[dropcap]I[/dropcap] think there is no gamer today who has not heard of Minecraft, Notch’s creation that took the video gaming industry by surprise despite its graphical interface that looks as it was made 20 years ago. Minecraft has sold very well both on PCs and Mac as well on Android phones and tablets. Therefore, it should come with no surprise the Microsoft’s decision to bring this game on their console (rather should we wonder why is it that Sony and Nintendo have not done the same).
Certainly many people knew that this game will go well, but I think only a handful of people would be expected to go down like this: Markus Persson (aka Notch and the founder of Mojang), had posted on Twitter that the game “has become profitable in an hour” (60 minutes folks) after its release on the Xbox 360. Although exact numbers were not given, he wanted to specify that at the time he was posting on Twitter, at least 400,000 people were playing the Minecraft Xbox 360 version.
Maybe from now on, major console manufacturers will pay more attention to indie games, considering that more and more games similar to Minecraft are selling like hotcakes.
Since its release, Minecraft Xbox 360 has enjoyed a great amount of success in terms of sales. Just two months after the launching, the game was already been sold to more than 3 million gamers worldwide. Announced back in 2011 at the E3 conference by Notch himself, Minecraft Xbox 360 was eventually released officially on May 9, 2012 on Xbox Live Arcade and it’s available since then for all gamers worldwide. Moreover, on June 4 2013, Microsoft released the retail version of the Minecraft Xbox 360. It costs $19.99, same as the Xbox arcade version.
Among the new features available on Minecraft Xbox 360 edition we can easily observe the simplified crafting system, the split-screen option and the multiplayer mode, available for up to eight players at once.
Differences between Minecraft Xbox 360 and the PC edition
– The Xbox version has a different crafting interface. It does not require the usual Player in order to place items in the correct place.
– Minecraft Xbox 360 features split-screen functionality, available in the multiplayer mode for up to 4 players.
– The Xbox 360 edition also includes a tutorial mode, not available in the initial PC version of the game.
– Minecraft Xbox 360’s world is limited to 864×864 blocks.
– Players are not able to use their own images as their skin. Unlike in the PC version, they are required to use one of the skins available by default or downloaded through the official channels.
– In the Xbox version, the edge of the world cannot be mined by players. The edge of the map is a water barrier in which nobody can gain access into.