Ah, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition. Beloved by owners of high-definition televisions for allowing multiple players to sit side by side, mining and crafting together. Berated by owners of standard-definition televisions for denying them the joys of split-screen multiplayer – and for not offering a warning to that effect up front.
To prevent further outrage among SDTV-owning Xbox 360 players, the Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition product page on the Xbox Marketplace has been updated with a warning: “To experience split-screen functionality a high-definition television is required.” Even better, Microsoft is offering refunds to players stung by the game’s lack of support for multiplayer on standard-definition sets.
The Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition multiplayer fiasco has been the sole unsightly blemish on an otherwise remarkable success story (so long as you no longer count the lack of Kinect support). The game managed to become profitable within an hour of release, and went on to sell more than one million copies in less than a week. By all counts, it’s an excellent – if incomplete – version of the PC original that positively shines in multiplayer, as pointed out in Game Rant’s Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition review. What a shame, then, that owners of standard-definition televisions are missing out on so much of what makes the game fun. At least now, there’s a warning.
In a statement issued to Kotaku, a Microsoft spokesperson announced that refunds are available to gamers who bought Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition to play on standard-definition televisions.
If that’s you, head right on over to Xbox Support. With that problem out of the way, players can resume waiting for Mojang and 4J studios to get the Adventure Update rolled into Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition.
“We updated our pre-sale notification to inform customers that an HD screen is required for the split-screen multiplayer feature on Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition. If a player does not have an HD screen and purchased this game prior to the notification update, they are eligible for a full refund through customer support.”
Ranters, what do you think about how Microsoft has handled this situation? It’s been nearly two weeks since Minecraft launched on Xbox 360 – should a solution have been reached before now? Is the new warning sufficient? Let us know in the comments below – especially if the lack of SDTV split-screen multiplayer affected you.
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition is available now from the Xbox Marketplace.
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Source: Kotaku, Xbox Marketplace
