Hey Microsoft, Acquiring A Hit Game Is Stupid

Buying a game company is like buying an aging baseball player. You’ll need a miracle to get another hit. And while they might have plenty of fans, they probably aren’t making a lot of new ones. Mojang hit a grand slam home run with Minecraft, but that doesn’t mean Microsoft should pay $2.5 billion for it, as it’s reportedly going to announce this week. There’s no guarantee it will produce another blockbuster; players will eventually move on from Minecraft, and I doubt anyone is going to buy a dopey Windows Phone just to play a slightly different version of the pixelated sandbox game.

[gameon1985]

Is that what every one said when Sony bought Naughty dog, Sucker punch, MM, etc etc? It's only stupid when microsoft does it right?

[christocolus]

Whatever plans MS has for the franchise must be huge cos this deal isn't just about xbox and im certain mojang and MS have stuff planned which might be beyond the minecraft ip.

Wish both parties the best.

[lelo2play]

You can mark my words.
I suspect Microsoft is acquiring Mojang so that they can make a exclusive Minecraft running with their rumoured Virtual Reality headset.

[TongkatAli]

I'm happy for Microsoft with this deal, Minecraft is an awesome game that actually makes children smarter.

To those disagrees, you're still going to play Minecraft why the hate ? If your a Nintendo only gamer I can understand because you're never getting Minecraft, but Playstation got Minecraft on the PS3, PS4 and it's coming to the Vita.

[pedrof93]

@gameon

What ? The context is different, ND,SP and MM were small devs that worked exclusively with sony. While Mojang did a hit game that is available on every device. Mojang can't go higher than this. Remember Rare ?

[bartender64]

What if MS creates a world in Minecraft, in which you use your avatars? I don't know, I'm thinking they are planning something like Ps home, but with the dept of Minecraft?

[prodg52]

It would be cool if microsoft somehow combines minecraft with project spark. That would be a huge game.

[martinezjesus1993]

I highly doubt any of those companies cost Sony 2.5 BILLION dollars.

[xx4xx]

When Sony sees profits of $24 Billion dollars a year they might be able to start buying some in that range too.

[martinezjesus1993]

@xx4xx as much money as Microsoft sees doesnt mean they should throw their money away.

[MasterCornholio]

Didn't those firms make games exclusively for the PS4? It made sense that Sony bought them because they heavily funded their games. Minecraft on the other hand is another story about a multiplat becoming exclusive if this deal falls through. Dont tell me there are not a ton of people playing the game on their PlayStation's because they are.

[SmielmaN]

I believe your right. Naughty dog, evolution, sucker punch I believe all were third parties but Sony published their game and then acquired the studio. I won't say I'm 100% sure of all the facts but I think I'm sure about those three studios.

[gootimes]

The only reason it seems a bit strange to me is that Minecraft is already out on Sony's platforms. If they bought the company before it released on next gen systems it would make more sense.

You could make the argument they have other things planned, but the mind behind Minecraft is said to be leaving after the deal... I don't think Microsoft is wrong in wanting more studios or ip's, it's just this particular one is confusing.

[Antnee534]

They want to do what they did to rare and fuck up everything about the company and its games

[OB1Biker]

They didnt buy any after one hugely successful game, and no franchise that was multiplaform. They bought them when they were small and helped them to become successful

[Gamer4life888]

did you just compared Naughty dog, Sucker punch, MM with an indie developer?!

[mhunterjr]

Those were indie developers too, until Sony bought them...

The comparison is valid.

[nX]

The thing is, Mojang is making tons of money every year but Minecraft is still not a good "game". I don't see much talent in that company so I don't understand why Microsoft would want them other than for the IP itself.

[geddesmond]

Lol I really doubt Sony paid more than 10 mil each for any of those studios. Minecraft is already on PS3 and PS4 what could MS possibly gain from this unless they plan on getting Chinese exclusive on tMinecraft or some crap like that which might help sell consols in that region.

[Patrick_pk44]

It is unintelligent to purchase Mojang for 2.5 billion, since Minecraft alone will never reach them a profit over that of their purchase.

[Rimeskeem]

Acquiring a hit studio is a lot different then a hit game.

[XxExacutionerxX]

I look at Minecraft as a Fad, just like rock band and guitar hero or Call of Duty. It's popular now but it will go away and people will move on from it.

[nX]

I actually don't understand how it became so popular in the first place... it's boring as hell, I didn't enjoy it at all.

[Spotie]

How is this an intelligent comment?

You're comparing a GAME to a STUDIO, which is in no way intelligent.

Had you mentioned... well, Sony isn't known for just buying IPs. They buy the studios that make those IPs, like all the ones you listed. Same with Nintendo.

MICROSOFT buys third party IPs, and that's stupid.

Edit: I read that they're buying the studio. Slightly less stupid, but it's not as if they've got a proven track record: ANYBODY can make one good game. And still, it's not comparable to any of the studios listed, because none of them were known for making multiplats like Mojang.

[sinspirit]

Sony acquired MM before LBP was anything but a concept, not even resembling the final game past the platformer and physics based gameplay.

Naughty Dog has had a relationship with Sony for years before being bought by Sony. Same with Sucker Punch. It's not like they just saw studios and simply bought them for their games. They had relationships and they bought them and made them better and provided them with everything they need.

MS has bought many studios and so far hasn't really proven that a MS owned studio is anything special. In fact Rare was demolished and Bungie didn't want to stay with them.

MS has almost no relationship with Mojang, and is simply paying money specifically for one hit game.

[kratoz1209]

Microsoft will buy the developers of candy crush and release in incthe holiday season 2015

[miyamoto]

LOL!

NO.

ND, SP & MM all did exclusive first party games for Sony when they were unproven nobodies in the video game industry.
That is faith & believing.

They were budding seedlings when Sony approached them unlike Mojang who already is a huge tree that sold a huge 50 plus million copies of Minecraft across multi platforms. And Minecraft is already a proven hit before this rumored acquisition.
That is seeing.

There is a whole lotta difference there, buddy.

There is a huge difference between believing (PlayStation) and seeing (M$).

In every emerging market of computing technology whether:
personal computers (the Apple Macintosh),
word processing (Word Perfect),
internet browser(Netscape),
video games (PlayStation 2 & PlayStation exclusive games),
mp3 players (iPod),
smartphones (iPhone & Android),
tablets (iPad & Android),
search engines(Google)
etc etc

Microsoft is the unoriginal, second rate trying hard, copycat, money monster bully who always wants to steal market share from the original upstarts, then try to monopolize it and in turn destroying everything!

[Antnee534]

Mr you are the smartest commenter on any comment thread, page thing ever I gave you a bubble a agree and a cookie if I could cause god dam you spoke the dawn truth lol

[Enemy]

Minecraft won't sell consoles for them. Not only does the game look ugly and unappealing, but most of the people that play it are on PC. This will help them sell Windows before Apple completely takes over, yes, as it's clear they intend to have the game preinstalled in every new edition of Windows.

[jackanderson1985]

It's sold over 12 million copies on Xbox 360, more than 3mil on the ps3. The console sales are higher than the pc sales

https://twitter.com/intent/...

If you're going to mock something at least get the facts right

Also 54 million sales says it's very appealing

[christocolus]

Forgive his ignorance, he was only trying to downplay it because his favorite company isn't the one doing the aquisition.

[MasterCornholio]

Why is there a huge difference in sales?

I'm just curious because that's a pretty big gap between the two and I'm wondering if its because the game was released first on the 360 or something similar.

[DragoonsScaleLegends]

@MasterCornholio - It was released on Xbox around a year before PS3.

[Magicite]

He said its ugly and it is.

[user367272]

Cross platform. Could you imagine a Minrcraft 2 with a bigger budget behind it and updated graphics that caj be crossed play between XB1, PC, and smart phones? That is a huge coup for MS. Again, Mine craft sold over 50 millions and that is as valuable if not more valuable than a mega franchise like GTA.

[HmongAmerican]

Minecraft = Minecroft.

[Rik_Mayall]

MS can be dumb. But they are not $2.5 billion dumb.

[Godmars290]

They were Zune dumb.

They were also Netflix dumb. Maneuvering for console exclusivity but insisting on an XBL subscription for an outside subscription service.

Hell, they were also DRM dumb as well as Kinect dumb.

So yes; its very likely that they'd spend 2.5 billion for something that's sold 54 million, then restrict access to it on one platform with expectation of selling and 54 million.

Edit:
Microsoft was strong armed into buying Apple stock, of saving the company, by the US government over anti-trust and monopoly charges.

[Rik_Mayall]

Name me a company which hasn't had its fair share of flops?

Also out of that category name a company which has had success.

Answer: Most of them.

The biggest mistake which you failed to mention was MS buying large amounts of stock to keep Apple afloat, which in the noughties gave MS a bit of a kicking.

Now also guess which mistake turned into a gold mine for MS after the fact that Apple had a re-emergence.

[Concertoine]

Yeah. You focus on only their mistakes. Most people wouldnt accuse Nintendo of being dumb for the virtual boy or wii u or something. Also sony for the psp go, cell architecture, ps move, etc...

You've made it clear you don't like the Xbox brand for your various reasons but youre jumping the gun like crazy. MS studios isnt even making the acquisition, Microsoft as a whole is. The game is already on the PSN for three Sony platforms and they could pull a lot of revenue, they would be dumb to deny that after such a massive bill.

Once again assuming this is even true.

[Godmars290]

@Concertoine:
Who wouldn't say Sony or Nintendo messed up with the PSPgo or the Virtualboy? That, short of fanboy delusion and projection, is ridiculous.

But we're not talking about those mistakes. We're talking about what MS is likely to do after buying a company with an IP that's rather popular. How what they might do with it could affect access, and how anything restrictive might be a mistake. Negatively effect that IP making it not worth the cost in acquiring it.

[Concertoine]

Err... that wasn't my point You started your first comment off naming all of their mistakes as if that's all they've ever done. One could just as well bring up Sony's numerous poor corporate decisions (like you brought up Zune... so much relevance) that got them in the financial hole. I could say "oh Sony will mess up like they did with x, y, and z" but that's ignoring the rest of the alphabet. MS hasn't had as much success as Sony of course, but in the big financial picture they are doing better for a reason. Like i said, this is hardly relevant to the acquisition of a company like Mojang.

I mean, you realize MS isn't run by monkeys, right? They don't expect to gather just as many sales on their platforms as they do on the current 6. They will examine the financial viability of a decision just as any corporation would, and if the sales of the game, its merchandise, and any other future products of Mojang aren't enough to make their money back then they won't do it.

Once again... assuming this is real.

[beerzombie]

The Zune was better than iPod.

[Conzul]

yeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhhTheyAre

[DragoonsScaleLegends]

I don't care who owns it as long as the updates continue for the PlayStation versions.

[XiMasterChief]

Which probably won't happen when Microsoft acquires it.

[SkippyPaccino]

I know, patch the ps3 version to be able to upload are maps and get version 1.7 working on PS4 and I'll be golden for a while.

[Godmars290]

Acquiring a well established hit game which is only expanding its market only to restrict and reverse said expansion, in possible hope to increase the sales of a specific platform, is a stupid thing.

@drpepperdude:
But it is rather expected that at the very least they'd end support for the title on any Sony platform. Minecraft isn't like Skype.

Then again, they might introduce a general subscription fee that they wave for XBL Gold.

[DragoonsScaleLegends]

But we don't know what they would do after the purchase. Everyone is assuming the worst before we even know the rumor is true or false.

[hello12]

Microsoft released activity charts for x box live with the 360. And Minecraft was often in top 3 most played games on live for the month. I believe thats the reason why they are interested in buying it.

Popular game on live why would you not buy it?

For whatever reason they stopped showing them since the launch of x box 1, but you get an idea from this how popular minecraft was on x box. The list is the top 20 most played, but i just cut off the other games to show the top 3 and 4 games.

2013 list.

LIVE Activity for week of November 25

Xbox 360 Top LIVE Titles (based on UU’s)
Grand Theft Auto V
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition

LIVE Activity for week of Oct. 28

Xbox 360 Top LIVE Titles (based on UU’s)
Grand Theft Auto V
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition
FIFA 14

LIVE Activity for week of Sept. 23

Xbox 360 Top LIVE Titles (based on UU’s)
Grand Theft Auto V
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition

LIVE Activity for week of July 15

Xbox 360 Top LIVE Titles (based on UU’s)
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition
EA Sports FIFA Soccer 13
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

[rickybadman]

I find it funny that people will ignore the reports saying that MS did this to help their mobile platform not Xbox.

They "they should spend that money on new IP" argument doesn't fly.

[DougLord]

AMEN. Think of the game you could make with $2 billion. 4x more then Destiny plans to spend over 10 years.

[lemoncake]

If it's successful sooner or later someone will come and buy it, not the first or last time it will happen Microsoft just beat everyone else to the punch this time around if it happens.

[MRMagoo123]

Mine craft has been successful for years and years, I think there is more to it, why wait this long ? No one else seemed to be wanting to buy it.

[mrpsychoticstalker]

Lol. So much hate here . Only because it's Microsoft. If it was a different company there wouldn't be articles like this. It's all about business people. Nothing else. Companies do what they can In order to control the markets.

[mhunterjr]

They didn't just buy the game, they bought the studio.

[SonyPS4]

MS doing what's good for MS is stupid.

[user367272]

If Sony was the one buying mine craft (which is impossible due to lack of fund), most of you would be saying something along the like "yes, Sony add another AAA exclusive to the PS4, MS RIP". When MS does it, they are wasting money. Go figure. 😏

FYI, MS has over 80 billion in reserved cash money so they can buy and overpay for whatever they want.

[beerzombie]

93 billion cash over seas they are rich. And have money in apple and in blue ray they get paid by android they have their hand in a lot of great companies.

[Max-Zorin]

I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft get death threats.

[danny818]

How is that stupid. If Sony had the money they would buy it. Its like buying halo. They can do anything because they will own the lisence.

[fanboysmackdown]

I don't get it myself. A blocky game that I didn't find much fun, but that's just me. That is a shitload of money to spend on a game but 2.5 bil for MS is like $2.50 for me. They shit the bed with Rare and unless Mojang has another ace up it's sleeve it seems like a waste. But it's MS's money and as a one legged pirate once said, "I'm the captain of this ship and I'll sails her anyway I wants to."

[colonel179]

Minecraft is not a good investment, and again, Microsoft is betting on the short term instead on the long term. Minecraft is reaching it's peak, and it's going to fall just like Guitar Hero, Motion Controls and Flappy Bird.

Microsoft should be investing in first party studios and first party games. I don't get why they refuse to do that, and I don't mean buy studios, but they need to also create them. They have the money, but they are just wasting it.

Microsoft could have the most first party studios and the best games in the industry only because they have the funds, but Microsoft executives are very, very short sighted.

[typittt69]

They're buying the studio, not just the Minecraft franchise

[colonel179]

Well , that's good. Hopefully they make a good use of the studio and let them create great games.

[Ninver]

Minecraft+Microsoft=MM=an attempt to acquire their own Media Molecule?

[TheRedButterfly]

Uh... no...

[Ninver]

Was a joke folks geez, sky up (lighten up for the slangless)

[S2Killinit]

the amount is stupid, the decision to buy a developer is about time. MS never really devoted itself to the game MAKING aspect of the gaming business. The fact that they are now in trouble, and that the purchase of exclusivity has become less popular with gamers, plus the fact that it will cost them an arm and a leg to buy exclusives when the Playstation brand is selling at twice the rate, means MS was forced to finally commit to making games themselves. So, if buying mine craft developer means MS will suspend its parasitic practice of "buying' exclusives, and that they will be actually contributing to the gaming world, then I'm all for it. The price though is another matter which i don't pretend I know anything about.

[Scatpants]

Need a miracle to get another hit? Never heard of a sequel I guess. Minecraft 2 exclusively on XB1, Tablets, Phones, etc could potentially be huge for them.

[Gamerbeyond]

what companies do with F U money.

micro- buy minecraft, titanfall, ryse.

sony - Morpheus.

enough said.

[WesMcDonell]

Hey writer, if Sony was doing this you know you'd be praising them. Knock it off with the double standards.