Dragon Ball Sparking Zero devs have announced that split-screen play will be limited to a single map. Prospective players are blaming the decision on the Xbox Series S console’s perceived weakness.
Dragon Ball Sparking Zero looks to bring back the franchise’s 3D fighter glory days by drawing heavily from the beloved Budokai Tenkaichi series. A massive roster of playable fighters, along with the fan-favorite ‘What If?’ scenarios are just some of the callbacks.
Since the game’s reveal, fans of the series have been begging the developers to include local co-op so they can relive the split-screen battles of the past. Bandai Namco has confirmed that Dragon Ball Sparking Zero will include a split-screen but with a major caveat.
The mode will only be playable on a single map in the game; the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Some fans hoping for a more robust split-screen experience for Dragon Ball Sparking Zero have blamed the Xbox Series S console for the limitation.
Producer Jun Furutani explained the reasoning behind the decision to GamesRadar+ in an interview at Summer Games Fest 2024. He cited the hefty performance requirements of the game’s environmental interactivity as a hurdle to split-screen play for Sparking Zero.
“The game was really developed as a solo experience on one screen because it was so important for us to be able to maximize and optimize the experience of a Dragon Ball fight and all that comes with it,” Furutani said. “For example, all the real-time interactions and animation that you can see in the game will make this Dragon Ball experience the best.”
“There were definitely challenges to go with the split screen feature,” he continued. “But still, we wanted the player to enjoy the game in many situations, and playing on his couch with a friend is one of the situations, so we made sure to add this feature in the game.”
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Hopeful Dragon Ball Sparking Zero players have placed the blame for these limitations at the feet of the Xbox Series S console. More specifically, Microsoft’s feature parity clause — which caused delays to the 2023 Game of the Year Baldur’s Gate 3 and possibly Black Myth: Wukong.
Sucks that the game has to be held back bcs of Series S, I would appreciate a delay just to let the good consoles full PVP local and the S behind when they got extra time
— ZerakZ51 (@IZ51x99) June 9, 2024
Players on the PlayStation 5 Subreddit have blasted the decision and the Series S for its perceived role in the single-map limitation.
“Translation: This was the only map that the Series S could handle in split-screen,” one user posited.
“F**k Xbox parity. If they wanna drag along a rotting carcass let them, but devs need to not gimp the game on PC and PS5 because of them,” another disappointed fan put forward. It should be noted that there is some probable bias within a subreddit dedicated to a rival console.
Bandai Namco never explicitly stated that the Xbox Series S or Microsoft’s parity clause was the reason for Dragon Ball Sparking Zero’s single-map split-screen.
Given the level of environmental destruction shown off in gameplay footage and the rendering requirements of split-screen play, it would likely be challenging to develop for any hardware.