Microsoft Offers Refunds To Low-Def Minecraft Users

[manaman]

Wow! I can honestly say I'm astonished by how many people still use SDTV's, I mean you could pick up a HDTV for only about £80 now right? Maybe less if you get it used.

There are still quite a few people living at home, and it's still quite common to see game systems hooked up to spare TVs in the house and not the main screen in the living room. Kids often get the shaft because they realize an HDTV would help, but they can't convince their parents to get one for their gameing TV.

 

[Beautiful End]

Wow! I can honestly say I'm astonished by how many people still use SDTV's, I mean you could pick up a HDTV for only about £80 now right? Maybe less if you get it used.

When money is bad and your nice, large, SDTV works perfectly I can't see why. Wouldn't a nice bigger hard drive be more worth the money? Or food? Bills? Another video game? Frankly, the SDTV has served me and many other just find I can't say I give a fuck about the idea of upping the quality a bit.

A bit? A bit? The difference is amazing

I get that money is an issue for some people, but seriously, if you can afford to buy a PC/console plus games plus internet connection then it shouldn't be that hard to get a HDTV. And seeing as they do tend to last a good few years, as opposed to games, it sounds like a good investment (in terms of useless crap) to me.

And by the way, I never said there is no reason for anyone to still be using an SDTV, I just said the number of people who did baffled me a bit.

Hmm... how bad was your SDTV? Because mine is quite nice and I can even read the text in games such as Mass Effect 2 without too much problem. Same with Homefront. In fact the only game I still can not read some of the text no matter how hard I try is an indie game called CastleMiner Z, that thanks to Minecraft and it's tendency to corrupt saves I've spent months on, I don't play anymore. I've seen HDTVs and can't say I was impressed enough to want to fork over the money.

Here's the thing. I'd assume most of these people are in my shoes:

I have a 32in. SDTV that works perfectly fine. Then I got my PS3 and discovered I can't read chiz because everything has a glare, aka, I need an HDTV. Yeah, I have the money to buy at least a modest HDTV. But...my other TV still works fine and all. I don't NEED another TV, so it's not like I can just put the old TV in my room or whatever. And I'm not a big fan of reselling my stuff, especially when I still have some use for it.

However, because of this whole "Durr, PS3 and 360 forces you to get a better TV" chiz, I HAVE to get one now because I'm just tired of guessing what my game is trying to tell me.
Mind you, other than that problem, the SDTV is just fine, especially when...you know, I'm watching TV.
And I don't really care for jaw-dropping graphics. I mean, I like them but it's not like I'm not gonna play games on a TV that doesn't make it look as if I'm next to Mr. Shepherd or Ms. Lightning as opposed to sitting in my living room playing a game.

Just some thoughts.

EDIT: Needless to say, this announcement is for me. I'll look into it.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

Wow! I can honestly say I'm astonished by how many people still use SDTV's, I mean you could pick up a HDTV for only about £80 now right? Maybe less if you get it used.

Maybe at your place.
The cheapest HD Tv model that I could find in my city was ~500$ (new). There are cheaper, but they aren't HD. Just an LCD TV which they try to sell to unknowing costumer.

Some people would rather save up to buy a game, than save up 10 times more and have a TV at their place which they won't be using since they can't buy games.
Some people have to pick between several things and pick the one they like the most.

OT: Minecraft was advertised to have split screen support, jet they didn't say you need a HDTV. I think it's only fair that they give refund since that was the only reason (IMHO) someone would have to buy MC on the xbox instead of the PC version.

 

[.No.]

Minecraft and HD shouldnt be in the same sentence.

http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/127377-16x-32x-64x-128x-256x12-lb-photo-realism-124-update-3292012/
Problem?
That's not even close to being as HD as it gets. There's 2048x2048 somewhere, but I can't be arsed to find it.

Its funny cause youre telling a veteran alpha minecraft player with extensive mod history about this. . Yes i know these, and you missed the point of what i said. Or youre just making a joke yourself. Btw, even with the mod, i wouldnt call the game HD...

It was purely a joke. As far as I know, HD texture packs are fairly known about. They're the the closest thing Minecraft can be to HD.

 

[Formica Archonis]

My reasoning: Why should I buy an HD TV when my old SD TV works fine, and probably will for years? So it stays. And honestly, when it fails if I happen to find someone getting rid of an SD TV, I'll take it off their hands for free and keep using that. I don't need HD and don't particularly want it.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

How is the Def of your TV stop you from playing split screen?

 

[Scars Unseen]

30% of homes don't have an HDTV? That's a lot of Luddites.

 

[BrotherRool]

Darn us people, not going out and buying a new TV every few years

 

[The Lugz]

Minecraft and HD shouldnt be in the same sentence.

depends, i've seen plenty of hd texture packs and shaders for minecraft that make it look amazing
you can even get wind and rain simulators for foliage now..
moders are amazing sometimes!

 

[bchampnd]

That does kinda suck for the non-HD crowd. I always found split screen worked better on the old SDTV's but that was probably because it was a lot more common to see 50" SD sets than it is to see HDTV's that large even today.

And to the people talking about the amount of non-HDTVs still in use, beyond the whole "times are bad, food is more important than new TV" argument (which is a perfectly valid reason to forego a luxury item like an HDTV), many people will not replace a TV until it breaks. Even if they do buy a new HDTV, if the old SDTV still works it gets moved down to the basement or somewhere else for the kids to watch TV and play games.

 

[Creator002]

Don't have a HD TV at all, was disappointed when I hooked it up to play with my brother and I couldn't read a thing ;_;

EDIT: Im having a brain mess.
How exactly do I go for a refund?
Is it over my xbox, or can I do it online?
If so, how?
Cant find a specific link to message anyone, or any premade Microsoft link.

I think that you have to contact customer support and tell them that you bought it, have an SD TV and that you can't play split-screen.

 

[Denamic]

I haven't even seen an SD TV in 3 years.

 

[FEichinger]

I'm confused as to how you go about getting the refund. Can't anyone just call them up and say, "Hey, I bought Minecraft and I don't have an HD tv. Where's my money?"

Game gets removed, you get your money back ... Does it really matter whether it was a legitimate "I don't have an HD TV" or a "I don't want the game anymore"? ...

 

[Bloodtrozorx]

Despite MIcrosoft's intial failure to list the requirement it is at least a stand up move to give refunds. It is pretty crappy that Minecraft needs HD though.

 

[.No.]

Minecraft and HD shouldnt be in the same sentence.

http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/127377-16x-32x-64x-128x-256x12-lb-photo-realism-124-update-3292012/
Problem?
That's not even close to being as HD as it gets. There's 2048x2048 somewhere, but I can't be arsed to find it.

Above 256x these texture packs make Minecraft run slower than Witcher 2 with Ubersampling. ;_;

I have to say, as stupid as it is for requiring an HDTV for split-screen, it's jolly nice of the big M to offer full refunds.

I imagine this should be able to run it with only a bit of lag.

[Lies]And it's in everyone's price range![/Lies]

 

[Ninja-Jordan]

Am I the only one who thinks this is stupid? Its the fucking year 2012, an age where blu-ray and HD display are the primary ways to view most forms of video. How the hell do people still own SD TV's? This isn't the time of fucking Charlemagne. Microsoft and Mojang shouldn't be offering refunds to people who refuse to move forward with the times. Yeah, I couldn't read the text for Dead Rising when it came out on my SDTV, know what I did? I didn't demand a refund, I went out and bought a HDTV. Get with the times!

 

[Grey Day for Elcia]

Hehe, playing Minecraft somehow requires HD. Ah what a superficial and shallow age we live in.

The irony is delicious, to be honest.

"This LEGO--a tool for me to channel my imagination through, creating anything my mind could envision--is not high-rez enough."

-_-

OT: I feel like I might be super blind and lacking perspective for this, but don't the vast majority of gamers in the developed world have a HD TV? Maybe I'm just super lucky to have one?