Blizzard has its World of Warcraft, but the gaming world is focused on Minecraft these days.
How have you seen Minecraft fair across different platforms?
There are over 8 million PC players and over 5 million mobile gamers. The remainder play on Xbox 360. I didn’t think Xbox was going to get a lot because of the popularity of first-person shooter players on that system. I’m jealous of some of the stuff they released on Xbox. Each platform has its own niche of people. Xbox players can’t mod on it so there are a lot more builder and survival players. The mobile platform started off at a certain point in the PC game and went from there, and they’re adding stuff little by little. The controls are touch-based, which are a little different to handle than what I’m used to. The mobile and console versions have more restrictions because of how it’s published through Apple, Microsoft and Google, which are stringent on their platforms and what happens. The PC doesn’t have those restrictions.
How has Minecraft expanded over the years?
A lot of mods have been added to the main game like Pistons, which is a mechanical device to push and pull blocks around within the world. Feedback from the Minecraft community has resulted in wolves, fireworks, and a million little things.
How have you seen Minecraft seep into pop culture?
It’s became a cultural phenomenon on its own. There are the LEGO Minecraft sets, which have been hot sellers. There’s a natural connection with LEGO. In Borderlands 2 Gearbox Studios created creeper mods that you have to find and Steve skins can be added to players. The development team behind Far Cry 3 made their own Minecraft map based on their game.
Why do you think Minecraft has remained so popular?
The game has its broad appeal. It’s less of a game and more of a platform to build a game on. You can follow Creative or Survival modes, or you can make Capture the Flag games or Team Fortress 2 maps that work like that game. That draws in a lot of people. People can make anything they want like zombie survival maps. It reaches so many people that way.
What separates Minecraft from other big games?
The various nuances of the game. When Markus started up there was a lot more connection between the guy developing the game and the people playing it. With AAA games there’s a complete disconnect with fans. They went and talked to people to see what they liked and wanted. From very early on they set a standard for a very tight nit community.
