Comments on Microsoft, Minecraft and Mojang: Here's How to Make Sense of Microsoft's $2.5B PurchaseTypePad2014-09-15T19:27:01ZSLHamlethttps://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/tag:typepad.com,2003:https://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2014/09/making-sense-of-microsoft-minecraft/comments/atom.xml/Mirella LaBella commented on 'Microsoft, Minecraft and Mojang: Here's How to Make Sense of Microsoft's $2.5B Purchase'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01a73e17997e970d2014-09-17T02:58:10Z2014-09-17T02:58:10ZMirella LaBellaLinden Lab is in a very hard position now. Even if they do something smart such as using the Unreal...<p>Linden Lab is in a very hard position now. Even if they do something smart such as using the Unreal engine or another one of the top game engines to build upon that. Even if they create a platform as good and versatile as Unity they have to compete against one product that costs 20$ a month to lease and another that is free to use. Anything they do or code that gains any traction will be duplicated fast. There is no content and creators would be expected to build it all again while having to compete with illegal mesh upload. Yesterday I bumped into illegal Mario Bross and illegal Donkey Kong in world who were sold by some guy without payment info on file. The decline of Second Life is related to how Linden Lab did manage their world, horrible sums it up.</p>
<p>Abuse reports are ignored.<br />
Violations with stolen meshes are ignored.<br />
All staff pulled except a couple to keep the word running. <br />
Lies and corruption towards the userbase.</p>
<p>And to put the icing on the cake: "Hi customers, we are building a new virtual world that will not be backwards compatible with Second Life. So to sum it up: Well everything you have, bought, did here in the past decade will get trashed, because we will encourage you (manipulate you that is) to use our new virtual world platform in the future. So you could say we are forcing you out in an indirect manner because we messed up so much and lost all control and the only way to get that back is to destroy everything."</p>
<p>On the bright side there are alternatives now and people have enough intellect not to follow as blind sheep. <br />
</p>Wagner James Au commented on 'Microsoft, Minecraft and Mojang: Here's How to Make Sense of Microsoft's $2.5B Purchase'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01b7c6e1806c970b2014-09-16T21:47:27Z2014-09-16T21:47:27ZWagner James AuRULosingHair: You keep making the same points and posting the same links over and over (and over) again. I'm guessing...<p>RULosingHair: You keep making the same points and posting the same links over and over (and over) again. I'm guessing regular readers already get your point or are irredeemably confused, so perhaps move on?</p>RULosingHair commented on 'Microsoft, Minecraft and Mojang: Here's How to Make Sense of Microsoft's $2.5B Purchase'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01a73e175a11970d2014-09-16T18:52:01Z2014-09-16T18:52:01ZRULosingHairMicrosoft will only pay $2.5 billion if they think the value will rise later...<p>Microsoft will only pay $2.5 billion if they think the value will rise later...</p>RULosingHair commented on 'Microsoft, Minecraft and Mojang: Here's How to Make Sense of Microsoft's $2.5B Purchase'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01b8d06b5471970c2014-09-16T17:47:29Z2014-09-16T17:47:29ZRULosingHairBest Benchmarking for Bona-fide Use Cases Garry's Mod Terms of Service http://t.co/TY4za1RxjP http://t.co/nZyUS7dVE8 Garry’s Mod has nearly 5 million players...<p>Best Benchmarking for Bona-fide Use Cases </p>
<p>Garry's Mod Terms of Service <a href="http://t.co/TY4za1RxjP" rel="nofollow">http://t.co/TY4za1RxjP</a> <a href="http://t.co/nZyUS7dVE8" rel="nofollow">http://t.co/nZyUS7dVE8</a><br />
Garry’s Mod has nearly 5 million players <a href="http://t.co/L651aU8viD" rel="nofollow">http://t.co/L651aU8viD</a> <a href="http://t.co/ipR5fwA1gI" rel="nofollow">http://t.co/ipR5fwA1gI</a> <br />
Garry's Mod Pricing One-time €20 + No monthly tiers <a href="http://t.co/DtFqUHSUXs" rel="nofollow">http://t.co/DtFqUHSUXs</a> </p>
<p>Garry’s Mod in Wikipedia <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry%27s_Mod" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry%27s_Mod</a></p>
<p>SL Forum 03-27-2006 Question: What would make a good competitor for Second Life? </p>
<p>Answer: I say Garry's Mod... GMod already gives you the ability to run your own sim, with the server option. It lets visitors come by your sim. It lets you build inside your sim; you can both save what you build and save the state of your sim; and best of all it's very possible to both import and export objects to-and-from GMod </p>
<p>That was 2006, now we have Garry's Mod 13 + Standalone Version 14.01.22 in 2014! <a href="http://forums-archive.secondlife.com/108/6a/96447/1.html" rel="nofollow">http://forums-archive.secondlife.com/108/6a/96447/1.html</a></p>Metacam Oh commented on 'Microsoft, Minecraft and Mojang: Here's How to Make Sense of Microsoft's $2.5B Purchase'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01b8d06b2fc2970c2014-09-16T14:17:22Z2014-09-16T14:17:22ZMetacam OhNotch had stepped away from the Minecraft project for awhile now so if you're only interested in Minecraft his departure...<p>Notch had stepped away from the Minecraft project for awhile now so if you're only interested in Minecraft his departure while sad is not earth shattering. I think to buy his company for 2.5 billion Microsoft has to have some sort of vision to allow it to continue pretty much unabated, if you're going to spend that much money and come in and try to make it something else then that would be a questionable move to me.</p>
<p>Maybe they will pivot positions on a mod store where mod makers can sell their mods for like a buck and microsoft gets their cut and the mod makes get their cut. That would surely change a lot of lives of mod makers out there. Notch was a bit anti money, maybe a little to a fault, but now look at him, he can own his own country and sip mai tai's for the rest of his life, toying around with whatever he wants, that's the life, no?</p>Arcadia Codesmith commented on 'Microsoft, Minecraft and Mojang: Here's How to Make Sense of Microsoft's $2.5B Purchase'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01a73e171bdd970d2014-09-16T12:59:24Z2014-09-16T12:59:24ZArcadia CodesmithZan, the important difference is that for a one-time charge of $26.95, Minecraft gives you about eight times the surface...<p>Zan, the important difference is that for a one-time charge of $26.95, Minecraft gives you about eight times the surface area of Earth to build. Second Life, for a recurring fee of $10 every single month, gives you a lousy shoebox with a paltry 117 prim allowance. With the amount of money it takes to rent a small island in Second Life, you could save up and buy an actual real-world small island.</p>
<p>Yes, Second Life is clearly a more versatile and connected platform... but unless they ditch their absurdly outdated property model, they're toast. And they're losing to cartoon block worlds.</p>Julia Benmergui commented on 'Microsoft, Minecraft and Mojang: Here's How to Make Sense of Microsoft's $2.5B Purchase'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01a73e170b4b970d2014-09-16T10:47:18Z2014-09-16T10:47:18ZJulia BenmerguiI have certainly criticized Microsoft in the past but I can see the sense in this. Big gaming company running...<p>I have certainly criticized Microsoft in the past but I can see the sense in this. Big gaming company running a big game.</p>
<p>I also get why Notch wanted to get out. To those of us that are programmers at heart, running a global business is tedious beyond belief. He's made enough to just have fun again. He even said that if a new idea of his started to get traction he'd probably abandon it.</p>RULosingHair commented on 'Microsoft, Minecraft and Mojang: Here's How to Make Sense of Microsoft's $2.5B Purchase'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01b7c6e0f97d970b2014-09-16T04:28:18Z2014-09-16T04:28:18ZRULosingHairThe next step is Mashups - Virtual World Games - New Mashup "Virtual World Games" GamesCom.com 2014 Fair was in...<p>The next step is Mashups - Virtual World Games - </p>
<p>New Mashup "Virtual World Games" </p>
<p>GamesCom.com 2014 Fair was in Cologne, Germany. The new hype is the mashup Virtual World Games <a href="http://english.cntv.cn/2014/08/15/VIDE1408033440180587.shtml" rel="nofollow">http://english.cntv.cn/2014/08/15/VIDE1408033440180587.shtml</a> </p>
<p>Immersive World Mashups<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/immersiveworld.mashups/" rel="nofollow">https://www.facebook.com/groups/immersiveworld.mashups/</a></p>Iggy commented on 'Microsoft, Minecraft and Mojang: Here's How to Make Sense of Microsoft's $2.5B Purchase'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01b7c6e0f02b970b2014-09-16T02:50:40Z2014-09-16T02:50:40ZIggyI agree with Arcadia, up to a point. As much as I've hated on Microsoft over the years, their gaming...<p>I agree with Arcadia, up to a point.</p>
<p>As much as I've hated on Microsoft over the years, their gaming division is a different animal from the stodgy OS-and-Office division. I recall reading how the Bristol office was given creative freedom from Redmond. MS' software khans can recognize a goose that lays golden eggs, and I doubt they will turn it into Pâté de Foie Gras.</p>
<p>This is not bad news for Minecraft's legions of fans. I don't think MS will ruin it. </p>Zan Tong commented on 'Microsoft, Minecraft and Mojang: Here's How to Make Sense of Microsoft's $2.5B Purchase'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01a73e16bf8c970d2014-09-15T22:16:44Z2014-09-15T22:16:44ZZan TongLinden Lab having a product way superior to Minecraft sees their place crumble and die. Minecraft the stupid blocks game...<p>Linden Lab having a product way superior to Minecraft sees their place crumble and die. Minecraft the stupid blocks game sells for even more than Oculus VR. While I never tried blocksworld even that looks more superior than Minecraft. </p>
<p>On the other hand Notch is not hated by the players of his game, Notch didn't take advantage of people that bought his game. Notch might have integrity and not call his players "whackadoodles" or "poor outcasts of society" or charge one guy 15$ for a copy of Minecraft and sells another copy under the table for 5$ to his friends.</p>Shockwave Yareach commented on 'Microsoft, Minecraft and Mojang: Here's How to Make Sense of Microsoft's $2.5B Purchase'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01b7c6e0c518970b2014-09-15T21:20:00Z2014-09-15T21:20:00ZShockwave YareachI have never comprehended the mentality which says buying a company is no different than money in the bank. If...<p>I have never comprehended the mentality which says buying a company is no different than money in the bank. If you do a bad job running said business, your money vanishes since nobody will pay you as much for damaged goods. Whereas if you had the money in the bank, the principle would never go down and you'd make some interest too</p>
<p>I dont have a problem with investing in companies -- it is the life blood of business. I have a problem with putting billions into a one off game company and then saying the only profit it has to make is one greater than the one the money would make in the bank. That's only true if you are guaranteed to get all of your 2.4billion back when you want it back again. And finding someone else willing to fork it over will be difficult at best.</p>Arcadia Codesmith commented on 'Microsoft, Minecraft and Mojang: Here's How to Make Sense of Microsoft's $2.5B Purchase'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01b7c6e0bd65970b2014-09-15T20:30:12Z2014-09-15T20:30:12ZArcadia CodesmithNice payday for Notch. Hope he plows some of it back into new projects, maybe something a little less blocky....<p>Nice payday for Notch. Hope he plows some of it back into new projects, maybe something a little less blocky.</p>
<p>It's nice to know that Microsoft understands the importance of virtual worlds. Whether they have the vaguest clue what to do with one remains to be seen. Their track recond in this regard is, to put it charitably, uninspiring.</p>