Minecraft


moralist

Recommended Posts

I love playing this game.

It's no end of fun. :laugh:

Markus "Notch" Persson, the founder of the immensely popular world-building game Minecraft, is stepping down following Microsoft's $2.5 billion acquisition of Minecraft maker Mojang Monday morning.

‘Minecraft’ creator Markus “Notch” Persson has just closed on a $70 million home on Hillcrest Drive in Beverly Hills. The 23,000-square-foot, Contemporary-style home, with a wall of glass that provides a 280-degree view of the City of Angels and the Pacific Ocean below, triggered a bidding war between four buyers. Persson quickly decided he wanted the home, paid all cash, and closed in six days, according to the agents who sold him the property.

58,000,000 games total in all platforms have been sold worldwide.

In the last 24 hours, 18,010 people bought the game.

Greg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've never really gotten into playing Minecraft. I tried the demo version which allows for one hour of play and I didn't make it past the 5-minute mark before closing the game. I bet if I put more time into it I would like it.

On another note, I love that Minecraft's gameplay encourages critical, analytic thought and creativity. The creation of redstone circuits is a great logic builder for the player, especially younger plays who comprise most of Minecraft's player-base.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's quite an unusual game in that it's completely unscripted, with no story line, no role playing, and complete autonomy of action. Its virtual world is unbelievably immense and there's even more than one. It's no mystery why it is one of the best selling games in the world. Microsoft made a good move in buying the game as their download sales are running $500,000 per day. You can't buy the game directly. You purchase a Minecraft gift card from a store. Scratch off the back and enter the code on their website which downloads the game to you. Because it's not actual merchandise, it's exempt from sales tax. This is very clever marketing. I also played the demo and it didn't even begin to barely scratch the surface. You discover how the game works by playing it.

Another feature I really like is that it can it does not require an internet connection. Offline play is so much more direct and convenient. No websites, cookies, popup ads, sign ins, passwords, or accounts.

Greg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My son and I have been playing Minecraft almost from its initial release. He was only 5 at the time, and the game cost less than $10. There was one guy making video gameplay tutorials. There was a series of about 30, and my son watched them over and over and over. He started asking me then how he could make his own video tutorials. Five years later, I continue to be amazed at the cities he and his friends build, and he has his own YouTube channel where he uploads his video productions. Lately, he's been wanting to learn how to make his own game mods.

So I have mixed feelings about this acquisition.

It's a completely open system. Anyone can mod it, and practically everyone has! That's super cool because it means endless ways to extend gameplay. It's also a problem because there's no standardization and that means compatibility and security issues. It's also difficult for the youngest players to get access to the extended gameplay because they just don't have the technical knowledge, and many parents don't either. I can't see Microsoft leaving well enough alone. They don't do open systems. On one hand, it'd be sad to see that development community hampered, but on the other the standardization gains would be welcome.

As for the marketing, in the early years, there wasn't any! Notch let the players and modders market his game. It was brilliant! Who better to sell a video game to a bunch of kids and geeks than... a bunch of kids and geeks. That one guy who was making video tutorials back in 2009 turned into thousands of YouTubers with millions upon millions of views. Mojang's annual conventions don't include the typical "here's what's new" sessions. They offer something more like classes where players learn actual skills like game modding, animation, video production, and personal branding. There are kids making a living by streaming their video game play and by selling Minecraft-based song parodies on iTunes. There was a little bit of that kind of thing going on before Minecraft with other games, but never anything so immense and culture-changing. I would most definitely be sad to see this go. It's a fun little community that has led to my son picking up skills and interests that go beyond the game itself.

Of course, the marketing now is more mainstream with merchandise everywhere you turn.

(Greg, the game can be bought directly from minecraft.net.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, I did buy it from minecraft.net, but not directly. They instructed me to first purchase a gift card either from a brick and mortar store or from Amazon, enter the code on the card, and download the game from them. It's $27 now, which is dirt cheap entertainment as far as I'm concerned. The Minecraft youtube videos are truly remarkable in the variety of expressions when peoples' imaginations run free.

The backstory on how the game came to exist and its unfolding consequences are as fascinating as the game itself, and I've only just begun to read. It's an excellent demonstration of why envy is a sin. Ironically, notch lives 20 miles from me in another universe. :laugh:

Greg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now