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.
“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.”
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.
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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Follow me on Twitter @HakenGaken.
Source: Kotaku, Xbox Marketplace
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i understand it and all and yah they could have handled it sooner but instead of doing that and why not make it to where you could play it multi-player on an sdtv?
Totally disappointed. I don’t even have an HDTV. I still use my old 90′s model. Its a shame that today almost every game has set to HD. Its beyond hard to read the text. And Honestly I couldn’t care less about High Definition’s sound and picture. Which is one reason why I liked the Wii since that was the only console that was set to HD with Tiny text. I was waiting to save up enough money to get an Xbox points card to purchase Minecraft. But now hearing this, I may reconsider. I was really looking forward to split screen multiplayer. That’s one thing that I thought was incredibly Awesome, seeing how today everything is online now. Kinda disappointed how consoles today target the average middle class consumer. But I guess that’s the business world for you.
how old are you dang a 90s model what the heck my grandme had an old one but i can understand everytime i ask here she would say just trying to keep it classy
Yeah, I have an idea…
FCUKINGH UPDATE IT TO THE 1.0.0 UPDATE….SHEESH. Or at least even the 1.8 beta that would be great. Hey there nothing wrong with nostalgia playing on the 1.6 beta…but sheesh were trying to get use to playing pre 1.8 lol.
wow…if its this far into the current Gen of gaming and people still dont have their xbox hooked up to a high def screen, its their own fault. HDTVs are dirt cheap now. no excuse.
how about when you can barely afford to pay rent and keep the power on? that’s my situation there’s no way I could afford to get a new TV, I’ve had mine for 5 years
well if you can barely afford rent then I don’t think you should be paying for a xbox let alone internet connection. You can go about getting tvs as low as 100$, so its not that expensive considering you bought the xbox and internet.
I forgot to say I’ve also had my xbox for 5 years, and the internet is really cheap, like $10 a month, also I only do the special deals for xbox live so it averages to about 2-3 dollars a month
I think they handled it well– the world is making the move very quickly to HD and most games don’t even SUPPORT split-screen for multiplayer anymore, forcing players to pay to play online with each other. The people who received a full refund for not having split-screen access because they simply don’t currently have access to an HDTV should be more than happy.
Take it to a friend’s house and play it on theirs– or get with the times, and buy and HDTV.
Oh and most computer monitors are now HD as well– for which you can buy a 360-HDMI cable and play your 360 on that.
It’s already tough to see modern games on a standard screen, let alone one that’s divided into two.
Probably won’t buy the 360 port since I have it for the PC.
i knew minecraft would fail why not let world of war craft come on the consolse it would be better just leave it to the more experienced desighners
Side note, Minecraft in no way failed, as the article clearly states it both become profitable within the hour, and sold over 1 million copies within a week. Those numbers denote success, and quite large.
They shouldn’t even offer refunds, they said before launch you couldn’t play splitscreen on SDTV’s, and if you didn’t pay attention thats your stupid ass fault… And just get an HDTV for christs sake, “boo hoo, i can’t afford it” well I live on welfare, with 200 dollars a month to spend on food/bills/entertainment and I CAN AFFORD ONE… so stop being a whining ass…
If you receive only $200 a month and you can still afford a new HDTV, then you are irresponsible and are exactly what’s wrong with the economy: You spend money when you don’t have it to spend.
yep, “boo hoo, i can’t afford it” isn’t a very goot motto to live by. Get off your ass and get a job.
I only have one major issue with Minecraft for the 360, in that I already bought it for the computer, and see little to no reason to buy it again, simply to play on a console. I only wish they would set it up in such a fashion that I might log into the account I already have with them to play the game I already paid for once. Much as I would love to play it with a controller, I don’t feel like spending 20 to do so.
The ignorance here astounds.
First, you guys complaining about no SD need to think. Why do you think they made it this way? Because, and Jeb even said, that it would be IMPOSSIBLE to read text or even see most stuff without HD. I have enough trouble reading the text and I HAVE an HDTV!
Second, anyone QQing about not wanting to buy a new TV, boo hoo. Honestly, I don’t care at all. I can understand financial issues, but I don’t have any idea why anyone would have reservations against a TV just because it is new. That is like saying you only want to eat expired and rotten food for the rest of your life.
Third, Microsoft is being absolutely AMAZING for so much as offering you a refund when the purchase CLEARLY states that there are no refunds. Stop complaining and start looking at what the good is.
The reason Minecraft is now on Xbox, Android, Xperia, and iOS is simply for accessibility. Many people have nowhere near the requirements for running minecraft smoothly, if not well, so doesn’t it make sense to put it on a system where you can be sure it will be lag-free for everyone?
The main reason I got MCX360 is for this reason. It is terribly, terribly difficult to actually play with friends on PC. However, I’ve had an absolute blast playing with them over the amazingly streamlined Xbox Live. Beyond that, my annoying little siblings can actually play WITH me instead of bugging me and annoying me to give them the computer.
TL;DR Stfu and look at the bright side.
I wasnt saying they failed in profit i was saying they failed because they have to give refunds that means they are going to start losing money so their profit is going down btw so stfu
When I bought MCXBLA on release day, I was REALLY pissed that you needed HDTV to play splitscreen (only reason i bought the xbox version), because the TV we use for our xbox dosnt have HDMI, but the TV that is on our living room that we use for watching TV shows has one.
Solution: move the xbox upstairs and get parents angry whenever we want to play splitscreen
I dont really play MCXBLA much, cant decide if i should get a refund or not…