Share Play is a flagship PS4 feature that allows friends to connect their consoles and play the same game together online. But because only one person needs a copy of a game to do this, publishers appear to be cautious about committing to it.
At least 14 games already, including Advanced Warfare, have blocked Share Play functionality since it went live in late October. Now internal tests at GameSpot show that FIFA 15 is the latest to lock out the service.
Some players are claiming that the Share Play functionality still works on FIFA 15. Secondary tests by GameSpot shows that the feature is still unavailable. However, on the games forum NeoGAF, there are conflicting accounts regarding whether the service has been disabled. This could mean that the feature is unavailable due to technical problems, as opposed to a block put in place by EA. Share Play is affecting many games on certain accounts, not just FIFA 15.
Once a Share Play session has been established on the soccer title, footage of the game cannot be viewed outside the host console. A message appearing on the guest console reads: “Viewing the game screen that the host is currently playing is not allowed due to content restrictions in your country or region.”
It marks the first time EA has decided to prohibit Sony’s Share Play functionality on one of its games. In late October, when Sony demonstrated Share Play for the first time, the company even used a copy of fifa 15 coins to explain how the feature works.
Back when Sony first discussed Share Play, it assured that no games would block the system-wide feature. Yet one week later, the corporation changed its stance, explaining that “the option is available to developers to disable the feature according to what they feel will best benefit the consumer experience”.
EA’s decision to remove FIFA 15 support could pave the way for further blocks across its other games. GameSpot has contacted the publisher to clarify its position.