Controversy as Minecraft Xbox Edition doesn’t support splitscreen on SDTVs

Aaaaaaaaand this week’s Thing That Makes Gamers Mad is Minecraft’s splitscreen mode, which apparently doesn’t work on old standard definition TVs.

The mode is a new feature in the Xbox LIVE Arcade version of the game, which launched yesterday, and supports up to four players on a single console.

According to a rapidly expanding list of complaints over on the official Minecraft forums, the option to add more players is simply not available on SDTVs or even on HDTVs that aren’t hooked up to the Xbox with an HDMI or component cable.

For anybody who played Dead Rising on an SDTV, the reason is probably obvious.

For everybody else, a Microsoft rep explained to Kotaku that, “In order to deliver the best consumer experience, and to support the text needs of the inventory and crafting system, split-screen multiplayer in Minecraft does require an HD screen. Currently, in game prompts alert players of the HD requirements for split-screen multiplayer.”

The tricky bit being “in game”, of course. This sort of important information should probably be displayed on the game’s Marketplace listing. Or people could get with the 21st century and buy a real TV already.