1. Because it gets people on their system, who will then buy more games when the fad does eventually die out (which let's be clear won't be anytime soon). If someone playing Fortnite on PC asks their XBoX friends to download and play with them, now a bridge has been formed between the Fortnite only PC player and the XBoX player. It's only a few conversations away from "Hey, I got a 4K TV, let me get an XBoX so that I can keep playing Fortnite and all these other games with my friends."
2. Because it garners good will. Within the last few years, more and more companies are realizing that doing good by the consumer can still be profitable. Sony's the dominant platform now, but that can change within a year. If Microsoft is over here saying that their games are going to be backwards compatible forever and the consumer knows, through history, that Microsoft allows you to play with your friends no matter where they play, that's a substantial incentive to get the next XBoX over the next Playstation.
3. Because, and this is the simplest reason, why not? The work is already done, all Epic has to do is flip the switch. It requires no extra work on Sony's end, just willingness to allow their console to talk to other consoles. The way this is going, this is going to be net profit negative in the long run, with more people jumping to XBoX if they know Microsoft plays well with others.
1. Because it gets people on their system, who will then buy more games when the fad does eventually die out (which let's be clear won't be anytime soon). If someone playing Fortnite on PC asks their XBoX friends to download and play with them, now a bridge has been formed between the Fortnite only PC player and the XBoX player. It's only a few conversations away from "Hey, I got a 4K TV, let me get an XBoX so that I can keep playing Fortnite and all these other games with my friends."
2. Because it garners good will. Within the last few years, more and more companies are realizing that doing good by the consumer can still be profitable. Sony's the dominant platform now, but that can change within a year. If Microsoft is over here saying that their games are going to be backwards compatible forever and the consumer knows, through history, that Microsoft allows you to play with your friends no matter where they play, that's a substantial incentive to get the next XBoX over the next Playstation.
3. Because, and this is the simplest reason, why not? The work is already done, all Epic has to do is flip the switch. It requires no extra work on Sony's end, just willingness to allow their console to talk to other consoles. The way this is going, this is going to be net profit negative in the long run, with more people jumping to XBoX if they know Microsoft plays well with others.