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Minecraft getting in-game name changes, Pocket Edition sells 30 million
Minecraft players will be able to change their in-game name soon, development studio Mojang has announced. The process is set to go live on February 4, and looks to be pretty straightforward; once the name-changing system is in place, players can change their in-game name simply by logging into their account. Any name that is not being used by another player will be available, but players will have to wait 30 days before they can change again. If you're worried about someone swiping your name while you wait said 30 days to come back to it though, don't be: it takes 37 days for an old name to become available for someone else. So if you were to change your name from, say, "MinecraftMasta" to something else, we wouldn't be able to swipe MinecraftMasta for ourselves before you had a chance to reclaim it. Changing names does not change inventory or character status, meaning if someone has blocked you, changing your name won't allow you to circumvent said block. Mojang also announced that to date, Minecraft: Pocket Edition has sold a combined total of more than 30 million copies. Pocket Edition surpassed 21 million copies back in April, and expanded its reach to Windows Phone users in December, though Mojang did not share how many of the 9 million new sales were due to releasing on a new platform. [Image: Mojang]
Minecraft: Pocket Edition gets a facelift with update 0.10
Minecraft: Pocket Edition was patched to version 0.10 this week, an update that brought with it not only the usual bug fixes and general improvements (baby animals can now swim instead of sinking like rocks to a watery grave, for example), but visual enhancements as well. A graphical update may sound strange for a game where the entire aesthetic design is based around low-resolution blocks, but the differences should be noticeable. As described by the official Minecraft: Pocket Edition Twitter account, there is now "more watery-looking water," "foggier-looking fog," "even more particles," and "tinted lighting on terrain and mobs." Of course, it's fine to be happy that you won't be murdering some poor baby animal just by setting it in water anymore. That's okay, too. [Image: Microsoft]
Minecraft coming to Windows Phone, 'much to do' says dev
It shouldn't be surprising that not even a month after Microsoft purchased Minecraft developer Mojang, there is word that Minecraft: Pocket Edition will find a new home on the Windows Phone platform. "Yes, Minecraft: Pocket Edition *is* coming to the Windows Phone," tweeted Jens Bergensten, the game's lead developer. That's good news for Windows Phone owners, but don't get too excited just yet. While the port is in running condition,"there's still much to do before any release," Bergensten wrote. So far, Bergensten has refrained from speculating any release window or target. [Image: Microsoft]
Minecraft Pocket Edition goes to infinity and beyond on July 10
The 0.9.0 update for Minecraft Pocket Edition is just around the corner, and Mojang says that when it arrives on July 10, it will be the game's biggest update yet. We suppose that's true, as the update adds infinite worlds, and it's impossible to go beyond infinity - unless you're arguing with your 10-year-old cousin and they pull out the dreaded "infinity plus one" comeback. The update also adds new landscape features and mobs, as well as a new interaction button. As the update page reads: "Never accidentally punch a sheep again!" Ah, accidentally punching sheep. Now there's a problem we can all relate to. [Image: Mojang]
Minecraft Pocket Edition chips off 21 million copies
Minecraft Pocket Edition has sold more than 21 million copies, developer Jens Bergensten says in a tweet. To celebrate this ridiculously large number, the Minecraft mobile team will host a live panel broadcast from Mojang offices on Monday, April 14, allowing fans to ask them anything. Whether they'll answer anything is up to them. Players can submit questions to this reddit thread. Mojang will pick the best ones and address them live online – there's no specific time for the stream yet, but it will be archived. Mojang says to check the site for more info as it comes in. "We're extremely grateful to all players for your dedication and creativity," Mojang writes. "Without that, Minecraft wouldn't be anywhere near as significant as it is today." Minecraft recently passed 12 million sales on Xbox 360 and 14 million on PC. In its first month on PS3, Minecraft hit 1 million sales. In total, Minecraft has sold roughly 576 squidillion copies across all platforms. [Image: Mojang]
Minecraft: Pocket Edition to get 'significantly bigger worlds'
The mobile version of Minecraft - AKA: Minecraft: Pocket Edition - is being coded to allow for big changes - literally. Developer Mojang announced on its site that the team is "restructuring a lot of code to allow significantly bigger worlds in future updates," as well as tweaking creature AI and the inventory system. There's no release date for the Pocket Edition updates, but Mojang wrote that "everything is going to plan." We presume this sentence was written while stroking a fluffy white cat and/or onboard the Death Star. Mojang is also "pausing" access to the Pocket Realms beta, which allows for persistent worlds stored on private servers. "The Realms team is currently focused on the upcoming release of PC Realms," Mojang wrote. "Once that's done, we'll be in a better place to work on Pocket Realms and make it as good as it possibly can be, which will be later this year." The pause will go into effect on March 1. [Image: Mojang]
Ridiculous Fishing, Badland win App Store's Best of 2013 awards
Apple awarded Vlambeer's Ridiculous Fishing its much-coveted iPhone Game of the Year award today, while Frogmind's silhouetted platformer Badland picked up the iPad award. With App Store exposure being so crucial to an app's success, the awards are big wins for the two indie studios, both comprised of just two people. The duo of duos beat competition from major studios in 2K Games and EA PopCap, with runner-up spots going to XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Plants vs. Zombies 2. Kevin Ng's rollercoaster puzzler The Impossible Road and the stylish wordplay of Simogo's Device 6 also picked up runners-up prizes. If you thought those awards, while deserved, were a smidge predictable, be prepared for further non-raising of eyebrows: This year's most downloaded free app (not just games but all apps) was Candy Crush Saga, while Minecraft: Pocket Edition was the best-selling paid app of 2013. It's also worth noting that while Candy Crush Saga is free-to-download, it was also the highest grossing app of 2013 - Minecraft: Pocket Edition came in 11th.
Minecraft: Pocket Edition updated with alpha Realms support
Mojang has released an update for the iOS and Android versions of Minecraft: Pocket Edition, adding preliminary support for the online cooperative Realms mode. Realms mode supports online play for up to 10 simultaneous players within a single world, allowing friends to collaborate on projects and/or raise havoc together. The alpha version of Realms is currently free, and will be an optional paid service in future updates. The latest Pocket Edition update also adds features such as buckets, eggs, milk, cake and fire to the game, making it important to keep an eye out for pyromaniacs among your online guests. Maybe they'll play nice if you bake them all cakes beforehand? Just an idea.
Minecraft Pocket Edition hits 10 million downloads
Mojang has announced that the Pocket Edition of its extremely popular sandbox game Minecraft has also reached 10 million downloads, a feat made even more impressive by the fact that the app is being sold for a premium price of $6.99. The original PC version of Minecraft hit 10 million sales back on April 4, but the Pocket Edition was released later, which means it's hit this milestone total much faster. The Pocket Edition started out as a slimmer version of Minecraft meant solely for mobile devices, but with a constant flow of updates, it's improved to the point where it almost matches the PC version feature for feature. And Mojang isn't done with it either. Producer Daniel Kaplan says the backend is being updated, to make future iterations even easier to deliver. That's a huge success story, not just on iOS, but even within the scope of this gigantic game in general. Given this growth, we'll have to see if Minecraft's mobile version might even overtake the PC original before all is said and done.
Minecraft: Pocket Edition sells 10 million, Mojang plans major additions
Mojang announced that the mobile version of its runaway hit, Minecraft, surpassed 10 million units in sales, and revealed that it will add several major features to the game in the coming months. Minecraft: Pocket Edition's forthcoming updates range from matters of convenience (players will no longer have to exit to the main menu in order to change settings) to experimental additions that, initially, will be available exclusively to players using high-end mobile devices. Once these unnamed features are sufficiently tested, they will be rolled out in another update for all players. Mojang is also working on Minecraft Realms, a cloud-based multiplayer service that allows players to collaborate on shared projects without needing to be online at the same time. Minecraft Realms will be launched as a subscription-based mode that can be unlocked in Minecraft: Pocket Edition via an in-app purchase. Mojang hopes to launch its next Minecraft: Pocket Edition update by the end of May.
Daily Update for January 16, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Minecraft's mobile version outsold others by volume in 2012
Minecraft creators Mojang have released stats on how the game's various platform clients (Windows/Mac, Xbox 360 and of course iOS and Android) have been selling, and the numbers have a surprise. The mobile version is outselling everything else by volume. As you can see above, Christmas sales boosted the mobile version, at least in terms of pure numbers, so that it's beating all other versions offered over the past year. In terms of value, the mobile version didn't fare quite as well as the more expensive Windows and console versions, ending up with about 16 percent of sales as compared to the PC's 44 percent of incoming revenue. Still, Christmas was a huge time for Minecraft: Pocket Edition apparently, with the company raking in money from almost 284,000 copies on that day alone. Minecraft is traditionally known as a PC title, as that's where the platform started, but the mobile version stepped up into its own during the last weeks of 2012.
Minecraft Pocket Edition sales up to 5M, franchise sales over 17.5M
Minecraft Pocket Edition sales are now over 5 million, proving the iOS and Android versions are anything but lagging behind their XBLA and PC siblings. Mojang's Johan Bernhardsson revealed the figure this morning, which now sees sales across all Minecraft games at over 17.5 million at least.Pocket Edition is missing a lot of what's included in the XBLA and PC versions, which is of course not surprising given the platforms. Nonetheless, one of the biggest and most asked-for absentees is online multiplayer - users can play together via local Wi-Fi, but not through the Internet. According to Bernhardsson, online multiplayer is now in the works.It won't however feature in the next update, which would be 0.5.1. That's being targeted for late January/early February and mostly features "behind the scenes" fixes and tweaks.
New Minecraft: Pocket Edition update due out soon
The next version of iOS' Minecraft Pocket Edition has been submitted, according to the official Mojang blog, and it brings another round of updates designed to bring the game in line with its bigger PC and console cousins. In this update, players are set to get access to things like paintings, zombie pigmen (though why you'd want access to those, who knows) and the Nether Reactor and Glowstone. There are also a few tweaks to the gameplay as well, including food giving back more health and hearts getting restored when you sleep in an in-game bed. Sounds great -- Minecraft's Pocket Edition just keeps on getting better. This update has been submitted already, and should be out and available later on this week. Meanwhile, you can grab the game from the App Store right now for US$6.99. [via Touch Arcade]
Minecraft Pocket Edition available on Kindle Fire via Amazon Appstore
Minecraft Pocket Edition is now available on the Amazon Appstore, meaning it is officially out for the Kindle Fire. Minecraft Pocket Edition runs $7 on Amazon, the same price as on the Android and iOS app stores.Kindle Fire owners previously figured out ways to run Minecraft Pocket Edition on their devices, through rooting and roundabout third-party subscriptions, but now it's a simple, legitimate one-click process. Get crafting here; it's not like you're using that Kindle Fire to read books anyway.[Thanks, Thomas!]
Minecraft: Pocket Edition adds bows, skeletons and spiders
Let's just skip the "Is that a bone in your pocket?" joke we're all thinking and get straight to business: Minecraft: Pocket Edition has been updated and now includes skeletons, spiders and best of all, a bow to kill skeletons and spiders with. Skeletons and spiders are cool and atmospheric and everything, but they're even cooler when they can't murder you on account of being riddled with hundreds and hundreds of arrows. The update also fixes around 20 or so known glitches, including one called "burning world," which sounds rather inconvenient. Currently, only the iOS version of Minecraft has these updates listed, though we wouldn't figure that a similar update for the Android version would be far behind.
Minecraft Pocket Edition building worlds in 700K pockets
We don't know if you guys knew this or not, but Minecraft is, like, super popular. Not only has the desktop version of the game reached 20 million registered users, but Minecraft Pocket Edition for iOS and Android has broken the 700,000 sold barrier, according to Mojang's Daniel Kaplan. Between iOS and Android versions, Mojang is selling around 5,000 copies per day, which is a pretty amazing feat considering the game costs $6.99 and has no crafting or survival elements. Well, not yet, anyway. [photolinc via Shutterstock]
Minecraft Pocket Edition update tentatively scheduled for Feb. 8
In early December, Mojang's Daniel Kaplan announced via the Mojang blog that the developer was working on an update to Minecraft Pocket Edition in order to address player concerns that the experience was too different from its desktop counterparts, specifically the distinct lack of any survival or crafting elements. While the crafting system will require UI redesigns, Kaplan says that the first update, currently scheduled to go live on February 8, will make backend changes to "support the survival aspects of the game." It doesn't sound like any survival elements will actually be implemented this time around, but rather that this update will serve as the "foundation" for survival elements that will be added in later. The update also includes "neat looking animals and new blocks," as well as doors and fences, so now might be a good time to start building the farm you'll be furiously defending once the survival elements are patched in. [Thanks, Austin!]
Yes, Mojang plans to flesh out Minecraft on iOS/Android
As you may be aware, Minecraft Pocket Edition – the diminutive iOS and Android version of the block-based phenomenon – isn't really Minecraft. At present, it allows players to build creations as they see fit, but lacks most of the features found in the PC and Mac versions. Namely, there is no Survival mode and all the things it entails, including item crafting, enemies, food, etc. In a recent blog post, Mojang's Daniel Kaplan stated that the company plans to remedy the lack of Survival mode, at least partially. He stated that the goal isn't to completely "replicate" the full experience of Minecraft, as many features simply don't "match the touch platform." That said, many familiar features are planned, including animals, enemies and item crafting. Mojang is also "experimenting" with caves, though the implementation still needs work. And, of course, Mojang hasn't specified when players can expect these features. That's okay though, because our full scale Battlestar Galactica is going to take a while anyway.
Minecraft: Pocket Edition out on iOS today
The Pocket Edition of Minecraft, released a little while ago exclusively on Android, has been spotted on the New Zealand App Store today, which means the title will work its way around the world and arrive on the App Store in North America this evening. The full PC version of Minecraft (which has been selling millions of copies despite only being in a public beta this whole time) is due for an official release on Friday, so this release makes a lot of sense. When it does arrive on the App Store in this country, the universal title is expected to cost US$6.99. Unfortunately, as you might imagine, the mobile version is a little less functional than the full PC version, with not all of the many, many blocks of the full game appearing in the mobile one. There are also some blocks that appear but can't be manipulated by the player. And there are only three blocks available on the game's "hotbar," rather than a full spectrum of blocks to use. But if you've never played Minecraft (or are a huge Minecraft fan), the iOS version will probably be a nice sampler before the real thing. We'll keep an eye out on the store, and give it a shout when it finally appears stateside.
