Multi-platform/cross-platform gaming

I want to play my PC games with friends that have consoles.

The only game I know of that has done that is Shadow Run. I played the game a bit on a friend's Xbox 360, and it was fairly fun (as far as a console FPS goes). Why hasn't anyone else done this? You know consumers would like to be able to play COD4 between PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. Or even just PS3 and Xbox 360, just to keep mouse haters out of the picture. However, you know that console makes would not encourage this type of thing, because it boosts the usefulness of both consoles, and they all want theirs to be 'the console' to buy. Why would game developers want to piss off the console makers jsut to make customers happy? So they don't.
(Note: UT3 was supposed to be cross-platform network playable too, but they changed their minds before release)


Just doing a google search on PC games dieing you see that it is no small discussion. A great blog post on this can be found here:
http://www.blogohblog.com/is-piracy-killing-the-pc-gaming-industry/
It also has lots of good comments, including one from me :P
This also crosses into the gaming on pc vs consoles talk. I think it is covered well, and I won't get into it here.

There are also lots of talks about 'middlewear' to power games so that cross-platform with be easier on developers. This could also open up the cross-platform network play on these games. See there for more info:
http://www.gtawh.com/forums/index.php?s=b42fdea27ec3e94321df5db1056dcb06&showtopic=23413&pid=655175&st=0&#entry655175
http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1230049
http://pc.gamezone.com/news/07_03_03_05_33PM.htm


Here is a good (but out of date) post about 'The Next Generation of Multiplatform Games', from January 25th, 2006. But it is in a light I have not really looked at before; Game maker don't use the console's full power so that the games can also come out on ther last generation's hardware. Interesting. I would like to see the same person look at this again today and tell us what they see. Is it better with PS3 and Wii out?
http://community.teamxbox.com/xbox/1460/The-Next-Generation-of-Multiplatform-Games/p1/


Lots of people asking about this, and Shadow Run is the only answer (and Quake 3 for DreamCast I guess):
http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-gaming/129012-call-duty-4-cross-platform-multiplayer.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=183478
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=170214
http://www.fragland.net/news/Team-Fortress-2-no-cross-platform-multiplayer/16725/
http://kotaku.com/350620/halo-wars-to-offer-cross+platform-multiplayer


So, what I get out of all this:
Buy Shadow Run and support cross-platform network gaming.
I am going to go buy it today for PC.

Read this for some hope in game developers doing what the consumers want:
"1st June for first cross-platform multiplayer game for 360" (11 May 2007)
http://old.gameplanet.co.nz/mag.dyn/News/11782.html