers. Nintendo are certainly the smallest numerically but by joining up with MS, they have a much larger pool of gamers to enjoy gaming with.

Personally I see no reason why it can't happen. I don't necessarily believe that ALL games should be cross-platform and it certainly can be 'discussed' on a per-game basis.

I certainly wouldn't say games like CoD or BF for example are a competitive advantage. What is more so is the exclusives, the controller, the community etc. IF MS still had CoD and Fifa, do you think they would have changed the 'dominant' console in terms of sales? I don't think so as MS had Cod up until BO3 and Fifa up until 2017 and still fell behind. I can't see games like CoD, Destiny and BF working cross-platform anyway as I would imagine that Party chat for example probably wouldn't work and that's quite important for some modes. Still would be good if gamers, regardless of console, could unite to play games - especially games that the lobbies drop away quickly and instead of having 3 or 4 small groups trying to find a game in the mode you want, you have a much larger, universal group...

I know its also such a toxic place at times. Instead of being united as gamers who enjoy a certain game, the choice of console to play on can become a reason to be verbally abusive. Its bad enough in some games without bringing in console choice too.

I do understand Sony's perspective though. Its not as they can protect their users from 'abuse' online and 'ban' a gamer on MS or Nintendo for obscene behaviour. If you look online, their is so much hatred between gamers because of the console they have so I understand why Sony may be reluctant to open up to MS and potentially end up with conflicts to resolve. I know the same principal applies to both MS and Nintendo too but it does seem as though they are more willing to co-operate.

As I said, it could be done on a per-game basis and games like Minecraft or Rocket League could be acceptable but games like CoD and BF may not be OK - maybe even wouldn't work properly either for one reason or another. It doesn't seem quite as violent as say rival football fans can be when rival gamers get together at Gamescom for example but the internet does seem quite volatile...