Activision Blocks PS4 Share Play feature on Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

[Tech_Dreamer]

 Watch out Ubisoft..There's a new digger in town..

 

 

PS4 Users have been complaining about shareplay being disabled for COD:AW , at first it was rumored to be a region specific lock, Later sources have revealed that this is just  all out worldwide block on shareplay for COD :AW , Share Play is apparently blocked out entirely, regardless of region.

 

Users who try to share the play with a friend will get a message that says the following:

 

“The host’s game screen is not displayed because the current scene is a blocked scene for Share Play. Wait until the blocked scene is finished.”
 

 

 

Activision representative gave this statement to 'polygon' website who made an inquiry to the cause of it being blocked..

 

"Delivering a great gaming experience for fans is our top priority. We're focused on launching Advanced Warfare and ensuring that people have a great time playing it, which our fans seem to be. Share Play is a new feature that was introduced as part of the recent PS4 firmware 2.00 update. Our engineers didn't have access to it before it launched, so we haven't had a chance to evaluate it to see how it will impact the experience across all modes of play. Of course we wouldn't include a feature in our game without having the chance to test it. Once we've fully analyzed its performance, we'll determine how to support it going forward.

                                                                             - Activision representative 

 

 

Sony designed the feature so certain elements of games such as the licensed music or a game cutscenes that can spoil the game game plot for the user could be blocked, so that it would not cause any problems with the industry with copyright slaps from higher up the ladder, but Activision seems to be the first company to block an entire game.

 

According to an interview with a sony representative Share Play access is completely at the mercy of developers. Its their choice, and it's very probable that Call of Duty won't be the last game to block the feature

 

 

Share Play is a system level feature enabled by System Software Update 2.00, making it available for all PS4 titles, however the option is available to developers to disable the feature according to what they feel will best benefit the consumer experience, 

 

Share Play access is completely at the mercy of developers. Its their choice, and it's very probable that Call of Duty won't be the last game to block the feature

 

 

 

What is SharePlay?  (a detailed look)

 

Share Play allows two PS4 owners to play the same single copy of a game over the Internet. The owner is designated as the host, and can stream gameplay footage to a guest console. The host can relinquish control of the game to the guest too, effectively giving another user the chance to play without paying. Sony added Share Play to the PS4 in system software update 2.0 which went out last week

 

 

While Share Play is limited to sixty minutes per session, users can return to the mode immediately after the time ends. There is no cap on Share Play sessions either, meaning that a game can effectively be shared indefinitely.

 

Game publishers and developers already have the ability to restrict the PS4's Share button functionality or block it altogether. For example, video shared from NBA 2K14 includes no sound,  because the game uses licensed music, Also sharing can be disabled for cutscenes that a developer considers to contain spoilers. On top of that not all games will be able to support shareplay..

 

 

 

PS4 firmware 2.0 has caused a number of problems with the console as well as certain games; Sony released a follow up this week with  version 2.01 in an attempt to fix the issues. Since Share Play arrived less than a week before the launch of Advanced Warfare, it's possible that Sledgehammer didn't have enough time to implement the feature in the game, and chose to block it rather than hastily add support for it. Sony showed off Share Play during E3 with a different shooter, Ubisoft's Far Cry 4. The PS4 version of Minecraft reportedly disables Share Play.

 

 

 

 

 Activision says that Share Play might not be blocked indefinitely 

 

Regardles of this being a PS4 issues, Youtube gamers who upload gamplay footage or walthrough have been receiving notifications for uploading videos containing gameplay from activisions COD:AW with a copyright takedown notice,there was guy in here like yesterday who made a thread specifically on this takedown as a rant.. watch out Ubisoft, You got competition..

 

Post your thoughts & rants down below...

 

Bonus:

 

 

Link:

http://ps4daily.com/2014/11/cod-share-play-block/

http://www.polygon.com/2014/11/6/7169375/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-ps4-share-play-blocked

http://www.engadget.com/2014/11/06/shareplay-block/

[AlwaysFSX]

I have no comments for this, just going to resort to the above photo.

It explains my thoughts well enough.

[Recon97]

Please just posting news about consoles.We do not have any interest in it.

#PCMASTERRACE

[dizmo]

I don't see the problem in this.

I completely understand why a company wouldn't want to essentially give away free copies of the game to people.

Is it a feature of the Playstation? Sure. That doesn't mean they have to use it, and they shouldn't be blasted for deciding against it.

There's no digging here. Especially if it's true that they didn't have access to it before it's release, which would be very Sonyesque.

[ShadowCaptain]

Please just posting news about consoles.We do not have any interest in it.

#PCMASTERRACE

 

What are you talking about this is a TECH forum not a PC forum... lots of us own consoles as well you know, in fact I bet some people here are only console owners

 

It also means if a friend/relative asks, we can advise them about console specifics if they need help etc

 

I don't see the problem in this.

I completely understand why a company wouldn't want to essentially give away free copies of the game to people.

Is it a feature of the Playstation? Sure. That doesn't mean they have to use it, and they shouldn't be blasted for deciding against it.

There's no digging here. Especially if it's true that they didn't have access to it before it's release, which would be very Sonyesque.

 

I 100% agree with you. A feature came out they did not have time/ability to test during production of the game. Also just because a console has that feature does not mean everyone has to use it.. the controller has a light bar, not all games take advantage of it etc.. every game does not have to have every feature

 

Its been out like 4 days, give them some time to get things running smoothly, they are still working on updating the PC version with dedicated servers and other things, so there is still stuff to do for them

[brownninja97]

[Tech_Dreamer]

I don't see the problem in this.

I completely understand why a company wouldn't want to essentially give away free copies of the game to people.

Is it a feature of the Playstation? Sure. That doesn't mean they have to use it, and they shouldn't be blasted for deciding against it.

There's no digging here. Especially if it's true that they didn't have access to it before it's release, which would be very Sonyesque.

Yeah that's acceptable imo , But they've been pulling out any relative video out from Youtube as well (AW gamplay PS4 tut/walkth etc..) depending on scene match made by youtube, not just blocking a segment the whole gameplay is apparently copyrighted that's sorta lame don't you think?

[IdortMasterRace]

Please just posting news about consoles.We do not have any interest in it.

#PCMASTERRACE

 

Shut up, you're embarrassing yourself.

[ShadowCaptain]

Yeah that's acceptable imo , But they've been pulling out any relative video out from Youtube as well (AW gamplay PS4 tut/walkth etc..) depending on scene match made by youtube, not just blocking a segment the whole gameplay is apparently copyrighted that's sorta lame don't you think?

 

Is it only PS4 they are pulling? all the PC videos seem to be ok...

[Tech_Dreamer]

Is it only PS4 they are pulling? all the PC videos seem to be ok...

exactly, kinda absurd ,

 

Maybe it's just hyping up the small things just to promote the game i think, couple of well known sources are reporting this like IGN ,gamespot,CNET, endgadget, console blogs like wise... (Oh Gawd! they're using me as well?? :blink: )

[dragosudeki]

C'mon guys.... this is Call of Duty. The money grabbers. They still list their reused game for the same price every year and change assets. (However they did add some better graphical engine) I mean, this is the same game that requires you to pay extra for zombies apparently, the second biggest reason to get/play the game. There are lots of things to complain about in CoD. Activision has been this bad since they had this series of games, so I wouldn't consider this a new digger.

[TroubleKlef]

I don't see the problem in this.

I completely understand why a company wouldn't want to essentially give away free copies of the game to people.

Is it a feature of the Playstation? Sure. That doesn't mean they have to use it, and they shouldn't be blasted for deciding against it.

There's no digging here. Especially if it's true that they didn't have access to it before it's release, which would be very Sonyesque.

The issue at hand isn't about giving free copies away. It's about digital rights.

 

After purchasing a game, is it me who determines whether or not a friend can play the game I paid for or does Activision still own it and controls who can play the game I purchased?

[Misanthrope]

C'mon guys.... this is Call of Duty. The money grabbers. They still list their reused game for the same price every year and change assets. (However they did add some better graphical engine) I mean, this is the same game that requires you to pay extra for zombies apparently, the second biggest reason to get/play the game. There are lots of things to complain about in CoD. Activision has been this bad since they had this series of games, so I wouldn't consider this a new digger.

 

Actually the game itself seems to be ok, it's just Activision fucking smearing shit all over it with DRM and now this.

[RH00D]

In multiplayer environment Share Play could definitely be abused. Suppose your playing a competitive match and you aren't doing so well or you're not a fantastic player, enable share play and allow your friend, who is significantly better than you, to play as "you" in the match. That's just one thing that came to mind. Also it is true development on COD: AW started 3 years ago, long before "Share Play" was a thought in their minds and even before the PS4 was even launched. So its not unfathomable that they just didn't get around to testing how it worked with the game and didn't want to include it without testing.

 

But hey now, don't let a little rational thinking get in the way of some good ol' Activision/Call of Duty bashing!

[Guest Kloaked]

Please just posting news about consoles.We do not have any interest in it.

#PCMASTERRACE

Leave the satire on the subreddit. Thanks.

[IdortMasterRace]

In multiplayer environment Share Play could definitely be abused. Suppose your playing a competitive match and you aren't doing so well or you're not a fantastic player, enable share play and allow your friend, who is significantly better than you, to play as "you" in the match. That's just one thing that came to mind. Also it is true development on COD: AW started 3 years ago, long before "Share Play" was a thought in their minds and even before the PS4 was even launched. So its not unfathomable that they just didn't get around to testing how it worked with the game and didn't want to include it without testing.

 

But hey now, don't let a little rational thinking get in the way of some good ol' Activision/Call of Duty bashing!

 

That makes zero sense.

 

In that case, just scrap online multiplayer altogether. I could invite someone better than me over to my house and ask him to play for me. Or fuck it, just let Kinect detect who's playing, then ban my account if it isn't me at the controller.

 

Rational thinking.

[PraiseGabeN]

Please just posting news about consoles.We do not have any interest in it.

#PCMASTERRACE

Dude, It's a post about consoles on a TECH forum. Maybe if it was on our home subreddit of /r/pcmasterrace, I could agree, but being an elitist on a forum like this proves nothing, and doesn't help convert peasants to our glorious cause.  

[MBisFrenchy]

As long as Far Cry 4 has it I am fine. 

[ComradeHX]

In multiplayer environment Share Play could definitely be abused. Suppose your playing a competitive match and you aren't doing so well or you're not a fantastic player, enable share play and allow your friend, who is significantly better than you, to play as "you" in the match. That's just one thing that came to mind. Also it is true development on COD: AW started 3 years ago, long before "Share Play" was a thought in their minds and even before the PS4 was even launched. So its not unfathomable that they just didn't get around to testing how it worked with the game and didn't want to include it without testing.

 

But hey now, don't let a little rational thinking get in the way of some good ol' Activision/Call of Duty bashing!

Competitive match?

Share play?

Those do not go together; shareplay introduces lag and lower resolution/fps, on top of the already bad console resolution/fps...

 

 

Please just posting news about consoles.We do not have any interest in it.

#PCMASTERRACE

This indirectly benefits PC Master Race because it points out hilarious peasantry happening on potatoes.

[AlwaysFSX]

I don't see the problem in this.

I completely understand why a company wouldn't want to essentially give away free copies of the game to people.

Is it a feature of the Playstation? Sure. That doesn't mean they have to use it, and they shouldn't be blasted for deciding against it.

There's no digging here. Especially if it's true that they didn't have access to it before it's release, which would be very Sonyesque.

Uh, YouTube. So your point is a bit invalidated.

[dizmo]

Uh, YouTube. So your point is a bit invalidated.

How does that make any sense? Watching a game isn't the same as playing it.

[AlwaysFSX]

How does that make any sense? Watching a game isn't the same as playing it.

You get the same experience out of it, you know what happens.

[dizmo]

You get the same experience out of it, you know what happens.

Not at all. You know what happens yes, but no where near the same experience.

[ShadowCaptain]

They blocked my PC gameplay on youtube too

[SpaceCore]

if its buggy as hell in CoD:AW I'd turn it off.

 

these devs probably didnt spend any time adding it to their game, so they just turned it off.

 

or maybe they're out for moar money.. who knows.