Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Microsoft Near Deal to Buy Minecraft Maker Mojang

online.wsj.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 273 posts

Re: Microsoft Near Deal to Buy Minecraft Maker Mojang

#41

Post by jamespitts »

mindstab wrote: post #19

I don't get it. Mojang already made "all the money" from selling minecraft and are largely maintaining it now. I haven't heard if they even have any new games on the way? The space one was cancelled. What exactly is MS possibly getting that could be worth $2B?

Think about it... what kind of new Microsoft hardware could Minecraft exclusively target?

At the very least, controlling the most successful proto-VR "creative platform" can be used to gain leverage with facebook / Oculus Rift.

Re: Microsoft Near Deal to Buy Minecraft Maker Mojang

#43

Post by MrZongle2 »

joshdance wrote: post #39

Talked to a die hard Minecraft fan about this and he thinks it will be a good thing. More devs, more updates, maybe even a re-write so it runs better.

More devs? Sure. More updates? Doubtful.

If Microsoft dropped $2B on this property, the last thing they're going to do is continue to pay a development team to work on a game that has already been completed in their eyes.

A re-write, on the other hand? Guaranteed. And it will be the first of many sequels, Halo-style.

For Xbox One and the newest version of Windows.

Re: Microsoft Near Deal to Buy Minecraft Maker Mojang

#44

Post by tracker1 »

JanSolo wrote: post #32
mindstab wrote: post #19

I don't get it. Mojang already made "all the money" from selling minecraft and are largely maintaining it now. I haven't heard if they even have any new games on the way? The space one was cancelled. What exactly is MS possibly getting that could be worth $2B?

Agreed. I can only assume that MS are going to insist on a sequel with all of the 'NextGen' trappings we've come to expect from them. Minecraft2: MasterChief Edition. With Kinect! And day1 DLC! And product placement... (Use the new MTN DEW powerup to double your building speed! Feed your animals DORITOS to improve their stats!) Good for Markus and the Mojang guys though... they built a multi-billion-dollar empire out…

I was just thinking that a kinect interface could be really interesting... Not that I'd use it personally, but it could be fun for kids to interact with.

Not sure what it's written in, or how difficult of a port to Unity would be (another possibility).

Re: Microsoft Near Deal to Buy Minecraft Maker Mojang

#46

Post by manachar »

What an odd rumor that I hope is just that.

Notch has a history of bashing Microsoft and MS's efforts to lock down Windows and Microsoft has a pretty bad track record when it comes to acquisitions. They seem to kinda squash anything interesting out of them to try to force that acquisition into helping the MS/Xbox brand.

If anyone buys Mojang I really hope it's either Valve or a company much like it. They seem much more analogous in outlook, business model and process.

Re: Microsoft Near Deal to Buy Minecraft Maker Mojang

#47

Post by Navarr »

Fizzer wrote: post #36
mindstab wrote: post #19

I don't get it. Mojang already made "all the money" from selling minecraft and are largely maintaining it now. I haven't heard if they even have any new games on the way? The space one was cancelled. What exactly is MS possibly getting that could be worth $2B?

Most likely a free-to-play Minecraft 2 that's loaded with microtransactions. Or retro-fitting microtransactions into the existing Minecraft.

Oh please, next you'll be telling me they're charging users for "skin packs"

Re: Microsoft Near Deal to Buy Minecraft Maker Mojang

#48

Post by Navarr »

KnightHawk3 wrote: post #40
cjslep wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was (am?) a moderator for Technic/Tekkit, and at the time the modding community seemed to me like it was a cesspit of adfly links and people eager to claim copyright over everything they touched. If the community is still similar then I agree, seeing the reactions to this news will be interesting to say the least.

I still don't grasp why everyone is trying to make a profit and claim copyright of their modification on someone elses work. (That doesn't have a licence to allow modification)

Because at the end of the day your code is your code, and you do have copyright on it, and in a number of cases are or should be legally allowed to profit off of it.

Especially when you bought it under a license [1] that allows you to do so

[1]: https://web.archive.org/web/20110923135753/http://www.minecr...

Re: Microsoft Near Deal to Buy Minecraft Maker Mojang

#49

Post by Pyrodogg »

Navarr wrote: post #47
Fizzer wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most likely a free-to-play Minecraft 2 that's loaded with microtransactions. Or retro-fitting microtransactions into the existing Minecraft.

Oh please, next you'll be telling me they're charging users for "skin packs"

Not sure if serious, They have been selling skin packs on x360 since it launched.

http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Skin#Skin_Packs

Re: Microsoft Near Deal to Buy Minecraft Maker Mojang

#50

Post by bshimmin »

georgemcbay wrote: post #33
Mandatum wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it fair to say that once you achieve "FU money", numbers start to lose their value? I can't imagine being able to say "no" to something like that. Although likely for something like Minecraft, it'd be stock options/cash mix.

I don't have any "FU money", but it seems very likely to me that once you have that sort of money, there are only a couple of reasons to run it up any further: 1) You have "Big Plans" that need funding (eg. Elon Musk) 2) Running up the numbers as a life gamification to "beat" your peers, or just because you can't stop chasing yourself, like one of those freak beast weightlifters that looks like a space monster but is…

Now I'm imagining Larry Ellison as a "freak beast weightlifter". Thanks.
Post reply on HN