Wow when you put it all in context, jesus christ this is baaad lol
I think microsoft could use the unique spinoff IP in several ways to grow the game pass. A platform game would be gigantic.
It currently looks like a totally disconnected studio and maybe this was the best solution for Mojang. Leave the studio as a separate entity from XGS/Bethesda.
I guess I’ll bring up the common points I always do.
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Minecraft is the Pokemon of Microsoft, barring the exclusivity.
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Making it exclusive to Xbox platforms going forward limits the fanbase and can limit expansion efforts.
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Mojang is a great example of the benefits of being hands off.
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That said, they could and should do more to support the ecosystem. Minecraft PC was really late to Game Pass. Console too. Worse yet, Raytracing is MIA but they released a PS VR rxclusive version developed in collaboration with Sony last year. They prioritized the 4 million players in a niche competitor over the nearly 10 million Series X and S owners. That’s not just doing little for Xbox, it’s just not great business sense.
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Mojang has been comparatively a good bit more supportive of Microsoft wide initiatives like HoloLens.
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Ultimately, I do not think Minecraft should be exclusive. Mojang New IPs (if any more come) should be.
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But Mojang’s goal when not expanding the brand should be expanding the ecosystem, and adoption of programs like Play Anywhere and Perks should take place.
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Biggest benefit for sure though is the sheer profitability of Mojang. We can see how the money is reinvested in great ways.
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What exactly are we seeing of being hands of? There are like 3-4 years difference between the current set of acquisitions and this one that show better the benefit of being hands of. The only thing I could attribute to MC and Phil is showing to Nadella that gaming can be a core pillar. Attributing all of the new culture at xbox to this is being extreme.
100%
Why just new IP’s? Stuff like Minecraft dungeons is so detached from the main game that its just diablo with a MC skin. its a completely different genre and a Missed opportunity to not leverage it imo.
Again I agree 100% and this should be the bare minimum.
No we cant see how its reinvested. We dont have itemized receipts that say X, Y and Z stuff has been funded with Minecraft money and its not something anyone should care about. Saying they make a lot of money does nothing because it also did a lot of money prior to Microsoft buying them.
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Xbox got all these studios thankd to Minecraft.
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Paid by Minecraft money surely
I’ve said this before about Minecraft but it’s an utter mess of a game when it comes to DLC and stuff. I just cannot work it out at all. Three times I’ve subscribed realms and cancelled because it’s just impossible for me to work it all out. It also has constant errors and failures, like some things are just broken or where last time I tried.
All my kid wants is like a normal Minecraft world were he can get all the extra stuff in it like dinosaurs but I just don’t know how to do it or if you can do it.
I think Java Edition on PC with mods would be your best bet
No reason why spin off games couldn’t be exclusive, it’s a massive IP that isn’t benefiting Xbox or Game Pass at this point.
No. But, the Mojang acquisition was the blueprint for many other acquisitions to come. And it gave the gaming division that much needed success.
I’m confident Microsofts gaming division would’ve looked a lot different today weren’t it for the Mojang acquisition.
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There are like 4 years of difference between that acquisition and the rest with a handful of games, console iterations and decisions in between. Attributing all that success that came to Mojang is absurd. The only thing it could had maybe done is prove gaming could be a pillar to Microsoft and I put a lot more weight into Phil on that than all of it on Mojang.
Saying Minecraft has paid for Zenimax, Obsidian, Inxile, Playground, Ninja Theory and others is ridiculous. I think its fine if you think Xbox should leave Mojang as is but saying they have influenced xbox culturally, while they work with a different set of rules and expectations to everybody else, are the reason xbox pays for game pass games and studios is just lol.
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Between MC in 2014 and 2018 acquisitions Xbox future was still at stake, correlating the two things is like rewriting history. The proof is that MC still operates like an indipendent studio, all the other acquisitions have done/are doing/will do something for Xbox. Also I’m no MS investor, I could care less about “it makes money, it’s good”, I care about Xbox ultimately.
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Between that time period we got 2 xbox one iterations, handful of games like Sea of Thieves, Partnerships with Somebody like Undead Labs and Compulsion, the launch of game pass, backwards compatibility and such that are more integral to the reboot of xbox as a whole than whatever Mojang does besides make the money it always made before being bought.
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Yeah, moreover making money is not always the end all of everything, for example Windows always made huge money, but it was detrimental for Xbox until a few years ago…because the two things were disconnected and ran in parallel, like something else. XD
Like I wanna know what stops Mojang from taking advantage of even the Xbox One X at a time? The game isnt even xbox one x enhanced to begin with much less Series X|S optimized for example.
Is that too much to ask as an offering for the console base or is too list warry? Cause “Mojang makes a lot of money” and “they allowed xbox to buy 13 studios (lie)” doesnt seem like an impediment.
They cancelled it, after 2 years and making a huge deal about it, X1X enhancements were promised along with Super Duper Pack.
Mojang should 100% do better in upgrading and supporting their game. They could probably be making more money lol
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What a crazy concept it is man lol
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I’m not saying Minecraft paid for the acquisitions. I’m saying the acquisition of Minecraft influenced Xbox in such a way that shaped the years since.
And no, I don’t think Microsoft should restructure Mojang. I think we all agree that the failure of the Super Duper Graphics Pack and now the next-gen uggrades isn’t great. But, if for everything that goes wrong Microsoft should step in, then what’s the point in telling the entire industry you have a hands-off approach?
On the subject of exclusives… I don’t really care about exclusives that much. Microsoft should give their customers the best value for money. They could do that by making Minecraft (or adjacent Minecraft projects) exclusive, but that would harm the Minecraft brand. Microsoft has an entire generation in their pockets with Minecraft and Minecraft For Edu. That’s just as important as selling a few subscriptions or boxes.
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Xbox would literally disappear without them and it’s not even debatable, it’s a core marketing concept. Also you don’t know if an exclusive spin-off would harm MC franchise if you don’t try before, the biggest userbase for the series it’s on pc or mobile anyway, eliminating 1-2 console platforms won’t do these dramatic damages people project here.
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