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Mojang aiming to publish Oxeye's 'Cobalt' on Friday
Usually, we receive a bit of lead time when it comes to release date announcements. "Oh, that game you're looking forward to," it usually goes, "that one won't be out til Q3 2014." We all know that anything past next spring is practically forever away -- fortunately, Mojang has announced that the excellent-looking Cobalt is going to drop this coming Friday, God willing and the creek don't rise. "We haven't told anyone [about the release date] yet because we're aiming for Friday, but we don't know if we can make it," managing director Carl Manneh told Edge Online in a recent interview, "but I think we can." We do too, Carl. We believe in you.
The MMO Report: Hangover edition
This week on The MMO Report, Casey stumbles in from the office Christmas party to report on Ubisoft's rumored triple-AAA Wii-U MMO, Marvel Universe Online's endless parade of character art, and the politics of Minecraft's design (psst... Minecraft -- sandbox? Yes. MMO? Not really!). He also jokes about Star Wars: The Old Republic's two million beta testers, suggesting that the number proves "nerds will flock to anything with a Star Wars or BioWare logo on the box." We're sure he speaks from personal experience. Finally, The Beard dips into Uncle Casey's Mailbag to recount some harrowing tales of MMO deflowering. Enjoy the full MMO Report past the cut!
Mojang hoping to build official Minecraft LEGOs
Mojang has officially begun courting a relationship with LEGO, with the ultimate goal of creating an official Minecraft set of the popular building blocks. The company announced the initiative on Cuusoo, a site devoted to helping amateur (plastic) bricklayers make a connection with the LEGO company. The concept is simple, builders propose an idea for a LEGO set and, should said idea gain 10,000 supporters, it will be reviewed officially by LEGO. If LEGO decides to produce the set, the project's creator will receive a royalty. Should the Minecraft set reach production, Mojang has promised to donate its royalty to charity. The project is well on its way to an official review, with nearly 1,000 supporters, though Mojang's Daniel Kaplan tweeted that the company is also "working directly with LEGO" to make the project a reality. Far be it from us to point out the obvious, but wouldn't Minecraft LEGOs just be ... LEGOs?
Notch steps down as lead developer on Minecraft to focus on 'new project'
You know Notch. He's the behatted Swedish developer that eats, breathes, and sleeps Minecraft, right? Well ... he was. Now Mr. Markus "Notch" Persson is relinquishing lead development duties on the massively successful indie game so he can invest his time as head honcho at his growing development house Mojang. So who's going to take over that high-profile (don't mess up!) spot while Notch starts "work on some new project"? Meet cat-lover Jens Bergensten (pictured), who's no stranger to Minecraft. "We've been working together on Minecraft for a year now, and I'm amazed at how much in synch we two are when it comes to how to design the game," Notch wrote on his Tumblr. "And when we don't agree, we discuss it and something much better comes out at a result. He's truly a great person to work with, and I feel very confident handing over the leadership of Minecraft to him." In fact, Notch is so confident he's going to take a break for "rest." With the first MineCon convention over, a 1.0 version of Minecraft released, and some four million plus paying users (!) we think he's earned it. But not you, Bergensten. Back to work!
Build a place in your day for the MineCon keynote
If you weren't fortunate (or fervent!) enough to secure an entry pass to the first-ever MineCon -- that's shorthand for Minecraft Convention, obvs -- you can now watch the full, 39-minute keynote, courtesy of Gamespot. (And catch the new Mega64 video at the 33-minute mark!)
This is what playing Minecraft on XBLA will look like
Minecraft is officially out, but that's just the beginning of post-beta playtime, with the exclusive XBLA release still expected to hit in 2012. To celebrate Minecraft's incumbent console release, Notch and the Mojang gang made a little video that is as adorable as it is hilarious. It may even be funnier than this video Mega64 made for the Minecon festivities, but neither of those are more adorable than these. %Gallery-139905%
Minecraft turns 1.0, digital building blocks in beta no more
Minecraft mania has been in full swing for a while now, though lately, the hullabaloo surrounding the game was about its arrival (in somewhat neutered form) on both Android and iOS. However, fans of the full Minecraft experience can jump for joy because Mojang's title has officially left its beta days behind and has turned the big 1.0. The announcement was made by none other than Mr. Minecraft himself, Markus "Notch" Persson, at the first ever MineCon event, and the update is available now. Well, what are you waiting for? Your digital utopia won't build itself.
PSA: Minecraft is out!
In an explosion of streamers and cheers, the Mojang team officially launched Minecraft 1.0 as a final(ish) product today from the stage of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, kicking off this weekend's "MineCon" convention. Surprising absolutely no one, the servers selling the game have been crashing from server loads intermittently. Oops! Just as soon as they're more stable, the launch version of Minecraft can be purchased on PC and Mac for $26.95. Maybe for now you could spend some time with that mobile version of the world builder? Or just keep refreshing. That's probably a better idea. [Image credit: @2PProductions]
Minecraft easter egg makes its way into Skyrim
Who says a nasty legal battle means you can't appreciate each other's work? A nice little nod to Minecraft made its way into Skyrim, Ology reports. Neat! Pictured above is the Notched Pickaxe, which looks an awfully lot like the one from Minecraft -- Notch, you likely know, is the creator of the game. Hats off to the Bethesda devs for including this in the game. If you want to see it for yourself (and perhaps use it to kill a few of the smaller dragon pups), you can find it in The Throat of the World. It shouldn't be too hard to find the one-of-a-kind pickaxe stuck in the biggest mountain in the game.
Minecraft has gone gold
We knew it was coming, but to finally hear that Minecraft has completed its year-long beta-testing phase and successfully transformed itself into a retail product brings a tiny cubed tear to our square, pixelated eyes. If you're already a crafty crafter, Minecraft Version 1.0's release client can be obtained here (warning: direct link). The code is so complete that Notch told reviewers to go ahead and treat it as review code, claiming that any changes made before the title's official Friday launch would be minimal. We're not positive, but we're pretty sure two years is the most lead time any games journalist has ever had for a review.
Gemception: Gem Collector, a video game built within Minecraft
We're pretty dang hard to flabbergast around these parts, especially when it comes to Minecraft and the various crafty things people do in there. Our old hearts have all but dried up, and the glimmer in our eyes has slowly dimmed, leaving behind a glazed, absent stare. We're dusty and bitter and hard to impress, so we mean it when we say that this Minecraft mod is the craziest damn thing we've ever seen. Rezz and Psycho_ewt of Theorycrafting have created an actual, honest to God video-game inside of Minecraft. Gemception: Gem Collector uses a mechanical computer made of incomprehensible, alchemical devices like "demultiplexers" to operate two screens, an NES controller, and track the player's health. It really has to be seen to be believed, so watch the video above and then hit the source link to download and run the monstrous creation yourself. [Thanks, Simon!]
MineCon's official trailer, featuring baller Steve
Conventions don't usually have trailers, but MineCon isn't the average gathering of game fans. The event, taking place November 18-19 at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas, will give Minecraft fans the opportunity to be there when the phenomenon actually, officially launches. Attendees won't just be there to watch some Swedish dude upload code so he can afford a second platoon of lawyers. Visitors will also receive access to alpha code vouchers for Scrolls and Cobalt. Considering Mojang made it rain money with a game's beta, they should be able to float a couple more projects off the buzz of a few paid alphas.
Enter At Your Own Rift: The big takeaways from GDC
After dining on enough beef brisket to feed an army of hungry cowboys, I returned from Austin's GDC Online to chip away at the Ashes of History world event quests. RIFT had a nice showing at the GDC Online Awards ceremony, walking away with awards for Best Online Technology and Best New Online Game. In addition, Trion CCO and RIFT Executive Producer Scott Hartsman gave a talk about RIFT's pre-launch preparations and post-launch plans. GDC was dominated by a handful of common topics, like free-to-play, metrics, monetization, and technology. In this week's Enter at Your Own Rift, we'll take a look at a few of these to see how they apply to RIFT, and then we'll look at the big takeaways from GDC overall.
Minecraft for consoles exclusive to Xbox 360, building spring 2012 launch
Markus "Notch" Persson has confirmed via Twitter that the console version of Minecraft, announced during E3 for Xbox 360, will be exclusive to Microsoft's system (meaning no PSN or WiiWare versions). The game will arrive on Xbox Live in the spring of 2012. Those heading to MineCon in Las Vegas next month will be able to try out the Xbox 360 version. The PC version is also being completed, having already sold millions in its beta state. Those heading to MineCon will receive alpha codes for Mojang's Scrolls and Cobalt.
Get your first taste of Minecraft for 360 at MineCon
If you're a 360 owner who's been in the dark about this whole Minecraft phenomenon, you'll have your first opportunity to check out the upcoming console version of the game at MineCon. The 4J port will be playable by blockheads (is that a thing? if not, it should be) who make the pilgrimage to Las Vegas for the event, set for Nov. 18-19. That said, if you do fit into the imaginary scenario we crafted above, we'd like to congratulate you on the remarkable optimism you've demonstrated by going to a convention for a game you've never played. It's blind, unwavering faith like yours that built the pyramids and dug the Panama Canal, and we couldn't be prouder to count you among our readership.
2 Player Productions also crafting Scrolls documentary, first part now available
When they're not busy producing work for Penny Arcade or working on development house documentaries, the folks from 2 Player Productions are also slicing off choice cuts of tape regarding the legally embattled next game from Mojang Specifications: Scrolls. The documentary group's website recently revealed the first of several pieces that make up the entire Scrolls doc, featuring interviews and footage from inside the studio. As expected, Mojang co-founder and Minecraft lead Markus "Notch" Persson makes a few appearances, but the focus instead falls on Scrolls lead Jakob Porser, who 2 Player describes as "long-time friend of Markus "Notch" Persson and co-founder of the company." The first clip, seen above, delves into the germination of the project, the team, and eventually the legal battle brought forth by Bethesda regarding the name, Scrolls. Especially interesting, Porser notes during the clip that "Minecraft isn't just a great game, it's a Cinderella story," when asked whether he thinks Mojang will be able to overcome its first game's success with future projects. "Even if we do the world's best game after Minecraft, it's not gonna be a Cinderella story," he admits. But perhaps a well-publicized legal battle with a monolithic corporation will help, we imagine.
That Minecraft documentary you helped fund is moving along nicely
Back in February, the gaming community stepped up and pledged more than $210,000 to fund a Minecraft documentary from 2 Player Productions, makers of the rockin' chiptune doc, Reformat the Planet. The new doc, Minecraft: The Story of Mojang is a more subdued, Swedish story, but it still has plenty of action, as a batch of new screenshots demonstrate. 2 Player is interviewing the Mojang team, influential game-industry veterans and, of course, school children. Grab a sneak peek at the documentary in still-life below, or watch the 20 minutes of actual film that inspired gamers to donate $60,000 more than 2 Player asked for in the Kickstarter campaign.
Bethesda: Nobody enjoys being 'forced' to sue Mojang
Bethesda VP of marketing Pete Hines is providing some context for its case against Minecraft-dev Mojang's coming title, Scrolls, saying Mojang hasn't fairly presented Bethesda's side of the fight (probably because it's on the side against Bethesda). "Mojang's public comments have not given a complete picture as it relates to their filings, our trademarks, or events that have taken place," Hines said. Bethesda has an obligation to protect its trademark -- Elder Scrolls -- at the risk of diluting or losing it entirely. In that regard, this isn't something Bethesda wants to do, but it is something it has to do: "Nobody here enjoys being forced into this," Hines said. "Hopefully it will all be resolved soon." I bet that Quake 3 duel is looking pretty good to both sides right now.
Minecraft: Pocket Edition now available on Android Marketplace
A few hours ago, Carl Manneh, Mojang's managing director, tweeted that the Android version of Minecraft was now available for download on the Android Marketplace, albeit a bit late. Admittedly, we should've checked right away, but we were right in the middle of getting the shingles looking just right on our floating palace city, Joystiqia. We did check (eventually) and found that Mr. Manneh, sure enough, is not yanking our chains -- Minecraft: Pocket Edition is currently available for $6.99 on the Android Marketplace. And if you want to know exactly what you're getting for those seven bucks, there's also a free demo you can download. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to back to our palace. There's a giant Chris Grant bust he's making us build in the foyer.
Minecraft Pocket Edition headed to iOS later this year
We've been waiting awhile for an official Minecraft client for iOS, and it looks like we'll have to wait a bit longer. According to Pocket Gamer, Minecraft - Pocket Edition will debut for Android devices on September 29, but Minecraft developer Mojang has offered only a vague "before the end of the year" launch for iOS. Minecraft - Pocket Edition has been an exclusive for Xperia Play so far, but its wider launch on Android devices means it's just a matter of time before the game comes to the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. A video of Minecraft - Pocket Edition running on a phone from Sony Ericsson is embedded below. The controls look quite intuitive, and scrolling around seems very smooth. If you're already addicted to Minecraft, things are only going to get worse for you later this year when you can take the game with you wherever you go.
