There comes a time when when a game ceases to be seen as a fad or cultural phenomenon, and is only referred to as a quality title with a devoted fan base. While PC gamers have long known what features made Minecraft one of the best sandbox titles in recent memory, it looks like Xbox 360 owners have come around as well.
After less than a week on sale, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition has sold over 1,000,000 copies through XBLA, and isn’t showing signs of slowing down any time soon.
The console version of the cubic title may not be as smooth or refined as the version released for the platform it was designed on – which we noted in our review – but obviously the pros have outweighed the cons for a massive portion of the Xbox Live community. It’s hard to put a price on the ability to build just about anything you can imagine alongside friends via split screen co-op: assuming you own an HDTV.
While it isn’t difficult for a well-crafted game to make a big splash on XBLA these days, it’s more than just sales that show how well Minecraft has done through Xbox Live. The online hours played for the game currently sits at over 5.2 million, with just under half of them credited to multiplayer sessions. Even less than a week after its launch, its safe to assume that Mojang‘s fan community just got a whole lot bigger.
Considering the game’s $20 price tag, it’s hard to understate just how colossally successful the transition from PC to Xbox 360 has been. Even if the game was somewhat streamlined or simplified in the process, it’s hard to think that the developers won’t be motivated to start expanding the console version immediately. They’ve got no shortage of Minecraft profits to rely on, and that was before this $20 million weekend.
It wasn’t exactly a surprise to see Minecraft succeed via XBLA – even if the speed is a bit alarming – but obviously a precedent has been set. If a successful PC game can transition so beautifully onto consoles, which developers could see this as a sign that previously PC-focused projects not only could, but should be ported?
Do you think that a majority of the copies sold have gone to Xbox 360 owners who have never played Minecraft on a PC, or is there some overlap at work here?
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition is available exclusively on the Xbox 360 (via Xbox Live Arcade) for 1600 MS Points.
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I have never touched Minecraft before, but spent 11 hours the other day playing with my two little brothers who slept over. It was the most fun we’ve had together playing a game!
I tried Minecraft on a friend’s computer before. I can definitely see the appeal and understand the enthusiasm for the game, however I didn’t exhibit that enthusiasm. The game just didn’t click with me. I wasn’t surprised one bit to hear that it sold so well for the Xbox. If I had to guess, I would say that the massive success is attributable to Minecraft PC players who scrambled to get a console version of their favorite game, as well as people who previously had no interest in PC games, but had some brief exposure to the game before and took the chance to buy it for the Xbox.
I have to say I was always a skeptic when it came to Minecraft, even the PC version. I didn’t even know what a ‘Creeper’ was until a few months ago when I first decided to shell out the cash for the PC version. That’s when my skepticism turned into pure, unadulterated, love for Minecraft. When my computer gave out on me I was at a loss. Not able to play Minecraft for what felt like an eternity.
Then Mojang announced the release of an Xbox version. Once again I was reunited with the pure joy that is Minecraft. Thank you Notch and the rest of the crew at Mojang for reigniting a flame in the gaming community for a free-roaming, free-building, sandbox title that is “MINECRAFT”!
I remember when I fist played the Alpha version of Minecraft. I started off a bit confused, but later got addicted to it. However when the game reached around the Beta version, I started to get bored of it, my sister however loved Minecraft. And always tried to talk me into playing it. I didn’t really feel like playing, cause once when I start, I run out of ideas and become bored. I was also never able to play online, cause the game ran too slow on my computer, plus I couldn’t set up a server for me and my friends. However seeing that Minecraft for Xbox has 4 player split screen, I am now very interested in buying it. I can see me and my friends sitting for hours building awesome structures. I’m now waiting to buy a points card to get Minecraft.
i was so glad that mojang decided to port for the xbox. unfortunately, the features are waaaay cut back (i feel that $15 for a beta 1.6 version would have been much more fair) but they did the multiplayer component very well. the simple single player worlds that can turn into multiplayer worlds at any time is extremely nice. i really do hope they catch the console port up to the original and increase the map size at to at least 2048×2048, or, more preferably, 4096×4096. or, you know, infinite … :p and to answer your question about an overlap, there is definitely an overlap. quite honestly, i’d estimate 50% + or – 10% of the buyers are people like me, who own the pc version but prefer console gaming and simpler multiplayer.
I never played minecraft on the pc, mainly because I don’t like the feel of pc games. I feel much more immersed when playing a game on the console. HOWEVER! I bought the game on xbox last night after playing the trial, and I played it for about 12 hours through the night. NO SLEEP lol, Tons of fun.
BOTTOM LINE: Minecraft is the change of pace that the gaming industry needed
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