Breaking Down the Walls: Cross-platforming entertainment

“Build the wall! Build the Wall! BUILD THE WALL!!” Whatever.Even the frothing chants of the US Trumpeters are having little effect. In fact, in consumer entertainment and marketing terms, we are witnessing the opposite – particularly in the consumer-driven entertainment arenas, the walls are disappearing rapidly.

Perhaps the boldest example recently has been the acceptance by PlayStation that they will allow cross-platform gaming to meet the (equally frothy) pitchfork-and-torches cries of Fortnite’s Battlers Royale. Finally, changing the habit of several lifetimes, gamers will be able to play against each other across multiple platforms – console vs PC vs handheld, all at the same time. (“Witchcraft, I tell you!”)

But this should come as little surprise… As well as consistent (although, until now, well-resisted) pressure from gamers and developers for years, there have been a few significant precedents.

YouTube blew away the video-broadcasting’s cobwebs. Netflix and Spotify were significant cross-platform game-changers. Amazon and Twitter compete to show NFL games live. Twitch (the videogame-play streaming service) now streams over 45 BILLION minutes per month, from a plethora of gaming platforms and countless vloggers (including Amazon’s NFL!) Even the BBC makes content that is sold to Netflix by ITV.

The world (of entertainment, at least) is opening up at an accelerating pace. Embrace the audiences and the rewards will flow through the gaps created.

Are you “open for business” yet?

By: Simon Stokes

How barrier-busting cross-platform entertainment is good for all.