Split / Shared Screen Category for LaunchBox Games Database

📋 Summary

Add a new Split / Shared Screen play mode category to the LaunchBox Games Database, allowing users to easily identify games that support local multiplayer via split-screen or shared-screen mechanics.

This would enable better filtering, searching, and playlist creation for couch-co-op gaming.

❗ Problem

There is currently no consistent way within the LaunchBox Games Database to identify games that support local multiplayer on a single system, such as:

• Split-screen couch co-op

• Single-screen shared-screen co-op

• Competitive local multiplayer that does NOT require networking

Existing metadata is inconsistent:

• MAME has “2–4 Player Simultaneous,” but this applies mostly to arcade titles and isn’t integrated cleanly across platforms.

• Steam has a “Shared/Split Screen Co-Op” tag (Tag 39), but the tag is unreliable and doesn’t map into LaunchBox metadata.

As a result, users cannot easily filter for games that support simple, same-device local multiplayer — especially important for platforms like Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation, and PC.

💡 Proposal

Add a new database field under Play Modes:

➕ Split / Shared Screen (Local Co-Op or Versus)

This would:

• Indicate that a game supports multiplayer on one device, using shared or split screen

• Apply across all platforms (PC, consoles, handhelds)

• Work for both co-op and versus gameplay

Additional Components

• Allow LaunchBox to filter or sort by this property

• Enable autogenerated “Local Co-Op / Split Screen” playlists

• Display this play mode in game details within LaunchBox and Big Box

• Support community contributions to tag games appropriately

🧩 Example Use Cases

• A user with an Xbox 360 collection wants to quickly find all couch co-op titles like Halo 3, Borderlands, Gears of War, or Left 4 Dead.

• PC gamers want a list of local multiplayer games without digging through Steam’s inconsistent tags.

• Retro gamers want to separate shared-screen games like Gauntlet, Streets of Rage, or Mario Kart from alternating-turn multiplayer.

• Handheld PC owners (ROG Ally, Legion Go, Steam Deck) want a quick way to pick games to play together on a TV.

📦 Benefits

• Creates a standardized, platform-agnostic way to represent local multiplayer

• Enables much better filtering inside LaunchBox & Big Box

• Makes couch-co-op gaming dramatically easier to browse

• Complements existing metadata for multiplayer counts

• Helps handheld PC users and living-room setups find games instantly

• Adds clarity missing in both Steam and MAME systems