WSJ: ''Mojang to be bought by Microsoft'

Honestly i think it's a huge waste of money.
Minecraft is almost everywhere and i don't see Mojang being able to repeat Minecraft's success.
 
I hope they will continue to update Minecraft for the other platforms and not just stop work on non-ms platforms.
Also I really hope they will will put out the Vita-version, if not I will demand some of my money back since I bought the PS3-version based on the promise on it being cross-buy with vita.
 
actually, that's NOT how it will work

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-09/microsoft-said-near-2-billion-deal-for-minecraft-maker.html

Minecraft was made available for the newest generation of consoles, Xbox One and PlayStation 4, earlier this month. Microsoft, if it completes the deal, will keep the game available for rival products, said two people familiar with the company’s plans.

The company thinks that this kind of product, like its Office productivity software, has to be available with high-quality versions for multiple platforms, including those of its rivals, the person with knowledge of Microsoft’s thinking said.

If anyone has ever used Office on Mac, that whole paragraph takes a darker turn.

FYI, Office on Mac is horrible.
 
For 2 billion dollars? How many consoles and minecraft games do they need to sell to see a return on that?

Sounds logical.

Apparently 200 million profit per year. If the can maintain that some magical way, it would take 10 years to make back $2 billion. Of course perhaps mojang have some super sicrit stuff in the works and MS have some big game plan. Have to remember this is Nadela at the helm rather than Ballmer too
 
If anyone has ever used Office on Mac, that whole paragraph takes a darker turn.

FYI, Office on Mac is horrible.

And yet the iPad stuff isn't too bad at all from what I've used. Nadella also seems to be more open to having Microsoft services and products in more places. I wouldn't be surprised if over time Xbox changes into something else rather than games console alone
 
I thought it already is huge for kids?
I have a teenage sister and all her classmates and friends are completely obsessed with Minecraft.

I Was typing between Destiny matches, haha. I meant beyond what it is already. Kids are obsessed with it, but It's not yet at that stage where I turn on a kids TV channel and see the latest Minecraft toy, movie, or TV show. Like others said this could be just like LEGO, especially with big advertisement behind it too.
 
I suppose this deal makes sense if MS intend to somehow leverage the popularity of Minecraft and turn it into some kind of pseudo social networking tool. Like Second Life but with less mental scarring.

I just cannot see how the Xbone would benefit from this in any way. If MS were indeed to make a Minecraft sequel exclusive to the Xbone and various Window handsets and tablets then all they are doing is cutting off the already huge MC audience.

Most of the kids I know who are obsessed with Minecraft play it on their (or their parents) phones. How does this deal give MS any 'access' to the audience on an exclusive basis.

I just don't see the sense at all.
 
I suppose this deal makes sense if MS intend to somehow leverage the popularity of Minecraft and turn it into some kind of pseudo social networking tool. Like Second Life but with less mental scarring.

I just cannot see how the Xbone would benefit from this in any way. If MS were indeed to make a Minecraft sequel exclusive to the Xbone and various Window handsets and tablets then all they are doing is cutting off the already huge MC audience.

Most of the kids I know who are obsessed with Minecraft play it on their (or their parents) phones. How does this deal give MS any 'access' to the audience on an exclusive basis.

I just don't see the sense at all.

never underestimate the power of children have, I always thought parents were mugs, then you have children and you realise just why advertisers go nuts to appeal to them...

your attitude now would probably be, fuck that, but it sneaks up on you then hits you like a train and you realise you are buying a toy/game that is vastly overpriced because it is the one every kid wants, and you will feel dirty, but then proud

it is weird..
 
Wow. How the hell did I miss this news? This is strange really. Not sure if this is good for Microsoft or crazy. That said, if it's the latter, they do have the money too be a little crazy.
 
never underestimate the power of children have, I always thought parents were mugs, then you have children and you realise just why advertisers go nuts to appeal to them...

your attitude now would probably be, fuck that, but it sneaks up on you then hits you like a train and you realise you are buying a toy/game that is vastly overpriced because it is the one every kid wants, and you will feel dirty, but then proud

it is weird..

"Hey Dad.., you know that game I play on my iPhone? You know, the one I paid two dollars for? Well now I need a four hundred dollar machine to play the sequel."

*crickets*

I do not see it. MS are trying to steal away an audience that are used to playing an inexpensive game on a phone or a tablet with a premium priced game console that would arguably have to sit under the living room TV in most homes?

No. That's just madness.
 
I'm perfectly willing to believe MS made an offer.

I'm way less inclined to think they would even consider selling even for that much.

EDIT : or maybe not lol

But that would be god awful
 
Found on Slashdot:

http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=5676545&cid=47867469

Posting anonymous because I really shouldn't be saying this. Yes, it's for real: notch wants to sell out. It's been known inside the company for weeks. The news hit the developers in the Stockholm office very hard to the point that people were actually sobbing. No-one's happy besides the two people likely to end up with a large pile of cash after this goes down.
 
Minecraft is more than just a game, its one of the biggest things in the world right now.

Imagine if MS were to make a movie out of it, it would be huge. Or a TV show. More figures, more books, more posters, more clothing, more magazines.

And thats not even getting into the potential of a Minecraft 2 game. They'd be wise to have a 9-12 month exclusive Xbox/PC deal then let loose on all the other platforms, because after all, the money will be going straight back to them in the end.
 
"Hey Dad.., you know that game I play on my iPhone? You know, the one I paid two dollars for? Well now I need a four hundred dollar machine to play the sequel."

*crickets*

I do not see it. MS are trying to steal away an audience that are used to playing an inexpensive game on a phone or a tablet with a premium priced game console that would arguably have to sit under the living room TV in most homes?

No. That's just madness.

just recently this report came out

Maternity-wear designer Rosie Pope says her pal — who works at Disney, no less — recently shelled out $1,200 for an Elsa doll on eBay after she promised her daughter one for her “Frozen”-themed birthday party.

“By this point, she didn’t care about the price,” says Pope. “She didn’t want to disappoint her daughter.”

It’s a buy-or-die mentality. And one that Upper West Side mom Shannon Russo-Pollack admits to adopting. While at Walt Disney World last month, Russo-Pollack trekked to more than 42 stores in search of the elusive Elsa dress for her 6 ½-year-old daughter, Summer.


Modal Trigger

Nina Kedersha threw her 5-year-old daughter, Danielle (left, with big sister Lauren), a “Frozen”-themed birthday bash last Saturday. She decided to resell her two “Frozen” balloons for $5 total because of their scarcity.
Photo: Christian Johnston

“They were totally sold out,” says Russo-Pollack, who owns Dasha Wellness and Spa in NYC.

That’s when Russo-Pollack’s husband, Dr. Darren Pollack, plopped down $480 on Amazon to preorder two dresses (he didn’t know which size to buy), in addition to more than $350 on other “Frozen” paraphernalia.

“I said, ‘What are you, crazy? Keep looking!’ He said, ‘I promised her. How many more stores can we go into?’ ” recalls Russo-Pollack. “It was crazy, but totally worth it. My daughter’s eyes lit up when she saw the dress.” (Russo-Pollack will be donating the extra size 6 dress to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.)

Experts liken the frenzy to the 1980s Cabbage Patch Kids craze.

“We’re now at the stage where the demand is almost being driven by the scarcity because of the social status attached to being able to find it,” says Sean McGowan, a toy industry analyst at Needham & Co. in NYC. “Being someone who had a Cabbage Patch [Kid] meant you were loved more than the others. It was social status and elite achievement that came with finding this rare gem.”

According to Times Square’s Disney Store employees, every other customer who walks into the flagship is on the hunt for “Frozen” gems.

Needless to say, “sold out” doesn’t always sit too well.

“People have gotten into physical fights in the morning,” says one Disney Store employee, who asked not to be named.

“The kids cry, but the parents are the problem. They try to guilt us, say their daughters are sick. They have no shame. But I can’t make it magically appear!”
 
Found on Slashdot:

http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=5676545&cid=47867469

Posting anonymous because I really shouldn't be saying this. Yes, it's for real: notch wants to sell out. It's been known inside the company for weeks. The news hit the developers in the Stockholm office very hard to the point that people were actually sobbing. No-one's happy besides the two people likely to end up with a large pile of cash after this goes down.

Rule of thumb, never believe anonymous comments. Too easy for trolling. Wait for a more likely source
 
Funny it wasn't mentioned yet but I find it hilarious this is mentioned and made news the day Destiny launches.

My prediction, Minecraft exclusive to garbage Windows phones with Cortana support.

All this money spending to beat Sony, I'm surprised they don't get so frustrated and just buy Sony (I have no real idea if that's possible)
 
Minecraft is more than just a game, its one of the biggest things in the world right now.

Imagine if MS were to make a movie out of it, it would be huge. Or a TV show. More figures, more books, more posters, more clothing, more magazines.

I don't want to sound like I'm patronising you but Microsoft don't make film & TV shows so how would this benefit them?

Also Warner Bros have the film & TV rights to Minecraft so MS would obviously benefit from the licensing from such productions they wouldn't directly finance or produce it themselves.
 
Surely with Minecraft Microsoft would want to make it multi platform. There's trying to bolster your own assets, and then there's the massive amount of money that could be earned from PlayStation and mobile gamers.
 
All this money spending to beat Sony, I'm surprised they don't get so frustrated and just buy Sony (I have no real idea if that's possible)

Folks need to stop seeing this with their myopic little console wars spectacles. This is bigger than Sony v MS bitterness.

This is big business way beyond console games.
 
actually, that's NOT how it will work

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-09/microsoft-said-near-2-billion-deal-for-minecraft-maker.html

Minecraft was made available for the newest generation of consoles, Xbox One and PlayStation 4, earlier this month. Microsoft, if it completes the deal, will keep the game available for rival products, said two people familiar with the company’s plans.

The company thinks that this kind of product, like its Office productivity software, has to be available with high-quality versions for multiple platforms, including those of its rivals, the person with knowledge of Microsoft’s thinking said.

So this is not a move to help the X1 then?

Even if the second minecraft is the one that is exclusive, how long would that release from now? A year or two? The PS4 will be far, far ahead of the X1 by then (going by the current sales) for any of that to matter.
 
just recently this report came out

Maternity-wear designer Rosie Pope says her pal — who works at Disney, no less — recently shelled out $1,200 for an Elsa doll on eBay after she promised her daughter one for her “Frozen”-themed birthday party.

“By this point, she didn’t care about the price,” says Pope. “She didn’t want to disappoint her daughter.”

It’s a buy-or-die mentality. And one that Upper West Side mom Shannon Russo-Pollack admits to adopting. While at Walt Disney World last month, Russo-Pollack trekked to more than 42 stores in search of the elusive Elsa dress for her 6 ½-year-old daughter, Summer.


Modal Trigger

Nina Kedersha threw her 5-year-old daughter, Danielle (left, with big sister Lauren), a “Frozen”-themed birthday bash last Saturday. She decided to resell her two “Frozen” balloons for $5 total because of their scarcity.


“They were totally sold out,” says Russo-Pollack, who owns Dasha Wellness and Spa in NYC.

That’s when Russo-Pollack’s husband, Dr. Darren Pollack, plopped down $480 on Amazon to preorder two dresses (he didn’t know which size to buy), in addition to more than $350 on other “Frozen” paraphernalia.


“I said, ‘What are you, crazy? Keep looking!’ He said, ‘I promised her. How many more stores can we go into?’ ” recalls Russo-Pollack. “It was crazy, but totally worth it. My daughter’s eyes lit up when she saw the dress.” (Russo-Pollack will be donating the extra size 6 dress to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.)

Experts liken the frenzy to the 1980s Cabbage Patch Kids craze.

“We’re now at the stage where the demand is almost being driven by the scarcity because of the social status attached to being able to find it,” says Sean McGowan, a toy industry analyst at Needham & Co. in NYC. “Being someone who had a Cabbage Patch [Kid] meant you were loved more than the others. It was social status and elite achievement that came with finding this rare gem.”

According to Times Square’s Disney Store employees, every other customer who walks into the flagship is on the hunt for “Frozen” gems.

Needless to say, “sold out” doesn’t always sit too well.

“People have gotten into physical fights in the morning,” says one Disney Store employee, who asked not to be named.

“The kids cry, but the parents are the problem. They try to guilt us, say their daughters are sick. They have no shame. But I can’t make it magically appear!”

Did you seriously counter my point with two anecdotes about well paid professionals spending big money on their children?

I don't..., what?

If MS are really spending 2 billion on Mojang so they can directly market Minecraft to the children of America's corporate executives and Doctors then they might as well roll up the entire Xbox division now.
 
So this is not a move to help the X1 then?

Even if the second minecraft is the one that is exclusive, how long would that release from now? A year or two? The PS4 will be far, far ahead of the X1 by then (going by the current sales) for any of that to matter.

You don't have to have the game ready yet. Parents shopping at Christmas with the knowledge Minecraft 2 will be on one of those boxes in a year's time?
 
Hmm. I'm a bit surprised that Notch would only stay 'through the transition period', per that latest Bloomberg update, and not for some years.

I guess he really wants out if that's true. Maybe Minecraft has been a mill around his neck, creatively etc?

Although I don't give much credit to those other anonymous comments, I imagine an early out for Notch would demoralise the other staff about this.
 
The question is the next Minecraft. The best way of recovering the investment is staying multiplatform and see Mojang has a separate company from Microsoft Game Studios but if their intention is to grow market share for their platforms then make it exclusive for Xbox, Surface and Windows Phone

Good luck with that then...

Minecraft is a hit because everybody can play minecraft everywhere

One must be terribly pretentious to think PS4/Wii U users will switch to Xbox One for minecraft, or switch from Mac to Windows again for that reason. Let alone the 98% of smartphone users and 99,9% of tab users which don't give a fuck about Windows anymore and will never look back.

They can gain maybe some new users, that's true, but the core market of minecraft are current minecraft users, not the new customers, and they are certainly not switching their ecosystems just for Minecraft 2.
 
Hmm. I'm a bit surprised that Notch would only stay 'through the transition period', per that latest Bloomberg update, and not for some years.

I guess he really wants out if that's true. Maybe Minecraft has been a mill around his neck, creatively etc?

Although I don't give much credit to those other anonymous comments, I imagine an early out for Notch would demoralise the other staff about this.

If he really isn't going to stick around then I bet he signs a 'non compete' clause and then takes the money and runs. He could use this newly acquired vast wealth to do something....., anything else.
 
Funny it wasn't mentioned yet but I find it hilarious this is mentioned and made news the day Destiny launches.

My prediction, Minecraft exclusive to garbage Windows phones with Cortana support.

All this money spending to beat Sony, I'm surprised they don't get so frustrated and just buy Sony (I have no real idea if that's possible)

The bolded is not very likely at all. They will continue to support the platforms already used as that is a part of its success. It has been mentioned that expanding the player base further and increasing lisencing with toys and movies would be their plan (via Bloomberg). This is more suggestive of continuing to be on multiple platforms. Nadella is much more interested in having Microsoft be more open to other platforms including competitors. This is already happening with things like office. I'd guess they want to gradually have Microsoft accoiated as a developer of great product on multiple platforms than just their own. Xbox will not be the end goal here though I'm sure they will treat it like royalty along with windows phone
 
Mojang have already made their cash cow and published it on a number of platforms, they won't recreate that magic and without being able to push Minecraft everywhere, Mojang aren't worth a great deal. Consider this.

Yup. I don't get this. Successes like this (Minecraft, Angry Birds, Farmville or even the Wii) are very hard to recreate. The value is focused too much on successes in the past/present.

But, hey MS, just throw the money out of the windows.
 
If he really isn't going to stick around then I bet he signs a 'non compete' clause and then takes the money and runs. He could use this newly acquired vast wealth to do something....., anything else.

I think he'd actually welcome a non-compete in this case, as it would give him the perfect excuse to break off from game dev and release all that 'second album' pressure. It would be a perfect valve (pun intended?!) to release all that pressure and expectation, and as you say, go and do other things.
 
Yup. I don't get this. Successes like this (Minecraft, Angry Birds, Farmville or even the Wii) are very hard to recreate. The value is focused too much on successes in the past/present.

But, hey MS, just throw the money out of the windows.

If it is indeed being bought with foreign money that MS don't want to bring into the US for fear of paying massive corporate tax on it then it could be seen as being 'free money'.

I suppose the 'everyman' equivalent would be finding two quid in the street and deciding to spend it on something frivolous.
 
You don't have to have the game ready yet. Parents shopping at Christmas with the knowledge Minecraft 2 will be on one of those boxes in a year's time?

Highly doubt most parents would have that knowledge or care about what is a year or 2 away.

There is a much higher chance they will just go for the one selling like hot cakes (PS4), which I'm sure even the sales clerk will advise them of.
 
I find this pretty ironical: after beeing so vocal about Oculus VR's seling to Facebook, Persson is now selling his own studio to a company he's been very critical about.
Guess that's why he recently was "officially over being upset about Facebook buying Oculus"...
 
Folks need to stop seeing this with their myopic little console wars spectacles. This is bigger than Sony v MS bitterness.

This is big business way beyond console games.

...it's Minecraft. Selling plush toys off the back of it doesn't suddenly make it bigger than GTA.
 
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