WSJ: ''Mojang to be bought by Microsoft'

Yes. A corporation that let Ensemble Studios fall apart. That tried to force shitty ass anti consumer drm on us with the xbone. That forced a Halo 2 direct X 10 exclusivity just to push windows vista. That turned a legendary studio like Rare into a kinect game mill.

Microsoft is totally the right corporation to take control of Minecraft. I mean look at their track record with such decisions!

Fuck. That. Shit.

Lol.. selective quotes FTW.

I am not even going to bother TBH.
 
This would be stupid, for all parties Mojang loses their autonomy and customer interaction. Microsoft has a bunch of resource that could be spent elsewhere gobbling up startups and getting new studios built. Also does anyone think there will be another breakout hit like Minecraft coming from Mojang? Spend the money on new ideas...ffs
 
Why would people drop Minecraft 1 on Ipad for Minecraft 2 though?

Hey, man, don't ask me what details run through Microsoft's head besides "millions of hyped tweens." I doubt they're shooting for a long-lasting franchise, though that'd be a nice bonus. Just something to give the console's sales a shot in the arm until they can roll some other IPs in.
 
Wait, I just figured this out. Minecraft might be a pre-installed game on Windows OS, move aside Minesweeper, you're so 1990s.

Wow, didn't know Microsoft cared so much about Miiverse (every other post there is port begging for Wii U Minecraft).

I want to say Mojang is a fool for becoming slave to M$ but we're not the one who can see the contract or anything. Maybe it will fall through and Amazon will buy them *shudder*
 
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Not shocked about this if true... tho it's later than I expected.
 
Hey, man, don't ask me what details run through Microsoft's head besides "millions of hyped tweens." I doubt they're shooting for a long-lasting franchise, though that'd be a nice bonus. Just something to give the console's sales a shot in the arm until they can roll some other IPs in.

For 2 billion dollars? How many consoles and minecraft games do they need to sell to see a return on that?

Sounds logical.
 
If i was in Notch's place, i would take the money and then fund all dream games, i could think of.
Starting with Jedi Outcast sequel.
 
For 2 billion dollars? How many consoles and minecraft games do they need to sell to see a return on that?

Sounds logical.

These are the dudes who sunk a ton of money into surface and the windows phone, right? I'm not saying they're choices I would make. I'm just trying to see why in the world they'd do this from any vantage point.
 
Lol.. selective quotes FTW.

I am not even going to bother TBH.
His post isn't worse than your ~yes, plz MS do it. It's good! ~ cheer posts. Microsoft has a horrible track record with buying studios (and ruining them).

MS buying the Minecraft IP is bad for the enduser (us gamers).
It's only good for fanboys, because they would have another IP for their list wars.
So yes, fuck that shit.
 
If I were notch and I had a 2 billion offer for a company that has delivered no hits apart from Minecraft I'd take it. That's a lot of money for a one-hit wonder.

That's a similar valuation to Zynga today, and that company has delivered a ton more hits in the past. Heck, that's half the market cap of King, another one hit wonder!

Notch probably has majority ownership of the company and will come out of this a billionaire, richer than Bobby Kotick, Kaz Hiraii, Mike Morhaime, Peter Moore, Kojima, Iwata.. Pretty much anyone in console gaming bar Nintendo's owner Yamauchi who died a billionaire.

The pricing is as hot as it'll ever be unless they can find tremendous growth.
 
This to me if true shows how out of touch MS are with the gaming business. The games they could fund with this could do more for them then Minecraft ever could. It's pretty much Rare all over again.
 
Yup it sure looks like it but I still can't figure out why it is happening. How does this reall benefit Microsoft? The only winner I can see out of this is Notch.

Seriously? If this happens they pay 10x Mojangs 2013 profits (not revenue, profit). That's a very good price. They get the biggest IP of the last decade. Minecraft has never peaked or stopped growing, it only ever went up. Imagine if they do a F2P Minecraft 2. Spend an hour mining for five diamonds or spend $1 to buy them from a villager.
 
These are the dudes who sunk a ton of money into surface and the windows phone, right? I'm not saying they're choices I would make. I'm just trying to see why in the world they'd do this from any vantage point.

Yeh i know. The "sounds logical" bit wasn't aimed at you, but more at Microsofts train of thought when it comes to "investing" in their gaming division.

Anyway, i can't wait for Minecraft 2 : Kinnect edition - always online, always watching.

"Why watch your kids when we can watch them for you?"
 
If I were notch and I had a 2 billion offer for a company that has delivered no hits apart from Minecraft I'd take it. That's a lot of money for a one-hit wonder.

That's a similar valuation to Zynga today, and that company has delivered a ton more hits in the past. Heck, that's half the market cap of King, another one hit wonder!

Notch probably has majority ownership of the company and will come out of this a billionaire, richer than Bobby Kotick, Kaz Hiraii, Mike Morhaime, Peter Moore, Kojima, Iwata.. Pretty much anyone in console gaming bar Nintendo's owner Yamauchi who died a billionaire.

The pricing is as hot as it'll ever be unless they can find tremendous growth.

Calling king.com a one hit wonder is laughable. You might wanna check up on how long they have been around and how much they've done before Candy Crush. A certain Markus Pärsson used to work for them long before Minecraft existed.
 
Seriously? If this happens they pay 10x Mojangs 2013 profits (not revenue, profit). That's a very good price. They get the biggest IP of the last decade. Minecraft has never peaked or stopped growing, it only ever went up. Imagine if they do a F2P Minecraft 2. Spend an hour mining for five diamonds or spend $1 to buy them from a villager.

Sounds wonderful.
 
Persson Selling

The deal came together after Mojang founder Markus Persson reached out to Microsoft a few months ago, based on a positive working relationship on Minecraft for Xbox, said the person familiar with Microsoft.

The two companies quickly agreed on a framework and approximate price and have been working out the details since, the person said. Persson will help out with the transition, though he is unlikely to remain beyond that, according to the person.

Xbox chief Phil Spencer has a close relationship with Persson, and has flown out to have dinners with the Mojang founder, another person familiar with Microsoft said.

The software maker calculates it can boost Minecraft sales by expanding the number of game users through Microsoft’s position in video games and computers, and by expanding licensing for things like toys and movies, said one of the people.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-09/microsoft-said-near-2-billion-deal-for-minecraft-maker.html
 
Calling king.com a one hit wonder is laughable. You might wanna check up on how long they have been around and how much they've done before Candy Crush. A certain Markus Pärsson used to work for them long before Minecraft existed.

I'd go so far as to call Gung Ho a one-hit wonder. The Rembrandts have been around for decades but are known as a one-hit wonder for their Friends song.

I'm pretty sure my use of the word is legitimate here today.

And I do know about all of the history, I work in this industry.
 
Xbox One sales not up to snuff?

Behold! Minecraft 2, only for Xbox One!

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.
 
I don't know much about the stock exchange and it's slightly off-topic, but woah the price chart for MSFT in that link seems surprisingly positive since last year... has it been on that trend for a long time ? With all the negative press MS has been getting, you'd think they'd have more trust issues.

Seriously? MS has been doing great. A lot of their business has expanded (especially Azure is picking up steam). If you only live on gaming sites, then yes, you probably think MS stock is about 1$ by now.
 
People already buy the toys, with Microsoft marketing behind the product this could be huge for kids.

Its already huge.

The toys already exist: http://www.toysrus.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=33807956

What experience to microsoft have in the kids toys and movies markets to make this bigger than it is?

How do you expand the toy lineup without it just becoming lego?

These guys are selling because they know they have already peaked. They are not stupid. I just cant believe someone is actually buying at that price.
 
Seriously? MS has been doing great. A lot of their business has expanded (especially Azure is picking up steam). If you only live on gaming sites, then yes, you probably think MS stock is about 1$ by now.

Yeah I've heard about their success with Azure, but with the reception of their new Windows iteration, the rising competition on OS and office tools, the CEO change... I knew their business was doing fine, but I expected a flatter trend. Good for them anyway.
 
I cannot understand the long term value that Microsoft expect to generate through this purchase. Looks like a win on a superficial level but I'd expect Mojang to enter rapid decline over the next few years.
 

That would put it around the same time when Notch was in the final divorce talks. I still think these two events are related, if they didn't have a prenup his wife owns 50 % of everything he made after August 2011. Just to put it into perspective: When he got married Minecraft had just sold four million copies. Now it's at 54 million and he got divorced two months ago. Which means Notch owes ez potentially one billion dollar. Only one way to pay her out, sell the company.
 
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.


Considering how they had to drag their feet to provide Office on multiple platforms...
 
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.

first signs of MS going third party?


this is a joke obviously
 
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.

and a politician will tell you he will fix crime and education in your area when he wants your vote!

don't be fooled they wont be thinking what they can do with MC exclusive to the Xbox one
 
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.

Of course the first Minecraft will remain available on every platform. There is nothing to gain now for removing the game from iOS, Sony platforms or Android after it's already launched.

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.

At least you can expect a window of exclusivity before it comes to other platforms. My worry is that if acquisition gets them more immediate results than the Xbox brand and the already itchy investors sees it as the final proof to get rid of console hardware manufacturing.
 
and a politician will tell you he will fix crime and education in your area when he wants you vote!

don't be fooled they wont be thinking what they can do with MC exclusive to the Xbox one

The arc of the corporate universe is long, but it bends towards bullshit.
 
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.

Depends if they're talking about 'the game' - the original Minecraft - or future iterations too.

I think MS would find it hard to avoid the temptation not to make Minecraft sequels, and not to make them exclusive to their platforms.
 
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 the real question is, minecraft for wiiU finally?
 
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