Phil Spencer Discusses Microsoft's Purchase of Minecraft

What a shocker. Good on Notch though.

My skepticism on everything being OK is too large to be properly measured.

I suppose I should actually play Minecraft someday. It is nice to hear they have no plans to screw out Smartphone and Playstation folks though.

None of the clones have even come close to touching MineCrafts immense popularity, so in a sense this is a sound investment. MineCraft 2, 6 month exclusive on Xbox One Holiday 2015.

500 pounds of pure SKEPTICISM.

Continued support for Sony platforms? Interesting. I have to imagine they'll bias updates accordingly, at least.

I'll be interested to see what this means for the PS3, PS4 and Vita versions, down the road.

Maybe Microsoft will actually, you know, work on the game for once.

I don't really care either way, Microsoft made this deal to earn shitloads of money off the name, I'm sure. I think the game itself is less of a concern of theirs. They just want to sell that hot MINECRAFT (TM) LEGO (TM).

RIP Minecraft

I know you're half joking, but I actually doubt they'd do that for a game like Minecraft. The shitstorm they would get for that would match that of the original DRM plan reactions. And we know what happened to those plans. Phil Spencer seems like a sensible guy, and he knows that they make money either way, no matter what platform it is on. And in a sense, wouldn't it be a win for Microsoft if the most played game on PlayStation devices is a Microsoft published game?

Sure, we'll trust Microsoft not to ruin a product that is successful and well-liked by the general public. I mean, the Metro interface, Office Ribbons, Skype and their great Xbox One ideas were universally loved, right?

If I had any attachment to Minecraft I would be worried right about now. But seeing as I don't, I'm happy that Notch is now insanely rich and will throw millions at interesting games he'd like to see made. And if Microsoft does fuck up Minecraft, I am sure another company will make a very similar clone, or maybe a group of fans get together to make an open-source version. So no one loses except Microsoft in that case.

Here's hoping the bit about learning from Mojang how to interact with a community wasn't just idle talk.

Minecraft 2 only available on Minecrosoft Phones

Meh Mods are so prevalent that The game will never be able to disappear at this point, if they fuck it up we can always just install some version of the Minecraft classic pack or what have you.

I obviously never play this on consoles.

Minecraft is more of a platform than a game at this point with huge brand recognition. It's a smart deal for both companies, MS has the leverage and resources to push the game further, Mojang didn't really know what to do with it at this point and weren't branching out with anything else interesting.

Should be cool to see where MC goes at this point.

So basically this means Microsoft intend to continue distributing MC on Playstation platforms? Have they ever published a game on a Playstation console before?

Wow, didn't think it would actually happen. Good for Notch and the team, hope he gets to do more of the stuff he likes working on. And good on Spencer for basically answering every fear that the fanbase had.

Huh, so it's pronounced Mo-Yang.

I've been saying it wrong all this time.

I'd like to hear what their plans are for the non MS versions. PC, Linux, PS3/4 and PSVita.

Say what you will, but I'm gonna go ahead and give them the benefit of the doubt on this one, especially with Phil Spencer at the head of this. I don't think you spend $2.5 billion and not have some understanding of what you're getting into. You'll probably see early updates on Xbox and maybe the storefront for user-generated content that Patrick brought up on the morning show, but other than that, I can't imagine there's anything to worry about.

At the very least, I think they deserve a chance before everyone starts with all the doom and gloom bullshit.

Microsoft office 2015: MS Blocks

@creamypies: It would almost be like free advertising. "Hey there PlayStation fan, check out what else we got over here!"

I don't enjoy playing Minecraft. I just don't. But I'm fascinated by what it is, and enjoy watching OTHERS play it. I really, really hope this purchase doesn't kill what is so special and important about this game.

It makes sense that Microsoft would want to keep Minecraft on every platform because that means more money coming in. Now they have the tag line from Mojang's next game, which will probably be Xbox exclusive, "From the makers of Minecraft comes..." And that's a really good marketing tagline to have.

@melodiousj: Ha ha me too.

Man, reading Notch's blog on leaving is rough, pretty emblematic of the caustic environment that developers and journalists have been dealing with the past few months. When the maker of one of the most popular games in the world just decides to bail on it because he can't deal with the toxicity caused by it, can you blame anyone else having trouble with the vitriol going around?

Yea, that made me sad to see. These harassers have already caused untold amounts of damage to the industry, and they don't seem to be letting up anytime soon.

@libb: I think it's more than just online haters, it's about Notch not really wanting to be responsible for the super-stressful duties that come with being in charge of a multi-million dollar company and all the headaches that come with it. He'd rather just kick back and tinker around.

This is so awesome for NOTCH!!! Pychonauts 2 baby!

Maybe my hearing is going but what did Phil say at 1:36 to 1:39? Biggest what?

Once again, Microsoft chasing after where others lead. And again late to the party. MSFT sell sell sell.

I would have done the same, minecraft is a thing off the past sell it why you can baby !

This told me nothing, not that that surprises me.

I want to know their plans for the modding scene. Are they going to re-write the game in C++ or something, completely decimating the minecraft mod scene, and lock down the code so they can better sell DLC packs for it? This is the nightmare scenario I'm worried about.

there's the ps3, ps4 and vita version of minecraft that probably wont be supported after this.

@libb: Notch stepped down as lead developer on Minecraft in 2011. I doubt he has touched the game in quite a while. Makes no sense for him to stay on for either party.

Maybe now we can get Psychonauts 2?

@reelife:

I imagine there is a contract in place that requires them to support the PlayStation versions to at least have parity with the Xbox One version.

Which is why I think they will want to make a Minecraft 2 and make is console exclusive to XBone, since that wouldn't be bound to the previous agreement.

Trying to remember the last time MS made a smart purchasing decision that benefited the developer and the audience. Nothing comes to mind. But then I'm not a big minecraft guy, and I kinda figure if MS fucked minecraft up it would be pretty easy for someone to build something similar to what minecraft used to be for that audience.

Remember Shrek? How it was everywhere and on everything? I think that's what Microsoft envisions they have purchased, a Shrek level of cultural and marketing power towards children. Minecraft tv show, McDonalds toys, the cereal.. Minecraft edition Microsoft phones..

Those were my thoughts as well. So very depressing that creating things that give people so much joy has to be coupled with so much nastiness and stress.

I have hard time believing that this doesnt affect Minecraft being available on sony gaming platforms.

Also wouldnt be surprised if Minecraft will require a live subscription in the future.

Was that end music really from Minecraft? Sounded a whole lot like The Sims music.

I burned out fast on Minecraft but I really loved those mellow piano tunes, still do.

He looks orange! Spray tan or white balance?

I wanted to post this very same thing but you guys beat me to it. I wonder how long until the internet in general realizes that these developers aren't some big crazy corporation that's used to that sort of stuff. That nonsense shouldn't be going on at all. Glad to see he's moving on to other projects that he enjoys. That's the key thing.

As far as all the other stuff going on in the comments with people freaking out about microsoft taking it over holy crap get over yourselves people. Maybe a knee jerk reaction. This is one of the biggest franchises today and you're complaining that a company that can support it bought it? I saw some comments like oh windows 8, oh this microsoft thing, oh this other microsoft thing. You guys realize this is a big company with completely separate divisions right? Microsoft has been making the right moves all year. Give them a bit of credit and wait to see what actually happens before you throw tantrums on the net.

@creamypies: I could just imagine the troubles of Minecraft getting through Sony certification now.

I'm hopefully for the best, but I don't have my hopes very high. Just really hope this doesn't become another 'nuts and bolts' in Microsofts collection.

I hate all the acting like he is friends with these guys. This is just business.

I have zero clue why people are upset over this purchase. Markus barely even worked on the game. I'd rather have people own it that actually care rather than someone who just wants to sit around and collect money. And yes, I am implying Microsoft cares more about it than its own creator

My feedback: Give it back to Notch.