Minecraft is digging its own grave with its latest release on XBLA -- and by "grave" we refer to "lavish gold-plated throne rooms with an indoor pool and grape-feeding robots." Today's tweet from Markus "Notch", Markus Persson, a Minecraft developer, said that Minecraft was profitable within one hour of its launch through XBLA. This is in addition to the multimillion-dollar version for PC that Notch has developed.
Based on leaderboard participation rates, Minecraft sold more than 400000 copies in a span of 24 hours, Notch said. According to Microsoft, Minecraft sold more digital copies than any other XBLA game within the first day of release and set records for digital sales.
Earlier today, Notch tweeted that he had sales numbers for Minecraft (turns out that they were the above leaderboard figures), which sparked a conversation about the inner workings of XBLA developer contracts with Fez's Polytron. Polytron still doesn't know the exact figures of Fez despite the fact that it was released just one month ago.
According to Polytron, "Standard procedure" means that you know the value of your sale when the first check arrives three to four months after the date you received your first check. Notch believed that receiving immediate numbers was standard but he was against contract negotiations and isn't sure what the contract refers to, he replied.
Minecraft also gets free updates, "which is something every other developer on the platform is told is simply not an option," Polytron wrote. Notch replied: "We had to fight for it, and we got a limited number of them. It's not clear why they don't want it."
We may have found the secret talent of Notch and the secret to his success: fighting in an agreement, not negotiating and winning.
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MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION BREAKS DIGITAL SALES RECORDS Microsoft Studios Presents: Arcade NEXT program delivers two back-to-back record-breaking titles in four weeks
Microsoft today announced that Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition is the console version of the immensely popular PC game created by Mojang, has broken all previous records for digital sales and has sold more than any other game within the first 24 hours on Xbox LIVE Arcade.
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This follows the example of Trials Evolution, who also broke the revenue sales records on its first day of sales for the first game in the "Arcade Next" program.
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition was developed by 4J Studios and Mojang in collaboration with Microsoft Studios. It introduces new gaming experiences such as a unique crafting menu and tutorials for games. Multiplayer on split-screen and online multiplayer for up eight players on Xbox LIVE are also available.
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition is available on Xbox LIVE Arcade for 1600 Microsoft Points, and is the final game in the "Microsoft Studios Presents: Arcade NEXT" lineup which also includes Trials Evolution (Redlynx), Bloodforge (Climax) and Fable Heroes (Lionhead).
For more information on the 360, click here
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