Minecraft sold: Microsoft buys Mojang for $2.5bn

[morphy_richards]

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2 ... g-for-25bn

This is good news and will push minecraft-pi forwards
This is a disaster and is the death knell for minecraft as a learning platform in general and specifically the end of minecraft pi.

Discuss.

[RaTTuS]

this is what Notch said
http://pastebin.com/n1qTeikM
:-
I'm leaving Mojang

I don’t see myself as a real game developer. I make games because it’s fun, and because I love games and I love to program, but I don’t make games with the intention of them becoming huge hits, and I don’t try to change the world. Minecraft certainly became a huge hit, and people are telling me it’s changed games. I never meant for it to do either. It’s certainly flattering, and to gradually get thrust into some kind of public spotlight is interesting.

A relatively long time ago, I decided to step down from Minecraft development. Jens was the perfect person to take over leading it, and I wanted to try to do new things. At first, I failed by trying to make something big again, but since I decided to just stick to small prototypes and interesting challenges, I’ve had so much fun with work. I wasn’t exactly sure how I fit into Mojang where people did actual work, but since people said I was important for the culture, I stayed.

I was at home with a bad cold a couple of weeks ago when the internet exploded with hate against me over some kind of EULA situation that I had nothing to do with. I was confused. I didn’t understand. I tweeted this in frustration. Later on, I watched the This is Phil Fish video on YouTube and started to realize I didn’t have the connection to my fans I thought I had. I’ve become a symbol. I don’t want to be a symbol, responsible for something huge that I don’t understand, that I don’t want to work on, that keeps coming back to me. I’m not an entrepreneur. I’m not a CEO. I’m a nerdy computer programmer who likes to have opinions on Twitter.

As soon as this deal is finalized, I will leave Mojang and go back to doing Ludum Dares and small web experiments. If I ever accidentally make something that seems to gain traction, I’ll probably abandon it immediately.

Considering the public image of me already is a bit skewed, I don’t expect to get away from negative comments by doing this, but at least now I won’t feel a responsibility to read them.

I’m aware this goes against a lot of what I’ve said in public. I have no good response to that. I’m also aware a lot of you were using me as a symbol of some perceived struggle. I’m not. I’m a person, and I’m right there struggling with you.

I love you. All of you. Thank you for turning Minecraft into what it has become, but there are too many of you, and I can’t be responsible for something this big. In one sense, it belongs to Microsoft now. In a much bigger sense, it’s belonged to all of you for a long time, and that will never change.

It’s not about the money. It’s about my sanity.

[Forgotten01]

Why would M$ do anything at all with the pi edition?

[ShiftPlusOne]

Ah, I thought it was excellent news, since Mojang and Notch could do a lot with $2.5bn and minecraft has run its course. But if Notch is leaving, I'm not so sure.

[gandar]

I think that in certain circumstances, there is a sum of money that it would be ignorant not to take and it looks as though Microsoft just made that kind of offer.

[Ravenous]

Good for him; really. I saw his letter earlier, and I don't know the full story but it sounded to me like he got the attentions of the various internet nutters and grew tired of it. Can't say I blame him.

[B.Goode]

Discuss.

From https://mojang.com/2014/09/yes-were-bei ... microsoft/

There’s no reason for the development, sales, and support of the PC/Mac, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Vita, iOS, and Android versions of Minecraft to stop.

No mention there of Minecraft Pi Edition. Ignorance, or deliberate omission? I don't know: both possible explanations are worrying for MCPE users.

[W. H. Heydt]

I hope that Notch gets enough money in his *own* pocket to do whatever he damn well pleases for the rest of his life...whether it benefits anyone else or not.

[hippy]

Offered $2.5 billion. What would you do? Discuss.

Buy a hundred million Pi's ?

[Forgotten01]

For 2.5B I'd probably get my masters in hardware engineering and then keep 1B for myself and donate the rest to charities and people who deserve it, like a certain Raspberry Pi foundation

[morphy_richards]

It’s not about the money. It’s about my sanity.

Fair enough and nuff said. Porting it over to the raspberry pi in the first place was above and beyond (and the actions of a nice person(s) as is most pi related stuff) IMHO. I know next to nothing about the company or Notch but by looking at the barebones of the game over the last year that we've run clubs erm running it, I think I can infer what he was trying to achieve at the beginning.

Minecraft Pi will always exist, I cant see Microsoft ever issuing a subpoenia against it, the bad press would be a killer and if they did then "boooooo".
GIven that MC was such an (unintened) world beater based on such a simple concept, who will make / what will be the next MC?

[Jessie]

Offered $2.5 billion. What would you do? Discuss.

Buy a hundred million Pi's ?

$2.5B I would just buy some business I liked and not care if it runs at a loss. Invest enough to retire. Get gold plated skin. After that I would still have plenty (like $1B) to donate to get some problems solved.

[Ravenous]

Offered $2.5 billion. What would you do? Discuss.

I'd spend half of it on video games and chocolate. The rest I'd just waste.

[zproc]

I can only understand him, he hasn't been in charge of the development of Minecraft for a while now, and even tho, he is constantly criticized for every change or change not made (features people want to be seen added) etc... Only yesterday i saw the horrible comments on FB on an article about him, leaving Mojang, and there were hundreds (or millions) of people calling him names, insulting him and so on, calling him a "fat lazy developer" etc, for such and such things all those people feel entitled to even tho Minecraft is not in beta anymore and they could stop the development now if they decided... One guy happen to develop something great, and something that becomes huge by chance, and then what he gets is daily harassment... (and pressure.)

And there are other things...

[dan3008]

Anyone who can tough out what Notch had to go through for so long is a good man in my book. Respect to him for hanging in there, and more so for knowing when to quit

[Jessie]

After earning a couple hundred mil on the beta alone I would have told the community to go screw themselvs and retired.

[mahjongg]

After earning a couple hundred mil on the beta alone I would have told the community to go screw themselvs and retired.

sigh, yeah, well, I think he did what he had to do to keep true to himself. I at last respect him for that.

[BMS Doug]

After earning a couple hundred mil on the beta alone I would have told the community to go screw themselvs and retired.

sigh, yeah, well, I think he did what he had to do to keep true to himself. I at last respect him for that.

I envy him his freedom to do whatever he wants, perhaps we'll see more innovations from him yet (although it sounds like he will drop them as soon as they start to become profitable).