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Microsoft has explained the differences between the Xbox 360 and Xbox One versions of Zoo Tycoon, revealing that the current-gen version does not support Kinect, has almost half the amount of animals, and is limited to offline single-player only.
Speaking to VideoGamer.com during Gamescom, Microsoft Studios studio manager Jorg Neumann explained that Frontier was downporting the title from Xbox One to fit onto Xbox 360, revealing that there is “not enough” processing power on the current console to deliver the full experience.
“[Xbox 360] can’t render this,” Neumann said, pointing to the Xbox One version on display, “so we have to decrement a lot of the art. And b) you can’t even store it all. So we can’t have 100 animals [as with Xbox One]. We can have 55 maybe, we’re still working on the exact specifics for that.
“There’s some other features we had to [cut]. Like Kinect, we couldn’t support. Kinect takes a lot of processing power in Xbox 360, so we can’t have it there. And the same with Xbox LIVE: we’re basically banking on the Xbox One community. And the zoos are twice as big on Xbox One. There’s a lot of [differences], but if you want to play a single-player game and still have a good time, you can play it on 360.”
Neumann’s comments may come as a concern to current-gen users hoping to pick up the game on Xbox 360. Developer Frontier previously created Kinectimals and Kinect Disneyland Adventures, both of which were built around Microsoft’s motion-sensing device.
The Xbox One version, meanwhile, will let users interact directly with the animals via Kinect minigames, and features a four-player online component that lets players create and share zoos together.
Zoo Tycoon launches on Xbox One and Xbox 360 this Christmas.
