I’m sure that everyone knows by now that Microsoft has officially purchased the company know as Mojang from Notch, the creator of Mega-Indie super hit Minecraft. However there seems to be a bit of jealousy, confusion and even hate directed towards Notch regarding him selling his company to the tune of 2.5 billion dollars. So why all the hate? I don’t know but i’m going to tell it how I see it, so get ready people.
Rant Mode: On!
From what I’ve been reading it seems that the majority of people are split between the fact that it was Microsoft and not some other company that purchased Mojang, since Microsoft is ” a tech company and has no idea or reason to be involved with gaming”, while the rest are simply upset that Notch and crew have backed off their original statement that they “would never sellout”. Now call me silly but you mean to say that after having your game ported to damn near every smartphone, tablet, video game console and PC as well as having made millions upon millions of dollars due to the game and ultimately being offered 2.5 billion dollars to sell the company that made the game as well as ownership of said IP, I can’t say that I would’t take the deal or for that matter I don’t know anyone else who wouldn’t.
The fact of the matter is this; business are made to make money. Regardless of how Notch and team felt it ultimately comes down to his desired to keep going forward or doing something completely different. See this where everyone gets caught up, he made Minecraft because he wanted to. At that point of his life it was his desire, his passion and his hobby. Hobbies die, people get tired of things and they move on and that is what is happening here. He doesn’t have to explain to you or to me why he is selling the company.
Notch, as for you, you need to stop saying you’re not a real game developer cause you are. You created a game that has spawned millions of fans, millions of worlds and perhaps one of the biggest influences on a lot of indie developers out there. They looked at you and said if he can do it then so the hell can I. You can say what you want but it’s regardless! Hell, you made a game that for the longest time was the only game my son wanted to play and he was only 3 at the time! He would install Minecraft on my phone, on my tablet and when I finally installed it on the PC he would not stop playing it. Now I don’t know how you look at it but to me that’s huge. If a 3-year old child likes a game you created, well it should say more than enough.
Notch is leaving the company he started from the ground up, Microsoft has pledged that they won’t pull Minecraft from the other platforms the the title is already on. That only makes sense from a business perspective as still would be make money of every game sold, so at the end of the day who is affected here? What’s that? No one you say? Well you’re absolutely correct, no one is being hurt or cast out. Not one soul, so why all the fuss?As for Microsoft, they are a business regardless if you like them or not. They aren’t here to make friends, they’re here to make money just like a business does. If you feel that they are destroying video games and the idustry I’d love to ponder what else you think regarding that subject. Like them or not they are still responsible for some of the biggest and well know games coming to light.
Sanity or money people it shouldn’t matter. The bottom line is this; He made the game, he did it for himself and even the the masses of gamers and now he wants out. You don’t matter regardless if you think you do. All that matters here is he wants to be done with Mojang and take a few steps back, maybe he wants to go enjoy his life and do other things. As a supporter of what he’s done with the indie scene and Minecraft, perhaps you should be happy and cheering for him instead of dogging him and calling him a sell-out. If you don’t like it then why don’t you take all your time, all your resources, all your money and go create a game and see how you like what follows.