446
447

Why you should assume the Microsoft buyout rumours are false until Mojang releases an official statement. (self.Minecraft)

MoralTrilemma が 投稿

So this seems to have been everywhere over the last hour or so and I'd like to give my 2pence on it.

This deal does not make sense for Mojang

Many people are going to draw parallels to the Oculus buyout here. But here is the important distinction: Oculus needed (or at the very least could make use of) a very large portion of extra funding. But Mojang has no use for this funding. Their style of game development does not involve a big budget, and, in all honesty, for their purposes they are essentially swimming in money.

This deal does not make sense for Notch

Yes, Notch would stand to gain a large sum of money from this deal, but it doesn't seem like it would be worth it from his point of view. We're talking about a guy whose life is videogames and the associated community. He has seen (and was a pretty big voice in, mind you) the Oculus backlash. His backlash would be far greater, and he would have less of a leg to stand on, as well as fewer people supporting him.

He already has more money than he could ever need. Would he really think it worthwhile to trade in his life (the video game community) and his respect just for a larger sum? I don't think so.

This deal does not make sense for Microsoft

What does Microsoft stand to gain from this? As far as I can see, nothing besides a few bits of intellectual property. Lets be honest here, the only one that matters is Minecraft, but why would Microsoft drop $2B for Minecraft? How would they be expecting to get a return on this investment? Minecraft isn't really a profitable game from this point on, a definitive version (which Microsoft can't charge for, it's already out there) is already available to the community on all platforms.

They can't hope to make a return by charging for updates, the modding community has them totally beat on that.

They definitely aren't buying it to try and make it an Xbox exclusive, it simply doesn't make sense for $2B.

Maybe they're trying to do something new with the IP? Yeah right, what are you going to do to make a Minecraft 2? there is simply not enough you could change to convince people to buy it. Furthermore, it definitely won't grant a return. Even is you ignore development costs etc, and assume Minecraft 2 would match the original in total sales (yeah right), they would still have to charge $40 a copy just to make the $2B back. It simply doesn't make sense.

Now to address other related points:

Mojang declined to comment therefore it must be true!!1!

Mojang (Notch in particular) are not known for having the best relationship with mainstream media, this tells us nothing. Also, note that it is late at night in Sweden, Mojang are most likely not open. Mainstream media are aknown to twist reality in their reporting, I could easily see "Mojang hasn't replied to us" being reported as "Mojang declined to comment"

Edit: The $2B figure also sets my BS alarm bells ringing. I could definitely see this having spawned from someone making a joke about the Oculus buyout.

Edit2:

Baseless yet the WSJ deemed it worthy to print?

The vast majority of that article is fluff, it really boils down to one sentence

Microsoft corp. is in serious discussions to buy Mojang AB ... According to a person with knowledge on the matter.

This is all the WSJ are going on, which seems baseless to me. This person most likely does not work for either Mojang or Microsoft, since having this word out does not benefit either party, and both have not been prepared to respond. So how can we trust this? For all we know it could be a bukkit dev trying to start shit.

Also the WSJ isn't some source of divine truth, as you can see by the fact that an article that essentially says "Microsoft apparently maybe we think buying Mojang according to one anonymous source" was titled "Microsoft near deal to buy Minecraft" If that isn't misleading click bait, I don't know what is.

Edit3: There is already bad blood between Notch and Microsoft, see this tweet. Are we suggesting that this same person is selling out to Microsoft? I can't see it.

Edit4: I'm going to sleep, hopefully we will know for sure in the morning.

Edit5: Damn, it's afternoon here in Europe and there is still no word... The longer you leave this, /u/xNotch, the more suspicious it gets...

If anyone wants me to add anything, feel free to ask.

評価の高い 200 コメント全て表示する 213
並べ替え:
ベスト
ベスト
トップ
新着
注目
論争中
古い順

[–]Afflicted_One 121 ポイント122 ポイント  (26子コメント)

You know what worries me? The fact that NO ONE from Mojang has commented on this yet to dispel these rumors. Not over Reddit, not over twitter, not over any official or unofficial channel.

Mojang is usually quick to address any matters concerning their company and their future.

[–]MoralTrilemma[S] 73 ポイント74 ポイント  (7子コメント)

I will agree with you. This is the one thing that concerns me. However, since this has become such a big deal, most of Mojang will probably want to leave it to Notch or Carl Manneh to make the official statement. And I would like to point out that it is currently 4:48 am in Sweden. Notch is probably asleep.

[–]WhatGravitas 18 ポイント19 ポイント  (3子コメント)

I'd add to that that it's completely possible that MS and Mojang are in talks for something, but it doesn't have to be a full buy-out.

Notch has shown that he's more than happy with spin-off products. So have talks about a new product, going through the office rumour mill, going through the grapevine etc... and you got a buy-out rumour.

[–]TitaniumTurtle 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (2子コメント)

If anything it's probably in regard to making Xbox updates easier to push out. Minecraft has already proven itself to be a good selling product. Why hinder it's updates through Microsoft's primary gaming medium.

Hell, if they could convince Microsoft to allow them to keep up with the Xbox version easily, a lot more people would buy it.

[–]FriarNurgle 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

More like making Minecraft Xbox updates more profitable.

[–]robochicken11 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

If it's to do with Xbox, Idgaf. As long as my precious minecraft doesn't become shitty...

[–]olavk2 10 ポイント11 ポイント  (0子コメント)

This, unlike the news, which mostly operates from the US, mojang operates in sweden so most likely Notch will hear the news right about now or something.

[–]WriterV 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I personally think they might be taking they're time to make a proper statement, given their past experiences with the media

コメントをもっと表示する (1 返事)

    [–]vintermann 10 ポイント11 ポイント  (1子コメント)

    If they always commented on rumors when they were false, you'd automatically know the rumors were true if they didn't.

    [–]Afflicted_One 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

    The entire Minecraft community is panicking over this, I'd say that calls for an official statement.

    [–]artemisdragmire 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (2子コメント)

    The article came out cleverly timed to be at a time that both MS and Mojang were out of operating hours. Especially Mojang, it was late evening when the article hit for them.

    [–]Graeme-Lion 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (0子コメント)

    This was to prevent stock manipulation. It's pretty typical of the WSJ to release leaks/stories when both businesses are out of trading hours if possible.

    [–]Afflicted_One 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

    It is very likely that the deal was proposed on Monday and we are just hearing about it now.

    [–]qrevolution 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

    This is the exact reason I think everything is true. They DO comment pretty quickly when the community gets its underwear in a jumble.

    [–]-Energy 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Same here.

    [–]cdjaco 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Came to say exactly this. This appears to be a case where the dog isn't barking, and it's quite curious.

    Additionally, I was wondering why 1.8 development appeared to accelerate in the past few weeks. Perhaps the internal word was to finish what they could before the new bosses take the wheel.

    [–]theCroc 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

    It was 5 am here in sweden when you made that comment. They probably just found out in the last hour or so.

    [–]throwaway_ghast 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (4子コメント)

    That's because Sweden is asleep at the time of your comment.

    They should be waking up pretty soon though. We'll see what they have to say.

    [–]kuemmi 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (1子コメント)

    Well. It's 12 pm in Sweden right now. So the lack of tweets is concerning.

    [–]throwaway_ghast 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

    They're probably just busy trying to push the giant mountain of money away. Maybe.

    [–]Afflicted_One -1 ポイント0 ポイント  (1子コメント)

    They would have been awake when the deal was first proposed, besides it's the afternoon now and still no word. Time to get worried.

    [–][削除されました]  (3子コメント)

    [deleted]

      [–]ItsMartin 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (1子コメント)

      Really? Is there a screenshot?

      [–]zero_four_twenty -1 ポイント0 ポイント  (0子コメント)

      I was checking out the archives but I can't find it. I'll update if anything changes.

      コメントをもっと表示する (1 返事)

        [–]YellowstoneJoe 37 ポイント38 ポイント  (17子コメント)

        This deal does not make sense for Notch

        I'm not so sure about that.

        Notch via Twitter when the EULA controversy flared up, June 16:

        Anyone want to buy my share of Mojang so I can move on with my life? Getting hate for trying to do the right thing is not my gig.

        https://twitter.com/notch/status/478766808841732096

        Today, from here:

        According to Bloomberg, talks between the companies began when Persson [Notch] reached out to Microsoft a few months ago to explore the possibility of a sale.

        [–]MDKAOD 7 ポイント8 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        I think people overestimate the talent of Notch as a game developer. (Note: Game Developer and Game Designer are different fields). He has always been publicly humbled by the runaway success of Minecraft and has on occasion expressed surprise by its success.

        That being said, what has he done since stepping away from core Minecraft development? Run Mojang. But he's also expressed that his passion is the development itself, and several of his prototype projects failed to materialize.

        This is a smart move for Notch. Analytically, Minecraft has likely peaked at this point and the sales data likely shows that. Sell Mojang now, allow MS to do what they will with it, and either start over with a new company or take the money and lay low until a new idea brews.

        Every company is for sale at the right time and for the right amount. If you refuse to realize that as a business owner, you're destined for failure eventually.

        It's highly unlikely Notch will see "Minecraft Success" with any other project he completes ever again.

        [–]brucethem00se 25 ポイント26 ポイント  (14子コメント)

        Can you imagine how much hate he would get for selling out to MS, a.k.a. the destroyer of game franchises?

        It would take YEARS for people to forget and move on.

        [–]Graeme-Lion 12 ポイント13 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        Oh no, not hate. What would Notch do if people didn't like him?

        Oh wait, I watch people not like him in this sub on a daily basis. It's no secret that he's tired of this community and its people, and that he feels trapped and unable to move on. He even cancelled his space game because he thought people were giving him to much grief.

        Look inside yourself. You know that Notch was already finished half a year ago. Might as well be finished and even more wealthy.

        [–]nizo505 10 ポイント11 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        What would Notch do if people didn't like him?

        I'm picturing him swimming around in a mountain of hundred dollar bills like Scrooge McDuck for starters.

        [–]oddaree 26 ポイント27 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        We will never forget.

        [–]FelineAstrophysicist 15 ポイント16 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        [NEVER FORGETTING INTENSIFIES]

        [–]WhatGravitas 7 ポイント8 ポイント  (3子コメント)

        It would take YEARS for people to forget and move on.

        The problem is: what good are you to the game? You already paid.

        To MS, it'd be more about: how do we get more sales, how do we continue to monetise the existing user base?

        They can probably keep sales steady by just continuing to sell it and start making money by selling expansions. They don't need us.

        [–]FoxyLivid 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        I'm scared microsoft could monetize the player who already played...

        [–]DMAredditer 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        They can't. Notch himself has said they won't charge for any future updates after the game is finished. Afterwards he will make it open source. You could bring them to court and say you wouldn't have bought the game if that wasn't said. Meaning; they can't charge for updates (Expansion packs/DLC included) for Minecraft. They could do it for Minecraft 2 though.

        [–]rodted2 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Minecraft 2.0 could easily be a thing. The game could be completely different, but with the name, enough people would buy it for a $60 price tag that MS would double their investment. Never underestimate the stupidity of people.

        [–]wyvernx02 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Can you imagine how much hate he would get for selling out to MS

        I don't think he cares at this point. He would probably just dissapear from the internet.

        [–]ChenalCraft 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        We'll just move on to a new competitor.

        [–]thelvin 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (2子コメント)

        That wouldn't be for trying to do the right thing, but for doing the wrong thing knowingly.

        The haters would not reach him. Hating would be their problem and 100% not his. And he could always try and build the next big thing with a fake name, if he's okay with the same cycle repeating should he actually succeed twice.

        [–]tahlyn 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        There's a reason the phrase "Cut your nose off to spite your face" exists.

        And perhaps he really is sick of being a game developer and wants to cash out and retire to a life of liesure and carefreeness? Can you really blame him if that's the case?

        [–]thelvin 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        I wouldn't dream to blame Notch for anything. (Not with what I know, at least. If he's secretly a baby eater I might withdraw that.)

        But he seems an awful lot unlikely to be sick of being a game developer. What he seems sick of, is all the drama from Mojang haters.

        "The wrong thing" I didn't really mean. But it kinds of feel like if he sells to Microsoft, this is also a big 'fuck you, you wanted a professional-behaving company? Here, have it. Now back to doing things worth doing.' He did not seem to like the idea, a couple years ago.

        [–]TheReverendWillyG 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        if you want to be butthurt for years then that is your choice. i don't blame any of them after the eula and bukkit response from the "community". so many people have this huge entitlement about this game.

        [–]TitaniumTurtle 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Bloomburg is just another BS journalist collaboration. There is no more journalistic integrity, they are all filth. Stop believing the shit they say.

        For proof, look at all the traffic this unfounded, un-sourced rumor has given the stock market and gaming news sites. It just bullshit clickbait that these idiots suffer no consequences for fabricating.

        [–]JefferyTheWalrus 61 ポイント62 ポイント  (11子コメント)

        This is what people need to hear. Calm down, guys. There was a rumor and now you're all running around lighting things on fire and making Skype jokes.

        [–]joescool 20 ポイント21 ポイント  (3子コメント)

        But... fire is fun!

        [–]Jeskid14 21 ポイント22 ポイント  (2子コメント)

        Look at Clippy holding the Flint & steel!

        [–]supermonkie90 11 ポイント12 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        "I see you are trying to burn down your friends base, would you like some help with that?"

        [–]Plo-124 6 ポイント7 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        yes plz

        "Unknown command"

        Oh right, gotta click the button

        [–]Corvias 9 ポイント10 ポイント  (3子コメント)

        And don't forget the EA jokes. It's just not a omfgsuperfreakout without a little EA bashing on the side. Like Thanksgiving with no cranberry sauce.

        [–]JefferyTheWalrus 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (2子コメント)

        Dude, cranberry sauce is the best part!

        [–]FGHIK 6 ポイント7 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        You mean that disgusting goo no one knows what you're even supposed to do with? I mean, is it jelly? Jello? Gravy? Wtf?

        [–]Stephen_the_Walrus 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        I prefer the pumpkin pie myself.

        [–]raintimeallover 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (2子コメント)

        I think the reason why everyone thinks its real is because the WSJ is reporting it. They're usually on the ball.

        [–]Drando_HS 7 ポイント8 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        "Usually" being the key word. There is most definitely a chance it's true, but also most definitely a chance it isn't.

        [–]vintermann 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        I'd say the odds are higher that Notch is pranking the WSJ, than that he's actually going to sell.

        [–]Acct235095 13 ポイント14 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        Lemme give you another source to refute those claims.

        From this comment...

        @garrynewman: Oh internet. If someone offers you $2bn, you take it. Even if that means running the risk that notch will forbid a minecraft version.
        @notch: @garrynewman I've turned down money like that.

        [–]lendrick 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Incidentally, Notch said that months ago.

        [–]Pyrarrows 21 ポイント22 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        I'm having a difficult time thinking that this is NOT true... Notch and Mojang have been getting constantly flamed over the new EULA, and now Bukkit... (Not to mention people not liking some of the changes in 1.7/1.8). Notch and the other Mojang devs might just be tired of the constant flaming, and people that are complaining about changes to the game.

        This actually reminds me of the last two seasons of 'The Guild' - It feels as if Minecraft could go the same way as 'The Game' during the fifth season, and that is very, very bad, if this news is true.

        This also could be the work of an angry Bukkit Dev trying to discredit Mojang as well, though. Some of them don't seem to like Mojang much since the start of the whole Bukkit fiasco.

        I guess that we have to wait until Mojang releases an official statement. :-/

        [–]DMAredditer 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        If it was an angry Bukkit dev/false they would've disputed it by now.

        [–]ImOnTheBus 14 ポイント15 ポイント  (7子コメント)

        I gotta disagree that it would not make financial sense for MS. Do you know how much Minecraft merch is out there? My kid alone has like 8 shirts and several posters. Relatives get him all kinds of minecraft shit for his birthday and stuff

        [–]MoralTrilemma[S] 18 ポイント19 ポイント  (4子コメント)

        More than 2 billion in future sales? Mojang hasn't even made 2 billion in current sales.

        [–]TitaniumTurtle 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (3子コメント)

        You aren't going to get though to some of these guys. They just don't get it. They think that because they see the merch floating around, it must be selling like oil.

        Minecraft may be a classic, but its merchandise is part of a fad. That fad will fade, and the game will continue to sell. However, the game is not going to sell like it was before. Minecraft has run through its profit boom, from here out it's just sustaining itself.

        [–]RobPlaysThatGame 10 ポイント11 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        However, the game is not going to sell like it was before. Minecraft has run through its profit boom, from here out it's just sustaining itself.

        This is really shortsighted of you. I'd imagine you would have said the same about Mario in the late 80s.

        Minecraft has become more than just a fad or a game, it's become an entire culture for an entire generation of young gamers. Minecraft has established itself and is going to be around for the long run, so long as whoever owns it puts in the bare minimum amount of effort.

        If Microsoft does indeed drop $2b for Minecraft, it's not for the sales of this game, it's not for the t-shirts right now, it's for the next decade of the IP.

        It's ridiculous to think that there are people who don't see a $2b price tag as the no brainer it would be for Microsoft.

        [–]GeronimoJustin 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        I don't know why you were downvoted... This is the truth.

        [–]enjoytheshow 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        How many people own Minecraft in some fashion? Across PC, Xbox, PS, mobile, etc. 15 million? 20 million? 30 million? A company as fucking huge as Microsoft ($5 billion net income from Q4 last year alone) sees this as an opportunity to pay relatively little money for 20+ million new customers at the drop of a hat. If they can get just a fraction of the millions of Minecraft players to buy into the Windows/Microsoft/Xbox ecosystem then they have won. That's what this is about.

        [–]enjoytheshow 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        It isn't being bought for it's ability to sell merchandise. It is being bought for it's massive and very loyal userbase.

        [–]ImOnTheBus 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Well, part of being a loyal user for a lot of people is buying up the merch. All the kids I know who are really into have more $ invested in the merch than the actual game.

        I was just tryin to say that there is money to be made outside of the game itself, I have no idea about the figures, but there is a hell of a lot of clothes, toys, posters etc...

        [–]_ThePilotGuy_ 6 ポイント7 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        This makes perfect sense for MS actually.

        The company most likely is not looking at buying MC for a direct monetary ROI.

        Instead, they're buying the userbase. Imagine gaining access to a userbase of the amount of people who own Minecraft and being able to do almost anything with it-- Play their cards right and that means an extra x million customers in the future, easily making back the money spend on MC.

        PLUS-- The young audience will be a HUGe win for MS. If MS hooks them into a Windows or Xbox ecosystem, that means a new assured customer base for the future (and that alone is worth at least $2B for a company the size of MS)

        [–]enjoytheshow 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Exactly. Same reason Instagram, Snapchat, etc. are all valued (and Insta was bought) at over $1B. They have an enormous userbase. If MS never changes Minecraft ever again, keeps the same update/price model, but gets just 1/8th of the (young!) users to buy into their environment or something new then they have won.

        I see this as a massive opportunity for MS to youthify.

        [–]Spaceboot1 20 ポイント21 ポイント  (10子コメント)

        I think you need to address the "Wall Street Journal is serious business" thing. The Wall Street Journal is a shitty newspaper. People think it's great because it has Wall Street in the name, and that means money, but their journalism is not very good. And even if they were a good organization, all they cited was an anonymous source, which could have been someone who knows something, but just as easily could be someone tangentially related to either Microsoft or Mojang who was just speculating or trolling, or joking. Or maybe it's just one of the things on the new CEO's wish list, or his bucket list, or just his "let's do more stuff like Minecraft and shit" list.

        [–]MoralTrilemma[S] 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Your wish is my command, I've chosen to abstain from discussing the reliability of WSJ in general (thats a whole different conversation I can't be arsed to have, and I don't feel it adds enough to this topic) and just focus on this specific case

        [–]artemisdragmire 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Agree, WSJ is not a "great source" -- it's a Murdoch led shitfest not much better than Fox News.

        [–]taschneide 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (7子コメント)

        I'll belive it when the news starts getting printed in the NYTimes, and has quite a few sources backing it up on Bloomberg oh wait that's already happening. Huh.

        [–]Claypool2112 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (6子コメント)

        You honestly think that the NYTimes is really that credible?

        and has quite a few sources backing it up on Bloomberg

        No they don't. Every single article is saying the same thing and basing it off of "a person with knowledge of the matter". That's only one source and not a very credible one.

        [–]taschneide 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (5子コメント)

        From the Bloomberg article:

        three people with knowledge of the talks said

        said the people, who asked not to be named because the negotiations aren’t public

        said two people

        one person familiar with the company said

        said the person familiar with Microsoft

        another person familiar with Microsoft said

        the person with knowledge of Microsoft’s thinking said

        Honestly, did you even read it?

        [–]Claypool2112 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        For all we know, the people that they keep referring to throughout the article could just be the first three people because the article was so vague. So, I'm sorry, we now have three anonymous people saying it is happening

        [–]taschneide 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Well, there's the 3 people with knowledge of the talks. Then there's the two people, who may or may not be a subset of the 3 people. Then there's the one person familiar with the company, who's pretty clearly someone different. Then there's another person familiar with Microsoft. That's at least 5 people, all talking to Bloomberg independently.

        [–]JackTheFlying 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        Crazy thought, but have they actually mentioned any names?

        [–]taschneide 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        asked not to be named because the negotiations aren’t public

        Seems like a pretty good reason to request anonymity. You don't want to get in trouble for leaking supposedly secret details.

        [–]snakeman2424 8 ポイント9 ポイント  (18子コメント)

        Should I be worried?!

        [–]MoralTrilemma[S] 16 ポイント17 ポイント  (17子コメント)

        You shouldn't be, Mojang will most likely release an official statement tomorrow, but until then it's just baseless rumours.

        [–]joescool 22 ポイント23 ポイント  (2子コメント)

        Or better yet, /u/Dinnerbone will tweet something like "Microsoft buying Mojang? LOL!"

        [–]AcuriousPotat0 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        LOL

        [–]Midnight_Gear 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        #LOL

        [–]snakeman2424 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Ok thanks :)

        [–]barneygale 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (9子コメント)

        Baseless yet the WSJ deemed it worthy to print?

        [–]MoralTrilemma[S] 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (7子コメント)

        The vast majority of that article is fluff, it really boils down to one sentence

        Microsoft corp. is in serious discussions to buy Mojang AB ... According to a person with knowledge on the matter.

        This is all the WSJ are going on, which seems baseless to me. This person most likely does not work for either Mojang or Microsoft, since having this word out does not benefit either party, and both have not been prepared to respond. So how can we trust this? For all we know it could be a bukkit dev trying to start shit.

        Also the WSJ isn't some source of divine truth, as you can see by the fact that an article that essentially says "Microsoft apparently maybe we think buying Mojang according to one anonymous source" was titled "Microsoft near deal to buy Minecraft" If that isn't misleading click bait, I don't know what is.

        [–]barneygale 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (6子コメント)

        Right, but how would you differentiate a baseless anonymously-sourced article from one with substance? Newspapers like WSJ make their reputation on getting good sources and not printing stories they aren't pretty confident are true. You dismiss is "clickbait" as if this was someone's blog, but it's the WSJ bro!

        [–]MoralTrilemma[S] 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (5子コメント)

        So because something is reported in WSJ it must be true? Please. As I said I don't want to get into what I think of WSJ in general, at the end of the day they admit that they only have one source, and it is of unknown reliability.

        You dismiss is "clickbait" as if this was someone's blog, but it's the WSJ bro!

        My point was that the article is about something stated as a rumour, yet they have titled it as if it is definitely true, because this will get them more clicks and more attention. That is pretty much the definition of clickbait.

        Newspapers are not divine sources of truth, they get stuff wrong. They get stuff wrong a lot. Their main priority is getting a big story as fast as possible and making as much money off it as possible.

        [–]barneygale 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (4子コメント)

        I accept that newspapers get things wrong, but the reason people buy WSJ and regard it as a reputable newspaper is that they check their sources out. In case you don't realise, the source is known to the WSJ. This is a person they trust enough that they're prepared to run a story based on their info.

        And it is not "stated as a rumour", it says:

        Microsoft Corp. is in serious discussions to buy Mojang AB, the Swedish company behind the popular "Minecraft" videogame, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

        Which is pretty standard attribution for an anonymous source. Do you disagree?

        Do you think that the majority or even a substantial portion of the stories the WSJ runs with anonymous sources are wrong? Is that your suggestion?

        If not, what makes you so sure the WSJ fucked up so badly on this occasion?

        [–]MoralTrilemma[S] 7 ポイント8 ポイント  (3子コメント)

        I accept that newspapers get things wrong, but the reason people buy WSJ and regard it as a reputable newspaper is that they check their sources out. In case you don't realise, the source is known to the WSJ. This is a person they trust enough that they're prepared to run a story based on their info.

        I'm not willing to blindly trust any news source unless they provide me an actual source, sorry.

        And it is not "stated as a rumour"

        Yes it is.

        Rumour: A currently circulating story or report of uncertain or doubtful truth/unverified account

        They have not provided any source that anyone else can verify, this pretty cleanly fits the definition of a rumour.

        Do you think that the majority or even a substantial portion of the stories the WSJ runs with anonymous sources are wrong? Is that your suggestion?

        I'm not dismissing this as untrue, it may well be true, just saying it should not be treated as truth (so essentially dismissed) until we actually have an official statement.

        Do you think that the majority or even a substantial portion of the stories the WSJ runs with anonymous sources are wrong? Is that your suggestion?

        No, but I do treat them as rumours until I get an actual source on them.

        Obviously it is in the interest of WSJ to report this story ASAP rather than waiting for a source since the primary interest of their readers is how it affects Microsoft and Mojang from a business point of view.

        Edit: I should add:

        If not, what makes you so sure the WSJ fucked up so badly on this occasion?

        Everything I said in my original post, though, as I said, I'm not saying it definitely isn't happening, just that we do not have sufficient reason to assume it is.

        [–]confessrazia 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (2子コメント)

        I don't think I've ever seen a poor kid in so much denial before this set of posts...

        [–]Sofa_King_Cold 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        Well, the WSJ did also run the story about Twitch being bought by Google.

        Still, they were right about Twitch being on the selling block.

        [–]VeteranKamikaze 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        You say that as if it'd be something new and unusual, or at least surprising.

        [–]lendrick 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        It's tomorrow now, and there's no statement, except for a literal "no comment". Generally companies don't comment on pending buyouts. If there weren't a buyout in the works, Mojang would have already put this to rest, because it's having a nasty impact on their reputation.

        [–]DMAredditer 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        You dun goofed, son.

        [–]MoralTrilemma[S] 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        I, indeed, dun goofed. The radio silence from Mojang is making this more suspicious by the hour... Wish they would just put this out of its misery at this point.

        [–]MyUsername0_0 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        OP do you not remember this? https://twitter.com/notch/status/478766808841732096

        [–]ra-hoch3 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        This deal does not make sense for Notch

        Notch had lost the fun of making Minecraft. Especially after the EULA discussions he seemed sick of the community. Maybe he want a clean cut and a way out of this madness (look at bukkit right now). Notch loves his freedom, selling Minecraft or Mojang would open new opportunities. He could do what he wants and almost nobody cares.

        This deal does not make sense for Microsoft

        Minecraft is a huge franchise. Like Star Wars or other big franchise, the money is not only in the movies or games, its in all products you can sell. The brand Minecraft is extremely strong in a very young demographic, where Microsoft and the XBox aren't. For Microsoft it would be a long term deal. They could release Minecraft 2 exclusively for the XBox and MPE 2 only for Windows Phone.

        I hate it, but I think this deal would make pretty much sense.

        I think the answer is in Notchs personality. If he want to get rid of all this or not.

        [–]gellis12 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (4子コメント)

        I think you should also mention this tweet that notch made regarding minecraft and windows 8. He already doesn't like microsoft, and selling out to them is definitely not something he'd do.

        [–]brucethem00se 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        To be fair, that was tweeted in 2012... which was quite awhile ago.

        [–]TitaniumTurtle 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        And Windows 8 and Minecraft work together like peanut butter and jelly.

        [–]MoralTrilemma[S] 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        Good point, added. Thank you.

        [–]gellis12 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        No problem

        [–]Griffin99 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (4子コメント)

        Mojang has never let us down, and I dont expect they ever will in the near future.

        [–]FGHIK 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (2子コメント)

        Many people would disagree. The ones still here are the ones who agree with the path mojang has followed. They're gaining enough players to more than negate it, but every decision they make is wrong to some players.

        [–]confessrazia 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        I play the game despite the more recent Mojang additions, not because of them.

        [–]jfb1337 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Any decision anyone makes will be seen as wrong by some and right by others.

        [–]TheReverendWillyG -1 ポイント0 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        i wouldn't be let down one bit. chill

        [–]Shadrixian 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        For all we know it could be a bukkit dev trying to start shit.

        breathes through teeth inwardly Them shots....

        [–]mysterydetectivemyst 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Thank you for posting this. I didn't have a fucking clue what was going on when I came to this sub and saw a shit-ton of Microsoft posts.

        [–]generalzee 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        It actually makes sense for Microsoft to buy Mojang for a few reasons. 1) they can make all future updates Xbox exclusive, and charge for them. Because of the Bukkit takedown, the modding community has been badly hit, so now is the time for them to charge! They probably won't do that, however, because: 2) Minecraft sells a lot of merchandise. Creeper dolls, shirts, those foam pickaxes, they're making a lot of money for Mojang right now. So keeping a large customer base across multiple platforms will encourage more sales of these. 3) Mojang owns more than just Minecraft, and up until this past month their public image was outstanding. Having a company like that would really help Microsoft reconnect with gamers after some recent stumbles.

        Now for the conspiracy theory, I think this all makes sense if you look at the timeline. Mojang starts enforcing the EULA (which would be something you do if you were looking to be acquired), claiming to want to end pay-to-win servers. This has the side-effect of imploding Bukkit, a service which Mojang owned, but was a bit rogue. In normal business situations, a company looking to be acquired would just spin it off, or close it down, but since Bukkit was a community-run project, the only way to "solve" it would be to have the community abandon it the way it did. Now Mojang is a highly profitable company whose main business blemishes just disappeared in the past month or two, and suddenly we're hearing leaks about an acquisition? It makes sense to me.

        [–]Piplupluv 11 ポイント12 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        -Upvotes your post for common sense-

        Thank you for using common sense

        [–]c00ki3mnstr 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (5子コメント)

        The New York Times released an article on the matter; it sounds serious:

        Microsoft first approached Mojang about three months ago, interested in pursuing a deal, one of the people briefed on the discussions said. By that point, the company — and Mr. Persson in particular — had considered a sale, having received takeover approaches worth about $1 billion in the last few years.

        Soon after, Microsoft made an initial offer, prompting more serious talks between the sides. Last month, Mojang hired additional advisers to assist in the discussions.

        Talks are continuing between them, and an agreement could be reached by the end of the month, the person briefed on the discussions said.

        And it addresses most of the points you made, including:

        For Microsoft, the interest in a deal is motivated in large part by a desire to ensure that attractive content is available for some of its most important platforms. Minecraft is not currently available on Windows Phone, the mobile operating system that Microsoft has struggled to turn into a strong competitor to Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android.

        While Mr. Persson is said to accept that he may not stay for more than six months if a deal is struck, Mojang is pressing to try to ensure that Microsoft retains its younger developers.

        http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/microsoft-said-to-be-in-advanced-talks-to-buy-minecraft-maker/

        [–]brucethem00se 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        Looks like they just re-worded the Bloomberg article.

        [–]artemisdragmire 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        They did. And the Bloomberg article re-worded the WSJ article and added more back-story fluff to fuel the rumor mill.

        [–]MoralTrilemma[S] 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        This is interesting, but they are still quoting the one anonymous source... I'm just going to go to sleep and hope Mojang have made an official statement by the time I wake up.

        [–]gschizas 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        You know the weirdest part? You could make a Windows Phone port just by recompiling (well, not really, there's UI and controls to fix) the XBox 360 game - the platform is largely the same.

        Of course, the fact that Minecraft (Desktop) is written in Java, and the fact that Java is the preferred language for Mojang, makes the acquisition rumor very unlikely.

        Still, it wouldn't surprise me if Microsoft offered money (not $2 billion of course) to Mojang for them to make a Windows Phone version.

        [–]c00ki3mnstr 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Of course, the fact that Minecraft (Desktop) is written in Java, and the fact that Java is the preferred language for Mojang, makes the acquisition rumor very unlikely.

        This is absolutely not true. Software companies acquire others with different languages and platforms all the time. A language is a tool; a means to an end. It carries little value. What matters here is Mojangs IP and customer base.

        [–]offdachain 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (6子コメント)

        For your point about how much of Minecraft 2 they'd have to sell, they could always be looking to franchise it. Multiple games over a span of a decade, and a throw in some toy sales and a TV show and you've got yourself a potential for profit.

        [–]MoralTrilemma[S] 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (5子コメント)

        I may well be wrong on this, but I can't see a Minecraft franchise happening, what are they going to do to convince 50 million people to buy it again? I don't deny that there is plenty of potential for profit, but 2 billion is an unreal amount of money.

        [–]Sarria22 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (2子コメント)

        I may well be wrong on this, but I can't see a Minecraft franchise happening, what are they going to do to convince 50 million people to buy it again?

        I don't know, ask The Sims?

        [–]superev12 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        Minecraft isn't a franchisable game though. It is entirely based around the mechanics, which cannot really be iterated upon without changing the essence of the game. It's not like a typical blockbuster game that you can just add more content to and charge for it.

        [–]TenNeon 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Lego is entirely based around its mechanics, and it franchises out just fine.

        [–]offdachain 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Get a couple decades with maybe 5-10 main series games and a couple spinoffs here and there they could make the money back. Minecraft is already a household name, they don't need the 50 million people to continue buying it, they just need to keep a reasonable size of the fanbase and the games will sell themselves. Right now there is a generation where Minecraft is it's Pokemon (or really any other franchise that defined a generation of gamers). Do you think 5th graders will care if Microsoft is milking it, or do you think they will hype the shit out of Minecraft 2 and any other subsequent Minecraft games. Microsoft is in it for the long haul.

        [–]Zeno410 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        2 billion is certainly a lot of money, but MS is certainly capable of writing a Minecraft 2.0 which is considerably faster and less buggy than the current Minecraft, and that will generate a lot of repeat purchases. There's also a lot of money in servers, and MS will monopolize that in the long term. Finally, there's going to be long-term nostalgia sales - in 20 years the kiddies playing Minecraft now will want to buy Virtual World Minecraft 3.0 (available only on the MS BrainImplant(tm) platform) for their kids and that'll be another round of sales -

        Yeah, an enormous amount of money but I think MS will probably get it all back, plus a substantial profit.

        [–]Leard 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        It even fucking tells you to always assume rumours are false on the game.

        [–]Juliandroid98 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        This is basically the Google buying Twitch rumour all over again.

        I won't trust any sources til there's an official statement from Mojang and MS.

        [–]exatron 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        WSJ isn't a trustworthy source. It's been worthless ever since Rupert Murdoch bought it.

        [–]terminal157 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (2子コメント)

        My theory that no one will read: Mojang are in talks with MS about a buyout. Mojang is very reluctant to sell. This recent news is a brilliant pressure tactic by MS. I personally suspect it'll work, in part because the community reaction to this news hasn't been as negative as it could've been. $2 billion is an insane amount of money. But Notch is a bit of a wild card, who knows.

        [–]Juliandroid98 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        community reaction to this news hasn't been as negative as it could've been.

        idk where you were browsing, but in the part where I was, I saw a lot of shitstorm.

        [–]MoralTrilemma[S] 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        A pressure tactic? A negative response from the community only seems like it would discourage Mojang.

        [–]nixfu 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (4子コメント)

        Sorry. It's in Bloomberg, and other reputable news organizations. No denying it now. The kicker is that Notch contacted Microsoft to sell not the other way around.

        "Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, is in serious talks with 4-year-old Mojang, said the people, who asked not to be named because the negotiations aren’t public. The deal may be concluded as soon as this week, though next week is more likely...."

        "The deal came together after Mojang founder Markus Persson reached out to Microsoft a few months ago"

        http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-09/microsoft-said-near-2-billion-deal-for-minecraft-maker.html

        [–]brucethem00se 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        This is what worries me. 2 somewhat reputable news sources reporting the same thing.

        We'll really know in the next few days, but I'm gonna lose sleep until this is firmly debunked or confirmed.

        [–]Cor3yric3 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        That could also be why they're working on the eula. Prepping to sell.

        [–]casey2586 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        What's funny is that earlier someone posted quotes from the New York Times article claiming the Microsoft approached Mojang, not the other way around. Not exactly a huge piece of information, but it certainly casts doubt on whether or not either news agency knows what they're talking about.

        Edit: Wrote the wrong newspaper at first.

        [–]sidben 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        IF (and that's a big IF) that is true, this would be the best scenario.

        Since Notch is the one starting the deal, MS will have to play by his rules, not the other way around.

        [–]WilliamHealy 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Well because it is for all of Mojang not just Minecraft.

        [–]Curtisbeef 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (12子コメント)

        How would they be expecting to get a return on this investment? Minecraft isn't really a profitable game from this point on, a definitive version (which Microsoft can't charge for, it's already out there) is already available to the community on all platforms.

        Are you fucking Insane? 44,044 results for "Minecraft"

        [–]MoralTrilemma[S] 8 ポイント9 ポイント  (10子コメント)

        Your point? They would have to triple current total sales to make a return on a $2B investment. In all honesty I think Minecraft has made the majority of its final sales already, I certainly wouldn't bet $2B on sales tripling.

        Edit: The downvote button is not a disagree button.

        [–]Curtisbeef 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (7子コメント)

        My point being that if you believe that "Minecraft isn't really a profitable game" you have no place making the argument in the OP.

        [–]MoralTrilemma[S] 7 ポイント8 ポイント  (6子コメント)

        Its undeniably profitable, I just don't believe it's $2B worth of profitable.

        [–]Curtisbeef 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (3子コメント)

        I think in the long term Microsoft may disagree with you.

        [–]MoralTrilemma[S] 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (2子コメント)

        Maybe I'm wrong, it remains to be seen. That's just my opinion.

        [–]MrSmite 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        What if this were an attempt by someone close to Mojang with a reason to sabotage Minecraft/Mojang on the short term?

        [–]DiscoConspiracy 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Possible politics is always interesting.

        I guess it's also possible that someone might purposely leak certain information to see what everyone's reaction would be.

        [–]YellowstoneJoe 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        I've heard Mojang pulled in $126 million profit last year.

        The rumor puts the price at $2 billion. That's a PE ratio of less than 16.

        It doesn't seem like an obviously excessive price to me.

        [–]brucethem00se -1 ポイント0 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        That's why the price probably makes sense to Microsoft: they can't see the game declining after they take over.

        [–]Ganadote 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

        You're forgetting the merchandise. I see minecraft stuff EVERYWHERE. And mine craft is the most popular PC game of all time, ms in it for the long run.

        [–]jecowa -1 ポイント0 ポイント  (0子コメント)

        I imagine Microsoft would want Minecraft mostly to promote their own products. They would be like "Minecraft 2 requires a Windows 11 with DirectX 13, an Xbox Zero, or a Windows Phone mobile device."

        コメントをもっと表示する (1 返事)

          [–]wharris2001 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          I am putting my money on "the rumors are true."

          First, it is not just the Wall Street Journal, which for all the complaints about political bias is right far more often than it is wrong. It is also being reported by Bloomberg which has a sterling reputation for accurately outing takeovers. And several other places which means people are talking (most likely because the deal was announced internally in a 'private' meeting).

          Second, Mojang [and less surprisingly Microsoft] has addressed the rumors with a "no comment." This is different from "did not respond to our email." Despite the claims of several people on this subreddit, reputable journalists are as sloppy with their reporting as Kotaku. Does Mojang have a reputation of responding to false rumors with "no comment"? Didn't think so.

          Third, there are reasons on both sides for the merger to go through. Leaving aside the massive amount of money on the table, it's clear that Notch has become increasingly disengaged. The relationship between Mojang and server admis has deteriorated. People have consistently complained of poor community relations and general lack of professionalism by Mojang representatives. The ongoing lack of an API is a problem, and there are growing calls to have a 'clean up' pass on Minecreaft's code.

          For Microsoft, there are several reasons to support Minecraft besides making it an XBox console exclusive or getting a Windows Phone port. The very reaction people have to the idea of Microsoft buying Minecraft shows an image problem: Microsoft is seen as an old fogy has-been. While there will be an initial massive cry of outrage, within just a few years young people in particular will say "Microsoft? Yea, they make Minecraft - and Windows9 is great"

          [–]Dontselloutmojang1 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (2子コメント)

          This is a done deal. Carl and Jakob are not interested in continuing mojang, notch has given up on his community after the EULA fight.

          MS will probably try and divert everyone to realms, as it is their long term revenue stream for MC.

          MC 2.0 for PC will be a throwaway piece of garbage for windows only with highly restrictive paid modding content. Likely it will be a rework of the xbone version. The java PC version of today will be retired with prejudice, as soon as the xbone is content equivalent. Expect all the current micro transactions from xbone in your next PC version. (Skins etc). Goodnight mojang, goodnight Minecraft. It was a great 4 years.

          [–]enjoytheshow 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          Expect all the current micro transactions from xbone in your next PC version. (Skins etc)

          I like how you name the one micro transaction and just put an etc. on the end to make it seem like more.

          [–]avaail -1 ポイント0 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          Wow that was depressing. But very true.

          [–]snarfattack 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (1子コメント)

          What's in it for MS? Build a modding platform that will give legal standing to all the modders and a cut of all their profits. Something Mojang should have done long ago.

          [–]confessrazia 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          I think you're deluded into thinking modders earn more than pocket change from ad revenue. Most people use mod packs these days, so head be making even less than a few years ago.

          [–]Livingfear -1 ポイント0 ポイント  (1子コメント)

          I agree with all of your points except for whether the deal would be worth it for Microsoft. Remember, Minecraft can bring in much more profit than from selling copies of the game. Also remember that Microsoft wants the Xbox One to do really really well. If Microsoft acquired Minecraft, they could amp up the development of the game for the Xbox, leaving playstation with a mediocre version that no one wants to play. Microsoft might even make Minecraft FREE for Xbox One users. Imagine what kind of advantage that would give Microsoft over the gaming market. Also Microsoft could make much more off of merchandising than Mojang ever did.

          [–]MoralTrilemma[S] 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          It doesn't make sense from that standpoint either, GTA V apparently cost $265 million to produce and market. So for the same budget they could produce an astounding 7 GTA V budget titles exclusive to Xbone, and still have cash to spare. $2 billion is an astounding figure.

          [–]Mojira ModeratorGalaxy_2Alex 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          A reason why they might not have been able to comment on it because they were sleeping... We'll know more in a bit (hopefully). Thanks for the post though.

          [–]FGHIK 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          As for Microsoft not profiting from it in the near future, sales of Minecraft itself are not the only concern. Exclusives of popular games are huge at getting people to buy consoles. Just think, if this goes through, at the least xbox one will get exclusive content, if not discontinuing PS and PC versions or updates completely. A huge exclusive like thus could give them a massive lead over Sony, PC and Nintendo. Many gamers can only afford one console, or might not want anything in xbone, and Minecraft could be the deciding factor to many. This would lead to many more console and game sales in the long run.

          In short, the profits of Minecraft exclusivity goes far beyond it's own sales.

          [–]Collected2 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          Perhaps all the backlash over that EULA stuff made Notch realise Mojang simply isn't able to hold the baby anymore and he decided to hand it over to someone who could. It's understandable. Maybe Minecraft simply became too big even for Mojang. They are after all still very new to all of this. Maybe Notch simply had enough and they've collectively decided to move on from it.

          [–]AcuriousPotat0 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          Guys, calm yoir titties!! And wait for a tweet from a mojangster.

          [–]joekinley 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          What about this here: https://twitter.com/notch/status/281139739304800256

          [–]StarkRG 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

          Except that if we simply ignore it and it DOES turn out to be true the sale may go through without any input from us (the fans and users). If, on the other hand, we make it clear how much we would NOT like this development, and may even abandon the game, there's a half-decent possibility that the sale would collapse (it's happened before, not often, mind you, but it has).

          [–]joekinley 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          What would they care about the majority of us? We already bought the game. It's not like we were to put any more money into it anyway.

          [–]Adderkleet 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          What does Microsoft stand to gain from this?

          XBox2 exclusivity, or slower updates on the ps4. I doubt Mojang would allow that power to be bought, for any amount of money - but that would be a big potential win for MS.

          [–]Jashin23 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          When you receive death threats for enforcing reasonable rules onto people who try to make money off your work, you have some right to feel jaded. It might not make sense regarding the history of Mojang, but I think Notch is trying to drop the ball.

          [–]Grantus89 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          If this was coming from nowhere Notch would have denied it immediately, the fact that Notch(or anyone from Mojang) hasn't said anything, tells me that there have at least been discussions and that something is still on the table. Whether it will actually goes through is a totally different thing, but I'm fairly sure that some sort of discussion has or is taking place.

          [–]TitaniumTurtle 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          Awesomely put together. Now to wait for an official response. Thanks!

          [–]mikeop 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          On the contrary, we have to assume it's true until officially told otherwise. When an official statement is released, confirming the purchase, there's no going back.

          If it's true, now is our only chance to affect what's going to happen.

          [–]blazedd 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          Yes, because if anything has shown us that Mojang has a great PR strategy, it's the events that have been taking place over the last few months. They clearly know when and what to say.

          [–]ThatFinchLad 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          Started writing a comment about youtubers and film rights and got half way through and realised you're right. 2 billion is just too much, all income streams combined wouldn't be worth it.

          [–]GuitarCFD 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          With a pricetag of $2B...who needs a leg to stand on or community support? Someone offers me $2B for my left testicle...I'd cut it off myself.

          [–]snakeman2424 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          What about the whole “you don't pay for gameplay” aspect of Minecraft we all find so important?

          [–]Dovakhan 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          About 1) and 2)...the sad truth is that no matter how much money you have. In this absurd world, people will ALWAYS want to have more. There are very few special people in the world who can or will say otherwise. Don't know if Notch and/or Mojang are included amongst them.

          I want to believe they are, but...this whole situation reminds me too much of one featuring a soccer player. They always happily rant about "how happy and proud they are of joining X football club"...until the next one offers them a million extra than the first.

          [–]afxaloha89 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (6子コメント)

          Lol your going to be pissed when it happens, sucks you spent this much time trying to prove the opposite way though.

          [–]MoralTrilemma[S] -1 ポイント0 ポイント  (5子コメント)

          I'm not going to be "pissed", personally I don't think it really matters that much. I also wasn't trying to "prove the opposite way" just saying that we shouldn't assume rumours are true until we get an official statement, which is something I stand by.

          [–]afxaloha89 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (4子コメント)

          Except for the part where you were wrong

          [–]MoralTrilemma[S] [非表示スコア]  (3子コメント)

          About what? I haven't said It isn't going to happen, I just said, here are some reasons against it happening, don't jump to conclusions.

          [–]afxaloha89 [非表示スコア]  (2子コメント)

          Your jumping through hoops now I see

          [–]MoralTrilemma[S] [非表示スコア]  (1子コメント)

          You're

          Also, I don't understand what you mean.

          [–]afxaloha89 [非表示スコア]  (0子コメント)

          I dont understand? I'm not from America

          [–]TorchicBlaziken 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

          there is simply not enough you could change to convince people to buy it.

          I disagree. Think of the biggest, most epic-looking terrain that you've ever seen in a custom map. They could potentially make even grander worlds generate naturally. Colossal mountains, wide open caverns, deep oceans full of life... They could reawaken that sense of wonder that you haven't felt since you first saw Minecraft. Gameplay could also be improved, a lot of the features that Mojang puts in Minecraft are put in for the hell of it and they don't really expand on them much. At this point, it's too late to make Minecraft survival into a cohesive and well-rounded game with only an update. Creative is the highest quality mode of vanilla MC right now, and it could be improved even further, imagine having stuff like MCedit and WorldEdit in-game. Optimization and mod support is also much easier to do when making a new game than it is by updating.

          I'm not sure if a Microsoft buyout would end well, but it certainly does have potential to give Minecraft a very bright future and I can understand how Mojang could decide to do this with Minecraft's best interests in mind.

          [–]DiscoConspiracy 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          The potential is there. But is there the will? We'll see.

          [–]JohnnyFlavor 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          The story is all over the news today and the complete silence from anyone at Mojang makes me believe that there is some truth to the story.

          I'd like to believe that I'd have the strength to turn down a $2 billion dollar buyout offer, especially knowing that I held 70% interest in the deal, but I certainly would not guarantee that I would turn the offer down.

          Minecraft has been a way for my wife and I to interact with our distant nephews and nieces for years now. I'm certainly interested to know what Microsoft has planned for the game if they are in fact going to buy it out.

          [–]Classic36 [非表示スコア]  (0子コメント)

          Nothing has been officially said from Mojang! All of this is likely false!

          [–]DiscoConspiracy 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (3子コメント)

          How badly does MS want to be the console lead and crush Sony, and do they think making Minecraft an Xbox exclusive is the way to go? What if the console war is not going well for MS? How badly does MS want Minecraft, and why? Might it not be just about Minecraft, and MS could rationalize that they want the talent Mojang represents?

          Admittedly and if I did my maths right, 2 billion is 9% of MS's Net Income (http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=MSFT+Income+Statement&annual). Could MS simply want Minecraft THAT BADLY?

          If true, and if whoever buys Mojang (and if it happens) botches things, that would be terrible for gamers. Fortunately, there are a lot of other games out there. If any company takes up a well loved game such as Minecraft and botches it, there may be reputation issues.

          I will just hope for the best for one of my favorite games.

          [–]AriMaeda 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (2子コメント)

          Admittedly and if I did my maths right, 2 billion is 9% of MS's Net Income

          How did you get that figure? Their net income for the 2013-2014 period was 22 million. 2 billion is 10,000% of their yearly net income.

          [–]DiscoConspiracy 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

          The income statement listed on Yahoo said the number was in thousands. So I added three 0's. Did I do it wrong?

          http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=22%2C074%2C000%2C000

          [–]AriMaeda 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          I just saw that on the sheet. That's a very odd way of doing things, but you're right.

          [–]diamondcreeper 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          Hee hee hee.

          YOU TELL 'EM NOTCH! THEY CAN'T HAVE MY VIDEO GAMES AND MY COMPUTER!

          [–]SuperComputrix 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          I assume this whole business is just some rumor started to cause a shitstorm and draw attention away from the DMCA/EULA/bukkit shitstorm and am thus ignoring it.

          [–]Robert_Skywalker -4 ポイント-3 ポイント  (2子コメント)

          Microsoft just can't buy Minecraft. This would ruin it. Microsoft is a horrible company. (No its not just W8) They are EXTREMELY greedy. One amazing thing about Minecraft is PAY ONCE. Microsoft does NOT support that. Office 365, and Xbox Live are two examples. Paying to play multiplayer with internet you already pay ridiculous amounts for is stupid. There is way too much greed in current society, we are being forced to pay way too much for simple services, simply because there is no alternative. The 360/One edition of MC requires you to PAY for Resource Packs! That is ridiculous! They cannot be player made or anything! What if this came to PC?

          Also, we need small companies. Large corporations can't rule everything! Cell service providers, cable/internet companies, all charge extraordinary amounts of money for services, that are well... Not worth that much. We need them, but for cheaper. It is simply greed. A company doesn't need BILLIONS in profit. If Microsoft has 2Bil to spend on MC, they're profiting too much. Companies should look to profit by quantity and quality, not overpricing cheap stuff and forcing quantity because of no alternative.

          In all, NOTHING should be forced upon people. Especially overpaying.

          Please let this be fake and I just wasted 15 minutes on a rant....

          [–]isHavvy 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          You're paying your ISP for internet connection, but the servers you connect to also need to pay to stay afloat. Sometimes that means the service you go to has to be paid for directly.

          Now, if the connections happened between households only, that'd be a different story.

          [–]FGHIK 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          I wish PS4 kept free multiplayer. If they had I might buy one soon. But now I'm just sticking with PC. It put a sour taste in my mouth for future PlayStation consoles as well...

          [–]chunes -2 ポイント-1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

          If this happens, please tell me that the community will work on a secret pirate open source version separate from M$'s bullshit moneygrab version.

          [–]FGHIK 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          If they pirate this version it's a damned certainty.

          [–]artemisdragmire 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          Thank you so much for posting this. I got so fucking tired of trying to argue with the idiots in the main thread, but my comment basically saying this still has like 400+ points as of this reading, so whatever, at least the message is getting out there.

          People freaking out over this and feeding the rumor mill is just playing into the bad journalism's hands.

          [–]VeteranKamikaze -1 ポイント0 ポイント  (0子コメント)

          Also the WSJ isn't some source of divine truth

          You sure? I dunno, this infographic showing these sad struggling people just deseprately trying to scrape by really shows how in touch they are with reality and how reliable they are when it comes to hard-hitting factual reporting. I mean, how is a single mother of two supposed to scrape by on a paltry $230,000 a year?

          コメントをもっと表示する (12 返事)