17 replies to this topic

[)-( Marchland Malady )-(]

https://forum.minete...hp?f=17&t=10098

http://www.usatoday....craft/15356925/

I have a feeling that this business deal will become a reality. What do you guys think will happen if it does? Will it be a good thing or a bad thing? How will the players and modders of Minecraft feel about this?

 

If any of you plan to leave Minecraft because of this, the two FOSS games linked to below could be good alternatives:

http://www.minetest.net/-Minetest

http://freeminer.org/-Freeminer (forked from Minetest)

Edited by Nolornbon, 12 September 2014 - 01:21 PM.

[Eddard McHorn Van-Schnuder]

Woah, this isn't even confirmed yet, and people are already talking about bailing on Minecraft. What, why? Because Microsoft might end up owning it? I'd understand it if we were talking about them making changes to the game you don't like, but there's no reason to think that would happen, at least not yet. And a change of ownership is a stupid reason to bail, unless you're just one of those people who hates on Microsoft because it's cool - there's a lot of reasons not to like Microsoft - owning Minecraft is not one of them. And they don't even own it yet.

 

That said, I'm not sure what I think about this deal. I actually doubt it will go through, but it's certainly a possibility. I don't think it's going to negatively impact the game in any significant way though, if it does end up coming true. It's not like Microsoft could start pulling PS3 and PS4 copies from shelves just because they suddenly owned the title - the game is already out on competing platforms, so they're not going to be able to do anything about that.

[)-( Marchland Malady )-(]

http://youtu.be/h1PCuozZUYc

oOChainLynxOo, as JayKeePoo, shows in this video what could happen if Microsoft buys Mojang. We better sincerely hope that this deal never comes through.

[Eddard McHorn Van-Schnuder]

This is all just silly speculation though. We don't even know if this is real yet. If I'm not mistaken, the original source of the rumor stems from the Wall Street Journal - the same outlet that claimed Google was buying Twitch a couple of weeks ago - something that turned out to be false, Google didn't buy Twitch, Amazon did. Why does this matter with this case? It doesn't, but it gives us an indication of the validity of the rumors.

 

And even with that said, even if Microsoft does buy Mojang, there's no reason to think that would mean they're going to force the creative team down a certain route - for all we know, Microsoft just wants to put their name on the thing, because they've gotta know what made Minecraft popular, and sending someone to meddle with what's already gold, probably isn't something Microsoft sees as a good idea. So that leaves us with the question: why exactly would this be so bad? I mean, other than stupid speculation from some idiot on Youtube, how can you be so sure that this would be a bad thing for both Mojang and Minecraft? What if you're wrong, and Microsoft just decides to spruce up their budget and leave em to their own devices, and the end product ends up being the best thing that has ever happened to Minecraft? See what I did there? I speculated. I have no way of knowing that it's going to go down that route, but neither do you.

 

And you're wasting time worrying about something that absolutely has the chance of being completely fine - and the people who are making a big deal out of this at this point are just hipsters who does it because they think it's cool to hate on Microsoft. And it's completely fine to hate on Microsoft, there's plenty of valid reasons to hate on that company, but rumors that aren't in any way confirmed yet are not one of those reasons.

 

On top of that, I still don't see why Microsoft would want to do this. Minecraft has already sold insane amounts of copies, there's a limit to how many more they're going to sell compared to the number of already sold copies. And anyone with some common sense would tell you that there's no way in hell that a Minecraft 2 would be doing just as well as the first one. So that leaves me asking why the fuck Microsoft would want to do this. So no, I don't trust these rumors. I don't see the it as being a profitable purchase for Microsoft. It's entirely possible that I'm wrong, but let's leave the hating until we've got something to hate on. It's not as if that douchebag with a greenscreen is going to stop this from happening if the rumor turns out to be true.

[Hoff123]

It's real... https://mojang.com/2...t-by-microsoft/

Edited by Hoff123, 15 September 2014 - 12:09 PM.

[Eddard McHorn Van-Schnuder]

Yup, turns out it wasn't bogus. I'm surprised, at the very least. I still don't see why Microsoft was so interested to begin with, I mean, it can't just be to ensure that Windows-phones get a Minecraft port just like iOS and Android (which have been selling like crazy, might I add), I doubt MS sees enough value in it for just that.

 

They've probably got a solid plan moving ahead still, I mean, this is a big one, this isn't something you just decide to buy one day just for the sake of having it. I'm still holding my sceptisism back though; Microsoft are gonna have to make some pretty severe changes before I start complaining. I will say though that I am a little worried about microtransactions and so on, seeing as how Minecraft on the 360 has been handling things. Exciting times, folks. I'd suggest not freaking out over this until we know that it's going to lead down a bad path, for all we know this might end up being good in the long run. A little too early to say.

 

Edit: It makes a little more sense once you count all the revenue that comes in from accessories and toys sold under the Minecraft-license. Didn't think about that.

[Tree]

Soooooo~, does this hinder the possibility of Minecraft coming to the Wii U, where it'd work almost as good as on the PC, (control wise)??

[Eddard McHorn Van-Schnuder]

Soooooo~, does this hinder the possibility of Minecraft coming to the Wii U, where it'd work almost as good as on the PC, (control wise)??

Unless they've got a version in the works (I don't think they do), I wouldn't hold my breath. I don't really think Microsoft buying Mojang really altered the chances all that much, the company behind the console ports of the game commented that they didn't think it was going to happen, more or less. Though I also kind of doubt that the question is ever going to come up again now, all things considered. So to answer your question, yeah, it probably more or less makes sure that won't happen. I'm just not so sure it ever would have to begin with.

[Tree]

Unless they've got a version in the works (I don't think they do), I wouldn't hold my breath. I don't really think Microsoft buying Mojang really altered the chances all that much, the company behind the console ports of the game commented that they didn't think it was going to happen, more or less. Though I also kind of doubt that the question is ever going to come up again now, all things considered. So to answer your question, yeah, it probably more or less makes sure that won't happen. I'm just not so sure it ever would have to begin with.

I still think that's idiotic. The Wii U gamepad is perfect for Minecraft. Playing on the Xbox is irritating, and cumbersome. I guess I can still play it on PC, but still. Grrr...

[Fabbrizio]

I'm going to have to agree with pretty much everything Robin has said up to this point, and further add that the video Nolornbon linked might have been the single most poorly-assembled case I have ever heard. One-liners and semi-humorous format do not a legitimate point make. It's a good thing it's already labelled as a rant, or I might have worse things to say about it.

The bottom line is that nobody has yet given me any legitimate answers about what could be so bad about this. And I'll do you one better - if Microsoft manages to send in one of their own developers, and that developer can slosh their way through the muck that is Minecraft's code to do Microsoft's whatever-it-is-people-think-they'll-screw-up, power to them. Because that would be a lot of time and effort for a minimal return that might not even amount to anything. I'm placing my bets on Mojang's internal staff staying exactly as is, which means we can be fairly certain Minecraft will stay the course.

Edited by Fabbrizio, 15 September 2014 - 11:27 PM.

[kurt91]

Worst-case scenario, I can see Microsoft figuring that Minecraft has such a massive player-base that even with the population losses that would occur, a change to a subscription-based setup would make them hundreds of times more than the amount they paid to buy it. They'll probably argue that the subscription service would allow more funding towards the constant improvements and additions towards the game, which has honestly surprised me that a game where everybody who's going to buy it has most likely already done so and is thus hard to financially justify the continued additions and improvements without such a monthly subscription model.

 

I would also assume that they'd spend the time to create a more effective DRM system to prevent (more honestly, slow down) piracy, and then go after the developers of clones such as MineTest and FreeMiner so that anybody wanting a Minecraft experience would have to buy into their subscription model.

 

Honestly, they spent over a billion dollars on this. They've got to have bigger plans than the ability to stamp "By The Developers of Minecraft" onto future games they want to make, to be able to justify the costs and be able to make a profit.

[Eddard McHorn Van-Schnuder]

Worst-case scenario, I can see Microsoft figuring that Minecraft has such a massive player-base that even with the population losses that would occur, a change to a subscription-based setup would make them hundreds of times more than the amount they paid to buy it. They'll probably argue that the subscription service would allow more funding towards the constant improvements and additions towards the game, which has honestly surprised me that a game where everybody who's going to buy it has most likely already done so and is thus hard to financially justify the continued additions and improvements without such a monthly subscription model.

 

I would also assume that they'd spend the time to create a more effective DRM system to prevent (more honestly, slow down) piracy, and then go after the developers of clones such as MineTest and FreeMiner so that anybody wanting a Minecraft experience would have to buy into their subscription model.

 

Honestly, they spent over a billion dollars on this. They've got to have bigger plans than the ability to stamp "By The Developers of Minecraft" onto future games they want to make, to be able to justify the costs and be able to make a profit.

Of course they have plans. I just think it's a little bit silly to assume that it's going to be negative. Could be the best thing that ever happened to the game.

 

I still think that's idiotic. The Wii U gamepad is perfect for Minecraft. Playing on the Xbox is irritating, and cumbersome. I guess I can still play it on PC, but still. Grrr...

Fair enough. Not sure why you think the gamepad would be so suited for Minecraft though compared to other controllers. Are you talking about the touch screen? Because no, that's not 'perfect for Minecraft'. Did you ever play Minecraft on a mobile device? Yeeeah, it's not good. It works, sure, but if I had the choice between using the analog sticks to aim and using the touch screen, I'd go for the sticks any day. Nothing can compare to a mouse and keyboard though. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to go all "PC master race" on you, I think touch screens can be used for a lot of cool things, but controlling games in a 3D environment just isn't one of those things. It doesn't work as well as you'd think, and it certainly doesn't help that the screen the Wii U uses is one of those old kinds of touch screens, rather than the quality screens we see on most phones these days, but I'm not a fan of touch screens for gaming in general, outside of managing inventory or perhaps playing RTS games.

 

That said, gameplay-wise I think Minecraft would work well in a lot of ways on the console, as long as they'd keep aiming and movement to the sticks, and instead use the touch screen for the inventory, crafting and so on. That could actually work very well.

 

The reason I don't think they would ever release Minecraft on the Wii U to begin with has nothing to do with the Gamepad though, but it's about the way Nintendo handles updates and patches to their games. Minecraft is a game that thrives on the aspect of having updates every now and then, and Wii U is a console that's already got a very limited amount of gigabytes (30 if I'm not mistaken). On top of that, we know from the past that Nintendo just isn't up to date when it comes to their internet presence. I wouldn't be surprised if you have to pay some kind of sum to have a new update to your game uploaded to Nintendo's servers, and I also wouldn't be surprised if that process is so borked that Mojang just couldn't be bothered. That is more or less the explanation I've read coming from people within the company, but I can't seem to find the quote I'm thinking about now, so take it with a grain of salt. It was something along those lines though, at the very least.

 

While I think the chances of the game releasing on more platforms outside of Microsoft's own right now are pretty much either slim or dead, it is possible that Microsoft sees this differently. It's possible they don't see this as an opportunity to have another exclusive title to their library, but instead sees it as investing in a new platform - which Minecraft certainly is. I've read that most of the money Minecraft makes comes from toys and licensed products, if that is true it is possible that Microsoft would benefit from launching the game on as many platforms as possible. So I wouldn't say a Wii U version is impossible, but we're probably not going to get that. Even I don't have that much faith in Microsoft.

[kurt91]

Not sure why you think the gamepad would be so suited for Minecraft though compared to other controllers. Are you talking about the touch screen? Because no, that's not 'perfect for Minecraft'. Did you ever play Minecraft on a mobile device? Yeeeah, it's not good. It works, sure, but if I had the choice between using the analog sticks to aim and using the touch screen, I'd go for the sticks any day.

 

You're forgetting the television screen, though. Yes, you could easily have it control like the mobile games, but you could also have the option to use the touch screen on the gamepad in the same manner as the touch-pad on a laptop. Still not a perfect option, considering that I've tried playing Minecraft on a laptop like that, but much better than what you're thinking.

 

If Minecraft was to be ported to the Wii U, I could see an option to use the gamepad like I described, an option to use it like the mobile version, and an option to move your inventory and hotbar to the gamepad so it functioned like one massive hotbar, letting you pick whatever item you wanted with a tap, with block placement/item usage done the same way as the existing console versions. Of course, this being Nintendo and motion controls, I can also see a version where you move the Wii Remote to aim (turning by pointing at the edge of the screen), the control stick to move, B and Z to cycle through the hotbar, Left Click while holding A becoming a swing of the Wii Remote (to simulate swinging a pick/sword/etc.) and Right Click being to swing the nunchuck (or C, since placing blocks doesn't seem like a natural waggle function, and it's the easiest button to reach remaining.)

[Tree]

That said, gameplay-wise I think Minecraft would work well in a lot of ways on the console, as long as they'd keep aiming and movement to the sticks, and instead use the touch screen for the inventory, crafting and so on. That could actually work very well.

...That's what I was saying. I wasn't suggesting that it be controlled like the half-assed mobile version. (Seriously, how was that the first thing that came to mind??) 

[Eddard McHorn Van-Schnuder]

...That's what I was saying. I wasn't suggesting that it be controlled like the half-assed mobile version. (Seriously, how was that the first thing that came to mind??) 

Because you didn't say what about playing on the 360 is cumbersome compared to the Wii U. I didn't assume specifically because your post wasn't very clear.