With the acquisition of Mojang by Microsoft, many have questions and concerns about the future of Minecraft. Some people are even downright hysterical. I fear we may have to lock PredictedCyborg in a padded room for a while. (Just kidding Cy. But seriously, the padded room is the third door on the left past the breakroom.)
The staff here at Sanitarium.FM represents a wide range of gaming tastes and attitudes, so I’ve gathered them all up – sometimes with a cattle prod – to get their opinions on Mojang joining Microsoft.
Digmbot – Station Manager, IGS Host, Loves Putting TNT In Your Basement
A lot of people think that this might be the end of Minecraft as we know it. However, Microsoft and Mojang have both said that Minecraft will continue on all platforms – PC, Android, iOS, Xbox and PlayStation. Of course, this makes perfect sense. Restricting the reach of a game as popular as Minecraft would literally be a case of killing the Golden Goose. I don’t see Microsoft doing that after dropping $2.5 billion dollars to acquire the studio. What does worry me is what else Mojang will be asked to do. Microsoft will clearly want the studio to make other games at some point, and to date Mojang has really only done work on Minecraft. There is also the specter of microtransactions. While I doubt that Microsoft could implement this in the PC version due to the open nature of that community, its already a thing on the console versions with various themed skin packs. I don’t see that ending anytime soon. And, the recent implosion of Bukkit already had implications for the mod community that makes Minecraft so versatile. Will Microsoft continue to allow that extensive community to do what it does so well, or will they try to lock the game down more? Only time will tell.
Bottom line: I would have preferred for Mojang to remain independent. But this also frees up Notch to pursue other projects. As Mojang said: He won’t be working on anything Minecraft related, but it will probably be cool.
Thats enough for me for now.
PredictedCyborg – DJ, Writer, IGS Host, Nyan Cat
I am… not sure if I’m honest. As alluded to above at first I wasn’t a fan of the news, but after a breather… well, I’m still not a fan but I can certainly see how this could BENEFIT Minecraft and Mojang.
As long as the community’s mod-making isn’t restricted and Minecraft itself becomes loaded with “Buy this!” stuff we could be fine. Personally I will choose to carry on as I have done previously UNTIL Microsoft do something that affects the reasons I enjoy Minecraft.
I originally got Minecraft during my university days, purely because I really wanted to use the Creative option to make a floating island with a windmill on it. True story. After I’d made it though I asked myself “What do I do now?” and then dived right in. I love modpacks, I love modded survival, I love making bases out of caverns. That is the spirit of Minecraft for me and it’s different for every player of the game. I hope that Microsoft don’t try to narrow that down in any way.
At least for now the other versions and the Mojang staff we know via Twitter are staying as they are. In future, who knows? We need to watch and see.
Lonesamurai – Station Owner, Top Ten Show Host, Big Kahuna
So… Microsoft bought Mojang? I’m actually not surprised by this.
Minecraft has now taken the crown from World of Warcraft of highest selling video game ever (per unit). And annoyingly, as a proud member of the PC Master Race, Minecraft is the highest selling game on XBox Live… Both on 360 and soon, XBox One.
Yes, it sells well on Playstation too, but, unlike Microsoft, Sony does NOT have their own game studios.
Yeah ok, people are going to shout about RARE, and yes, I miss Conkers as well (actually I don’t), but RARE is a different case. ALL the staff from RARE left when Microsoft bought them, whereas only the senior team are leaving Mojang so far, the team of grunts behind Minecraft and Scrolls is staying- THIS is what Microsoft are buying and its pretty shrewd of them.
Ok, we hope that this only means Minecraft will carry on growing and, in my own opinion, I hope we get the in house version of CraftBukkit we’re now waiting for, but I actually suspect MS are looking to use the team and the game engine for other projects in the future too.
Either way, it’s an interesting time.
Crimsonshade- Server Wizard, Orderlybot Wrangler, MC Server Admin-because-no-one-else-bothered-to-learn-how
People on Twitter keep on making jokes comparing this to what happened with Rare. I can understand why. In the Nintendo 64 era, Rare Games LLC was extremely talented and made some of the best videogames ever to grace Nintendo consoles, to the point Nintendo eventually considered them officially “second-party developers”. Then Microsoft bought them out and all the talent went to waste. “History repeats itself”, everyone says – and given Microsoft’s track record, is it any wonder people worry about Microsoft potentially ruining Minecraft?
The thing is though, way back in the 90s Microsoft had a slogan for Windows: “What would you like to do today?”. Though they don’t use it any more, the slogan captured the focus of Windows at that time: Offering a system which was simple, customisable and allowed the majority of people to do whatever they could put their mind to. The same vision fuels Minecraft – at its heart, Minecraft is a glorified sandbox rather than an actual “game”; but therein lies its appeal – with its simple construction methods and tools; straightforward gameplay; and easy-to-understand rules regarding monster spawning, survival, life and death, Minecraft offers a huge amount of creativity with relatively few limitations, allowing people to do whatever their imagination takes them – even to the extent that people have built their own storylines, or even whole new games within it.
Pairing Minecraft’s customisability with Microsoft’s “easy for everyone” approach to Windows, therefore, actually makes a ton of sense and could prove to be a clever strategy for Microsoft. Plus, with Microsoft attempting to converge Windows for PC, Windows for Tablets and Windows Phone – which as of yet doesn’t HAVE a Minecraft port – into one single ecosystem means soon enough, Minecraft will be playable on any device wherever you may be – and who better to spearhead this approach than Microsoft itself? Nevertheless, one DOES hope Microsoft will not change Minecraft beyond recognition from the game it is now; and given the opportunities now open to Microsoft, one also hopes they do not resort to microtransactions or sneaky tactics to spin more money out of their new acquisition either… time will tell.
Thay – Indie Game Blogger, Gamer, Quietly Doing Her Thing
To tell you the truth I’m not quite sure what to think on the news of Microsoft buying Mojang. Honestly I haven’t really played much of the game recently. I definitely don’t play it as much as i used to. But i do love the game and had some wonderful times playing it and I’ve met some awesome people playing it. I hope Microsoft realizes the importance of the community in Minecraft, and hopefully they don’t mess something up that makes people mad.
Personally I kind of expected this to happen sooner or later considering Notch’s attitude toward Minecraft in recent years. I hope he and the other founders who are leaving the company go on to do what they love and hopefully we will get some cool games out of it 😉
If i had any worry about the buyout it would be Microsoft’s view on people making money off their games. While I don’t personally post videos on Minecraft i know plenty of people who do. Microsoft’s current Terms of Use for games content clearly state that you can post videos or other content of their games but cannot make money off advertising from it. This is quite the opposite of Mojang’s view. They encouraged people to make videos of Minecraft and allowed people to make money off their game this way. It’s the reason Minecraft got so big. Well hopefully Minecraft will stay exempt from Microsoft’s current terms of use for gaming content.
Personally I think if Microsoft was smart about it, they will let Mojang continue to run its own way. And hopefully something cool comes out of this.
Novindus – DJ, eSports Writer, (#BlameNovindus)
Personally I do not know what to think about this change, minecraft has never been hugely important to me and frankly I don’t think it ever will be. I personally dabble in Minecraft and I respect the reasoning behind the sale. Microsoft’s acquisitions paint an interesting picture and a rough path to this day and it will always be that way in my opinion. So if Microsoft leave Mojang to do their thing and simply supplement their staff and budget then I’m all for this change, if not then it is not a huge loss to me. Personally I just want to see people satisfied and positive about the change instead of grabbing their pitch forks before the winds have risen.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
