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WSJ is reporting that Microsoft may be close to purchasing Mojang AB (Minecraft)

  • 09-09-2014 11:44pm
    #1
    CatInABox
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 10,226 Mod ✭✭✭✭CatInABox


    Have to admit, this is coming out of left field, but from Microsofts perspective, this might actually make sense.

    Notch hasn't really said anything negative about Microsoft in a while either...

    Wall Street Journal article is paywalled, so here's Polygons link.


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Comments

  • #2
    Otacon
    Registered Users Posts: 6,721 ✭✭✭Otacon


    Not sure I see the appeal. Yes, Mojang own Minecraft but seeing as it is already available on all the major platforms, it seems a bit pointless now.


  • #3
    super_furry
    Registered Users Posts: 27,320 ✭✭✭✭super_furry


    Minecraft is a huge, huge franchise now but it was a bit of a lightening strike - how do you replicate it? Don't get me wrong, a Minecraft 2 on the Xbox One is a bona fide system selling for possibly millions of people if it comes out today but will that audience still be there in three or four years when it possibly could be ready?


  • #4
    heebusjeebus
    Registered Users Posts: 3,783 ✭✭✭heebusjeebus


    Ah jesus MS. Why do they have to spend so much buying existing software houses and just spend a fraction creating new first party studios.
    I hope Mojang wont go the way of Rare. Notch will probably leave when his contract with MS expires and leave a husk of a studio behind.


  • #5
    Otacon
    Registered Users Posts: 6,721 ✭✭✭Otacon


    Wait, Mojang don't own the Minecraft IP? They just licence it from Notch?

    http://www.allabolag.se/5567597686/Mojang_Synergies_AB

    So are MS just buying the developer then?


  • #6
    T. Hanks^
    Registered Users Posts: 27,583 ✭✭✭✭ T. Hanks^


    super_furry wrote: »
    Minecraft is a huge, huge franchise now but it was a bit of a lightening strike - how do you replicate it? Don't get me wrong, a Minecraft 2 on the Xbox One is a bona fide system selling for possibly millions of people if it comes out today but will that audience still be there in three or four years when it possibly could be ready?

    Of course it will, not sure what else to say. It's a sequel so of course there's an audience for it.

    I myself don't understand the fascination with Minecraft as it doesn't appeal to me but this looks like a smart move by MS to be fair.


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  • #7
    Nody
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,258 CMod ✭✭✭✭Nody


    Sorry but I don't see it happening; Notch has made it very clear that he does not want to be owned by a third party studio and has declined a ton of money over the years for even partial ownership and spend a ton of money on his staff (i.e. he's not someone who's greedy and insist to keep every cent he gets). I could see them doing a timed exclusive or similar but outright buying it I simply don't believe in simply because it goes directly against what Notch believes in (and he got more then enough money not to need to worry about it ever again).


  • #8
    dreamers75
    Registered Users Posts: 20,558 ✭✭✭✭dreamers75


    MSft have such a good track record of buying studios and closing them after about 5 years.


  • #9
    BeerWolf
    Registered Users Posts: 4,122 ✭✭✭BeerWolf


    Nah, I say Mojang to sell off to EA...! :D

    *Runs*


  • #10
    CatInABox
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 10,226 Mod ✭✭✭✭CatInABox


    Interesting. Further update here on Eurogamer that Notch is the one that instigated it.

    Perhaps he just wants to have a swimming pool full of cash. Can't say I'd blame him either.

    I think the fact that he hasn't come out and denied it speaks volumes.


  • #11
    EoinHef
    Registered Users Posts: 5,569 ✭✭✭EoinHef


    Very strange if true imo,ive always had lots of time for Mojang and Notch. One of the only dev/developers to really care about the fan base and there honesty and fairness over the years have been commendable. They have not charged people a penny more for the game than the entry price over the years and its updated regularly.

    Id be with Nody on this one,ill believe it only when i see Notch himself say it. If it were true id struggle to see what MS had planned for it other than to keep it going in its current form and maybe make updates platform exclusive,id certainly see it as a massive platform seller. Especially if they introduce mods on console,which ive been hoping they would on next gen consoles.


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  • #12
    the_syco
    Registered Users Posts: 37,295 ✭✭✭✭the_syco


    I'd be wondering if Notch has something in development, and wants to offload the current Minecraft before he announces his newest venture to ensure he gets top dollar for it?


  • #13
    Shiminay
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 28,633 Mod ✭✭✭✭Shiminay


    Mojang are the company who charged people to come and speak at their Minecon event. They're selling panels with community figure heads and YouTube channels of note and then they're charging those people who are providing their convention with content to turn up. Hungry bastards.

    Notch is the guy who came out and lambasted the Yogscast guys for getting rich off his creation without once acknowledging the fact that thousands of people only bought his product because of them. Notice how Mojang don't let him do a lot of talking anymore? He was the king of foot in mouth to the detriment of his own company. So I call BS on all this "isn't Notch great?" stuff - he's prone to wild bouts of lunacy.

    Microsoft buying Mojang - not a terrible idea as long as they're handed a stack of XBone units to develop with, a pile of money to keep everyone paid and then they're left alone to do their thing :D


  • #14
    EoinHef
    Registered Users Posts: 5,569 ✭✭✭EoinHef


    Shiminay wrote: »
    Mojang are the company who charged people to come and speak at their Minecon event. They're selling panels with community figure heads and YouTube channels of note and then they're charging those people who are providing their convention with content to turn up. Hungry bastards.

    Notch is the guy who came out and lambasted the Yogscast guys for getting rich off his creation without once acknowledging the fact that thousands of people only bought his product because of them. Notice how Mojang don't let him do a lot of talking anymore? He was the king of foot in mouth to the detriment of his own company. So I call BS on all this "isn't Notch great?" stuff - he's prone to wild bouts of lunacy.

    Microsoft buying Mojang - not a terrible idea as long as they're handed a stack of XBone units to develop with, a pile of money to keep everyone paid and then they're left alone to do their thing :D

    Mojang are also the company that enforce the rules that people cant charge for mods/texture packs on PC,and keep it exclusively on a donation basis and give all the updates to the game for free. Also the company that allow a free upgrade from last gen to next gen on console. Thats fairly fair imo. I paid €11 for the game years ago and have not had to pay a penny since(besides donating to FTB when it started,but i didnt have to)bar buying the game again on console,id say thats looking after your community

    If they want to charge people who MAKE MONEY off their game to talk at their convention thats up to them imo. You mentioned the Yogscast,they havent done minecon in a long time and still make plenty of money from the game on there channel.

    As for notch,i agree he can be a bit batty and its a personal thing as to what you and i think of what he says but id credit him with starting the above,and imo,very fair policies. So for that id thank him,as for his sometimes ridiculous comments i just ignore them


  • #15
    Shiminay
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 28,633 Mod ✭✭✭✭Shiminay


    I've no beef with them enforcing the "pay to win" ban on servers. They're well aware that it is the gigantic community that has built up around this game that keeps it going and pissing that community off means game over. The game was written in Java, anyone could have taken that code and created any number of clones (and some tried) had Minecraft not kept itself relevant by thinking community's needs first. For that, we do indeed own Notch some thanks - he's an old skool PC gamer and he makes no apologies for that. He was also hugely opposed to people modding the game at first but realised it was the main thing that held people's interests whilst he kept working on it and whilst he started Mojang to manage it. This is why on the PC, where it is culturally unacceptable to charge for things like mods and skin-packs, they don't, but if you look over at the peasants, not only do they get a stripped down version of the game, they also have to pay for skins and they don't get to mod. Modding is a vital part of the Minecraft experience on PC - without it we have no Bukkit which was so successful in delivering a platform for further mods, Mojang bought them out. Without Bukkit, you have fk all public multiplayer servers where rules and locks and various other necessary tools can provide the experience people want.

    You do have to pay (albeit a heavily reduced rate) to "upgrade" the game from 360 to XBone, but they do at least transfer any content you've already paid for to the new platform too. It's a remarkably fair deal I think, won't argue it or criticise any part of it.


  • #16
    MadYaker
    Registered Users Posts: 12,138 ✭✭✭✭MadYaker


    http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-to-buy-minecraft-developer-mojang-report/1100-6422220/

    Interesting. I probably wouldn't like to see it happen for $2 billion you can hardly blame the guy if he does go for it. At first I was wondering how it could be worth so much but when you think about it they aren't just buying a game, they are buying exclusive access to the minecraft community, and apparently there are over 100 million registered users, not sure how many of them actually paid for the full version though. A lot of the people playing minecraft are young children who may be the gamers of the future so maybe Microsoft is hoping to turn these kids into potential future customers. Interesting stuff.

    And yes I know there is already a thread on this in the minecraft forum but I thought we'd get a better discussion going here.


  • #17
    Shiminay
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 28,633 Mod ✭✭✭✭Shiminay


    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057287232


  • #18
    MadYaker
    Registered Users Posts: 12,138 ✭✭✭✭MadYaker


    I can't think of anything I wouldn't do/sell for 2 billion dollars, my soul, my lifes work, anything. Your family would be rich for generations.


  • #19
    Pixelbastardo
    Registered Users Posts: 721 ✭✭✭Pixelbastardo


    So if MS buys, what happens to the minecraft servers on playstation network ? Are all servers shut down ?.


  • #20
    ShadowHearth
    Registered Users Posts: 22,929 ✭✭✭✭ShadowHearth


    I dont like MS doing it, but at the same time Notch is one trick Pony. Yes, he did minecraft, but thats about it.


  • #21
    cloud493
    Closed Accounts Posts: 11,835 ✭✭✭✭cloud493


    Its worth noting MS bought Rare (arguably one of the greatest studios around at a certain time period) and that studio now makes mediocre fighting games and stuff for xbox live avatars. For my mind nothing good can come of this.


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  • #22
    CatInABox
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 10,226 Mod ✭✭✭✭CatInABox


    cloud493 wrote: »
    Its worth noting MS bought Rare (arguably one of the greatest studios around at a certain time period) and that studio now makes mediocre fighting games and stuff for xbox live avatars. For my mind nothing good can come of this.

    Yeah, but that certain time period was a little before Microsoft bought them. They seemed to lose direction after releasing Perfect Dark, with Conker being woeful(in my opinion, I know it's not universally held).

    I just don't think that it was Microsoft that brought them into the gutter initially, but they probably did keep them there.

    Still sad that Goldeneye hasn't been re-released :(


  • #23
    Akrasia
    Registered Users Posts: 22,230 ✭✭✭✭Akrasia


    CatInABox wrote: »
    Yeah, but that certain time period was a little before Microsoft bought them. They seemed to lose direction after releasing Perfect Dark, with Conker being woeful(in my opinion, I know it's not universally held).

    I just don't think that it was Microsoft that brought them into the gutter initially, but they probably did keep them there.

    Still sad that Goldeneye hasn't been re-released :(
    It was re-released on the WII back in 2010.. different developer though. Not a bad game at all actually. probably the best FPS on the WII (and I actually liked FPS games on WII because the controls work surprisingly well)


  • #24
    RasTa
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15,116 ✭✭✭✭RasTa


    This will be announced tomorrow according to Reuters. $2.5 billion.


  • #25
    Dave_The_Sheep
    Registered Users Posts: 7,328 ✭✭✭Dave_The_Sheep


    PC Gamer reporting it as a done deal.


  • #26
    maximoose
    Registered Users Posts: 9,196 ✭✭✭maximoose


    Just announced by MS. No plans to remove the game from any other platforms.


  • #27
    Otacon
    Registered Users Posts: 6,721 ✭✭✭Otacon


    BBC have also confirmed it.
    Microsoft has bought Mojang, the Swedish firm behind the popular video game Minecraft, for $2.5bn (£1.5bn).

    The best-selling title, which boasts 100 million users, allows players to build structures with retro Lego-style blocks, as well as explore a large map and battle others.

    The deal was announced by Xbox chief Phil Spencer.

    Mojang, whose three founders will leave the company, assured fans that "everything is going to be OK".

    Some analysts have speculated the deal is designed to attract more users to Microsoft's Windows Phone devices.


  • #28
    humanji
    Registered Users Posts: 19,976 ✭✭✭✭humanji


    I still can't get my head around why the company is worth that much. Surely MS haven't a hope in hell in recouping that cost for a decade or two with what I can only imagine being Minecraft spinoffs and merchandising?


  • #29
    BeerWolf
    Registered Users Posts: 4,122 ✭✭✭BeerWolf


    1) Buy the IP
    2) Develop MineCraft 2...
    3) ???
    4) PROFIT


  • #30
    richymcdermott
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,447 ✭✭✭richymcdermott


    The new direction Phil Spencer has taken Microsoft is so much better than in the past , for one I welcome. they are ticking all the right boxes. It only makes sense to buy a studio that holds the one of the most popular ips and given they have no intention on taken it away from other platforms is smart.

    http://www.develop-online.net/news/phil-spencer-minecraft-will-continue-to-be-available-across-platforms/0197627


    Allowing the community to continue to grow and not remove the creativity with any outrageous cooperate business decisions then microsoft will recoup its money back and then some.


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  • #31
    ScumLord
    Registered Users Posts: 28,789 ✭✭✭✭ScumLord


    humanji wrote: »
    I still can't get my head around why the company is worth that much. Surely MS haven't a hope in hell in recouping that cost for a decade or two with what I can only imagine being Minecraft spinoffs and merchandising?
    There's a user base of young soon to be consumers they could be targeting. They may see it as an advertising platform as much as anything else and if they want to go down the road of exclusivity it would sell future consoles.

    In reality microsoft shouldn't have to pay for the game itself, I'd assume a company like them could produce a knock off easily enough, so all they're really getting out of it is the name and current user base.


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