Joystiq

0x10c may charge monthly subscription for ship ownership

Mike Schramm — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:45:00 EST

In a recent interview, Mojang's Markus "Notch" Persson says he's thinking more and more that 0x10c, the Minecraft mogul's space-based PC title, may use a subscription-based monetization plan when it's ready to be sold. The idea's not cemented just yet, but Notch expects to have a multiplayer mode with the game called "the multiverse," and there will likely be cost associated with keeping all of the virtual ships running on a real server.

Each ship will require a "generator" to keep it running, so Notch's current idea is that "one subscription gives you one generator." Presumably, he says, multiple players could run around inside one ship, so you may pay a subscription and then invite your friends to join you on your vessel. But someone will have to pay to keep the game going.

Notch also talks a bit about how construction will work in the game: Players will likely build a ship's external features first, and then organize various components inside for different layouts or more options. And Notch says there will be "mining," in that players will have to find resources in the galaxy to use as parts, but he says it definitely won't be Minecraft-style. As Notch told us at PAX, work is definitely well underway, and we should see more very soon.

0x10c may charge monthly subscription for ship ownership originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Notch explains why Minecraft has yet to get Steam'd

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:25:00 EST

Minecraft has been widely available for quite some time in various forms (alpha, beta), but when it fully launches this November, it won't be available on Steam. "Being on Steam limits a lot of what we're allowed to do with the game," Mojang president and founder Markus "Notch" Persson explains in a post on his Tumblr blog.

"We (probably?) wouldn't be able to, say, sell capes or have a map marketplace on minecraft.net that works with Steam customers in a way that keeps Valve happy," he adds. Notch worries that inclusion on Steam would divide the PC/Mac market of Minecraft users, rather than offer more to existing players.

It's not as though there's any animosity though, with Notch kicking off the post by lavishing a paragraph of praise upon "the best digital distribution platform I've ever seen." He also notes that Mojang "are talking to Valve about this" to try and make things work for everyone, but, understandably, "We just don't want to limit what we can do with Minecraft."

[Image credit: Steam forums]

Notch explains why Minecraft has yet to get Steam'd originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Minecraft hits 3 million, Notch buys us all

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 09:45:00 EST

In January, Minecraft passed its first major sales milestone: 1 million downloads. Three months later, in April, it clocked another cool million. And today, just five days into August, the game has surpassed its 3 millionth paid user -- every four months, eh? Smells like a trend!

Those 3,000,961 folks (as of this writing) make up over a full quarter of all accounts at 26.24 percent. At around $22 per purchase, that's quite a bit of dough -- and with no publisher to pay. We imagine Mojang Specifications head Markus "Notch" Persson will be investing a good chunk of that dough in the upcoming MineCon, which kicks off the official launch of Minecraft on November 18.

[Thanks, Matias.]

Minecraft hits 3 million, Notch buys us all originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 05 Aug 2011 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Minecraft's 'MineCon' convention set for November 18 - 19 in Vegas

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:40:00 EST

Rather than setting its convention in the icy grip of its home country's chilly November, Sweden-based Minecraft studio Mojang Specifications is holding what it dubs "MineCon" in Las Vegas. "For me, MineCon is about celebrating the full release of Minecraft," Mojang head Markus "Notch" Persson told PC Gamer this week. Apparently the delayed title will see its full launch in grand style, with Notch "getting up on stage and pushing the button to upload the final build."

When he first spitballed the idea back in May, voters overwhelmingly responded, "No, definitely not" when asked whether they'd attend such an event. That said, the minority's 42,000 votes were assuredly enough to convince him of demand for such an event.

Speaking of, Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino will host MineCon on November 18 and 19, and the ticket registration site is set to go live next week -- apparently Notch will announce as much on his Twitter account, so keep an eye out. That is, if you can tear yourself away from building that to-scale replica of Hogwarts.

Update: This year marks the second MineCon.

Minecraft's 'MineCon' convention set for November 18 - 19 in Vegas originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Notch doles out more details on Minecraft for 360, Kinect functionality

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:25:00 EST

Markus "Notch" Persson is in a bizarre position, especially given his usual openness about his studio's first creation, Minecraft. "There's going to [be] actual marketing for the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft, so I've agreed to be slightly less transparent than usual when it comes to that version," he tells IGN in a recent interview.

But don't despair! Notch still offers a handful of new details, saying that the Xbox 360 version (announced during E3 2011) will have "completely different" crafting, and that the Kinect functionality will include a mode where "you wave your arms around to mine and use items" -- "it's just too silly not to include," he adds.

Hilariously, rather than respond to a question about console exclusivity and the possibility of Minecraft coming to PS3/Wii U, Notch simply draws the ridiculous (and admittedly adorable) sheep you see above. He also reveals that the upcoming Xperia Play version of Minecraft will cost $7 when it drops sometime "this fall," and that it was programmed "in a way that will make it easy to port to all sorts of mobile phones."

Notch doles out more details on Minecraft for 360, Kinect functionality originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Minecraft Adventure mode coming in update 1.8, game launch delayed by a week

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:57:00 EST

Mojang Studio's next update to Minecraft, 1.7, promises the addition of pistons (seriously!), thus allowing for the creation of mechanical objects. Rather than include it as planned in the 1.8 update alongside Adventure mode, creative lead Markus "Notch" Persson and partner Jens Bergentsen instead chose to drop it in with a handful of bug fixes in 1.7. No solid release date is given for 1.7 (or 1.8 for that matter), but the former will be released "soon" while the latter "might be a long wait."

Persson also notes that, after update 1.8 is released in the coming months (Adventure mode and all), the team at Mojang will "start crunching for the full release," though it seems that the official launch may not make its intended November 11 date. "The release date is almost certainly changed to sometime the week after 11/11/11, and we're working hard on setting that up," Persson explains. And following that, after years of laboring on Minecraft, Persson and Co. get some much needed vacation time. After that? "I'll start working on the first post-release update," he adds with a grinning emoticon.

Continue reading Minecraft Adventure mode coming in update 1.8, game launch delayed by a week

Minecraft Adventure mode coming in update 1.8, game launch delayed by a week originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Minecraft for Kinect is an XBLA title, ported by 4J Studios

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:50:00 EST

More details have begun to trickle out on Swedish developer Mojang Studios' first Xbox 360 title, a Kinect-enabled port of indie hit Minecraft. Beyond the fact that it'll be some form of indirect port and that an unnamed developer other than Mojang was at the helm, few other details were known, but as Minecraft creative lead Markus "Notch" Persson revealed on his Twitter feed last night, Scottish devs 4J Studios are apparently in charge of this holiday's world-builder.

If you, like us, are unfamiliar with 4J, a cursory Wikipedia'ing reveals work on a wealth of ports, not to mention a handful of not-so-well-known original games. Hopefully any worry you have in the studio's confidence is abated by the fact that Notch will remain a game designer on the project, presumably retaining creative oversight.

Minecraft for Kinect is an XBLA title, ported by 4J Studios originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Minecraft on 360 'won't be a straight port,' not developed by Mojang

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:10:00 EST

Never one to shy away from community interaction, Mojang head Markus "Notch" Persson answered fan questions yesterday about the just announced Minecraft on Xbox 360. While he'll remain attached to the project as a game designer, the port is being handled by a separate, unnamed console dev. Notch notes "the programmers have done several console games before," but adds that he can't reveal what studio it is just yet. He also revealed it "won't be a straight port, though it's unclear what that means just yet.

He also spoke to the Kinect functionality, saying the game is of course playable without the motion peripheral, but "with the power of Kinect you will feel closer to your game than evar [sic] and it also saves kittens." Kittens! While we aren't sure that he's being entirely genuine with that final statement, we're just gonna take the statement at face value. We really like kittens, after all.

Minecraft on 360 'won't be a straight port,' not developed by Mojang originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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