Minecraft Pocket Edition coming to those other Android devices September 29

by Griffin McElroy on Sep 26th 2011 6:00PM

Mojang Specifications has announced that the pint-sized version of its big ol' indie hit, Minecraft Pocket Edition, will arrive on Android devices September 29. The studio also released a video showing how the title will operate without the handy slide-out joypad of its original platform, the Xperia Play. You can watch said demonstration through the thumbs of the man seen in the video above.

We're not sure if a button-free input scheme is going to give us the kind of creative freedom we'll need to build our miles-wide masterpieces, but it should let us create a few smaller opuses; like the Tiny Washington Monument, or the Tiny Pyramide du Louvre.

[Thanks, Andrew!]

Source: Mojang Specifications

Tags: android, Minecraft, minecraft-pocket-edition, mobile, Mojang-Specifications, release-date

Reader Comments (36)

If this is free, I'm downloading it the minute it's released.

@stiqlol Very unlikely to happen soon if at all. Minecraft and Android have one thing in common, Java. To port this to iOS would require a complete restructure of the code so don't get your hopes up.

@RX3115

really, i'm gonna let you bask in this little sense of euphoria and bliss that iOS users feel when we get all these amazing games for a little while before i bring this wet dream of yours crashing down to reality... ready? can you tell me what the annotation note says in the top of the video @ 1:29?

you didn't really think they were gonna ignore the iOS market did you? The reason its out for android so soon is because there is already an android version developed for the Sony Ericson Play, or the playstation phone.

Have you tried Rage H-
how about Infinity Bla-
...

@PR0F3TA I keep only 2 or 3 games on my Nexus S. Most all games on smartphones are only entertaining for an average of 5 minutes. I have a DS for my portable gaming, I like my buttons. Apple would love to claim dedicated gaming handheld are dead, but this is not the case. I just don't see how swiping around on a capacitance touch screen could be fun for more than a few minutes. LONG LIVE BUTTONS AND PHYSICAL SWITCHES!

@RX3115 I agree, but to be fair, I have both an Android and an iTouch. Angry Birds, EA's Tetris, original Minesweeper, and Plants vs Zombies each kept me rather entertained for hours. Still, controller FTW.

@Schlecht Why would it be free.

Wonder how long it will take to render all that.....world.

As usual, it looks terrible to control.

Whyyyyyy to people like phone gaming so much? I don't get it. I try to get it. But I don't.

@Gooblechev Because it goes everywhere I go. A PSVita or even PSP phone would be heavenly. Would be nice to carry one device instead of two. : )

@nerdydesi1 Hey, I'm not knocking portable gaming.

It's phone gaming (as it is now), that makes no sense to me. Once someone gets gaming phones right (e.g., good controls, dedicated hardware), it'll be awesome.

@Gooblechev Touch screens are en excellent control method if implemented correctly. Games like Battleheart and Jetpack Joyride control very well, not to mention they are about 1/8th the price of a 3DS game. Typically, I try to avoid virtual controls on touch games.

There is a Minecraft clone-ish game coming out soon for iOS called Junk Jack that plays a little bit more like Terraria but actually has a nice art style. It controls very smoothly and doesn't use any sort of virtual controls.

Your complaint is better addressed at developers that try to release games on mobile platforms that weren't designed for the interface options available ... specifically a multi-touch screen.

There are quite a few brilliant gems on mobile devices that just use a touchscreen to great effect, and they are full, high quality games. And that's because they were designed, from the start, for those platforms, and for touch input.

There's obviously exceptions, there's a lot of BAD mobile-minded developed titles out there, and a few great 'ports' from other platforms, but writing off mobile gaming because the big developers don't get it is silly.

I like mobile gaming because I like gaming, and I enjoy playing good games. If there are good games on a mobile platform - and there are! - I'm there.

@Epoque Oh I quite agree. But if you only have a touchscreen, there are less options. Not every game style can fit with touch controls, even if designed from the ground up for them.

I've played plenty of designed-for-touchscreen games, but even the best still aren't in the league of console games. And small screens can be a pain. And if you get a crap phone (like the original Droid), there are performance issues to consider.

What I want is more like a gaming console with phone functions... XD Like the Vita with built-in calling, I guess. Maybe a little smaller.

@Epoque Oh and I forgot to mention that physical feedback is important to me. Unless all the games I'm going to play are controlled with just swipes, I like to feel the buttons I'm pressing! (And haptic feedback doesn't count. Yet.)

What I want to know is if it'll run on Android 2.1. I'm too paranoid to root to Froyo if need be to download this, as I screw up computer.

@Vroushie You would not screw up your PC. What Android phone do you have? I strongly recommend to upgrade to 2.2 if your phone can support it.

@Vroushie

Wild guess, you deleted you 64bit java directory instead of uninstalling now you can't reinstall it?

@nerdydesi1 I worded my comment wrong-I'm afraid of screwing up and bricking my phone somehow. I have a Samsung Vibrant Galaxy, and I haven't quite found a good , easy-to-use guide to rooting AND installing Froyo on my device.

Exclusivity sucks. : (

@nerdydesi1
Exclusivity rocks--it defines platforms and breeds competition. As just a quick example, games like Modnation Racers wouldn't exist if Mario Kart wasn't exclusive.

That said, it sucks as an Android owner that games still go iOS exclusive despite Android's considerably larger install base.

@Smash Bro Not really, minecraft style game eden has been on ios for 5months now. Got to wonder how much notch is loosing for a quick buck from sony.

@Smash Bro Probably because the iPod touch and iTunes gift cards exist, so the younger audience who may not be able to afford a contract and don't have a credit/debit card can still buy these games.

See I think he's talking about touch gaming on phone, you said PSP/V phone, that has buttons/stick, so of course PSPhone would sound good

Minecraft used sap on life!

It's Super Effective!

I hope it'll allow use for other physical controls. I have a keyboard on my phone (Droid 2), and it's kinda annoying when games don't offer physical controls as an option for those of us who do have them.

If I can use my current log in to take maps on the go, then awesome, day 1 purchase. If it's completely separate and incompatible with PC maps, then this seems like a major waste.

I love minecraft, but this is just classic minecraft, which is only fun for like 5 minutes, and with touch controls... just awful looking. If it was an actual survival mode, that would be a different story.

I will buy this and hope it gets an Adventure mode later.

@GreenElf

They confirmed that all the modes are coming to the Android version. They presently only have build mode. They said Survival should be soon but I doubt it.

That is so unfair,

I totally want Autojump in the PC version :(

Whoa are those Hellboy hands?

@krash411 "Hello this is Hellboy from Mojang and i'm here to show the.... touch controls we've created for Minecraft Pocket Edition."

I play so much Minecraft its pouring out of my square-shaped wazoo. This looks borderline unplayable, and I'll likely give up on it when my phone is hot and slippery with hand grease.

I hope it supports Tegra 2 so that I can get the best performance on my phone.

Can't wait to pick this up.

On my iPhone.

I have the Xperia Play version and it's pretty fun. Works like a dream.

Minecraft

Minecraft Pocket Edition coming to those other Android devices September 29

Reader Comments (36)

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 6:07PM Schlecht said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 7:12PM RX3115 said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 8:15PM PR0F3TA said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 10:08PM RX3115 said

Posted: Sep 27th 2011 12:48AM Schlecht said

Posted: Sep 27th 2011 4:09AM Viiral said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 6:15PM Shadowbender said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 6:21PM Gooblechev said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 6:27PM nerdydesi1 said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 8:30PM Gooblechev said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 11:34PM mguniverse said

Posted: Sep 27th 2011 9:44AM Epoque said

Posted: Sep 28th 2011 8:11AM Gooblechev said

Posted: Sep 28th 2011 8:12AM Gooblechev said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 6:25PM Vroushie said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 6:26PM nerdydesi1 said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 7:38PM Scuffles said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 10:33PM Vroushie said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 6:25PM nerdydesi1 said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 6:53PM Smash Bro said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 7:20PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 11:17PM mguniverse said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 7:26PM Link408 said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 6:28PM Andrew12h said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 6:41PM BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 6:55PM Smash Bro said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 7:19PM Warlock234 said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 7:33PM GreenElf said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 10:27PM NumberZero said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 7:41PM Scuffles said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 7:44PM krash411 said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 11:36PM mguniverse said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 8:24PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 8:45PM ItsameMatt03 said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 11:17PM mguniverse said

Posted: Sep 26th 2011 11:48PM Skuwulfe said

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