780°

The man who sold Minecraft to Microsoft for $2.5 billion reveals the empty side of success

It's the dream of many a startup founder: Make something people love and wind up wildly rich, selling the company for billions.

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businessinsider.co.id
Ashlen3162d ago

Disagree with this as much as you want.

But I feel like he should feel bad.

He pretty much created the inde movement he was already making enough money to live like a king, doing something that made millions of people happy but he sold it to the most corporate people on the planet from the most capitalist nation on the planet.

It was a huge disappointment, he could have had everything he wanted and stayed true to himself and the people who enjoyed Minecraft.

Anyone who says money can't buy happiness is an idiot but when you have enough for ten lifetimes getting enough for twenty doesn't matter.

I don't wish for anyone to be unhappy but if he is unhappy he's got no one to blame but himself.

nX3162d ago

He seems to be a little attention whore, I bet you he's not as sad as his Twitter suggests. I'd be the happiest man alive if I wouldn't have to worry about money.

alti3161d ago

what a fundamental misinterpretation of an actual emotion. Incredible. And what's worse is people overwhelmingly agree with you. I'll keep my vote to myself, because beyond this comment it shouldn't be worth acknowledging.

vickers5003161d ago (Edited 3161d ago )

Always curious when people say things like this what exactly they think this entails, always hear people saying, I'd switch with so and so (the so and so usually claiming to be an unhappy person), so and so is just ungrateful.

Do people imagine their current life + the money? Or do they truly mean they'd switch lives with that person if given the chance? Would you switch places with an insanely rich person if that meant you would also inheret all their psychological/emotional defects? Would you still switch with them if it was a guarantee that you eould be unhappy as they feel? I kind of feel like overpriveleged people get a bad rap, at least from some people. I know what you're thinking, boo-hoo right, they have money. Truth is though, money doesn't actually buy true happiness. It can buy temporary happiness in the form of material possesions, but that alone wouldn't make you truly happy, would it? If right now, hypothetically you as a poor person had a beautiful, loving girlfriend, or maybe a very caring family, would you switch lives with a millionaire who had none of those things? Money can get you a girlfriend and some mooch friends sure, but would those people even really be worth it? They'd only be with you for your money.

I'm not saying rich people have it worse than anyone, this is simply a question that's been on my mind because I always hear those with less use this complaint think that the other side must live blissful, problem free lives, without considering the fact that they're just humans, like you and me, and that financial privelege doesn't mean that they don't have every right to feel just as crappy as we do. I'll admit I'm guilty of this myself, I've said and thought the same thing of wealthy people before.I don't live in a wealthy family, we're maybe lower middle class.

Obviously there are certain cases where the answer to that question would be absofreakinglutely, like those whose lives are highly endangered every day just by living where they live or having as little as they have, but I'm not talking about those types of cases.

Dee_913161d ago

Yea, if he really felt that bad, most of that money would be with some charity by now, he could live a normal life if he wanted to

"The problem with getting everything is you run out of reasons to keep trying,"

Actually enjoying those things is far more enjoyable than working for those things.

"Hanging out in ibiza with a bunch of friends and partying with famous people, able to do whatever I want, and I've never felt more isolated."

Doesn't sound like a money issue to me, you could be hanging out in a trailer park and feel the same way.

"In sweden, I will sit around and wait for my friends with jobs and families to have time to do shit,"

If I had 2.5b my family and friends would not be working. They would have their own businesses by now or something, they sure as hell wouldn't be clocking in and answering to people on a 9 to 5.

"I would Musk and try to save the world, but that just exposes me to the same type of assholes that made me sell minecraft again."

At least he acknowledged he was an asshole. Somebody should show him all the people living paycheck to paycheck and barely getting by so he can feel even worse about complaining about having a lot of money..

He would feel the same way if there was no currency at all.

BeefCurtains3161d ago (Edited 3161d ago )

This guys is complaining to a poverty stricken, starving world about having too much money (statistically, it is sad how much of the world is starving). There's a lot of good he can do if he doesn't want the money for himself.

It just sounds like he needs a job or a hobby to me.

I loved his little jab about the "a-holes" that "made" him sell minecraft. What a clueless D-bag.

XBLSkull3161d ago

What a whiny butthole, "boo-hoo I have unlimited money." Go **** yourself, I'll trade you bank accounts if it'll make you feel better.

TWB3161d ago

@Dee_91

Hold on... did you just make a fking case against the whole princible of gaming?

"Actually enjoying those things is far more enjoyable than working for those things"

Maybe my example is wrong but working for things is NOT enjoyable when the end results pay you satisfyingly? So all the unlockables, trophies/achievements and even chalenging boss fights should really be given to you because the reward itself is the thing that makes you feel good, not the strugle to get there? Not the sensation of victory but only the sensation of "gimme"?

This is a gaming site and I hope my example hits the string with most people here, but really?

"but its real life and the stuff you can buy with the money!"

So tell me now that you have a decent job (asuming you do to sustain a decent gaming) and can buy even as many as 20-30 games a year, do you enjoy/apprechiate every single of those 20-30 games as much as that ONE game you earned by doing your homework/chores when you were a kid? Or when you worked for small pocket money for one year for that new console?

I know that there has been a study that said that money = happiness only to a certain point, which is making around 100k a year but being super rich and never having to work for a thing ever again cant be a dream of any sane gamer. With 100k/year salary you can afford to take a week off if you want to go on a playing binge for a new (super expensive collectors edition) game if you so please, you dont need 2 billions.

Im not here to argue so Im not going to engage in a comment war. Just dropped a few important questions...

ChrisW3161d ago

In a couple years he'll be bankrupt and living in a shoddy apartment.

BoneApart3161d ago

Honestly man, you hit the nail on the head with being an attention whore.

This has nothing to do with having no empathy for the guy either. If he's sad and lonely and feels isolated, then he should put down his twitter and go be a volunteer fireman in his spare time.
Go help the homeless at a shelter.
Go think of new ideas for another video game.

Go build something in your life.

It's naive to overgeneralize the situation by saying "money can't buy you happiness".
He's a filthy rich, grown man. He can pave any path for himself that he'd like to at this point.

But instead, he takes to twitter about all of it.

elweon3161d ago

He traded money, fake girls and famous people for what is real in life.

Smart as he is, he'll see it soon enough.

dcbronco3161d ago

People are naive about what it means to suddenly have that much money. It does change things. You would think for the better but more often than not its for the worse. The people around you change. There is an expectation that you will now finance every harebrain scheme they can come up with. Even if you retired every person you knew before the money and made them rich many would feel you didn't give them enough. You could give them each five million and they would expect more. Simply because you have more. And many will stop seeing you as their friend and start looking at you as a continuous opportunity. Family will too. And family will come out of the woodwork. As well as strangers. You can't imagine the number of hands that come out for a upper middle class family so his harassment must be off the charts. Your phone would ring nonstop from people asking for donations. That's for a normal person.

He sounds materialistic anyway so that makes the problem worse. Even if I came into that type of money I wouldn't waste it on 70 million dollar homes. No house is worth that. Damn you Oprah. What he needs is a job. He is obviously a one hit wonder because if he had more he would be working on it. Financing is no longer a issue. I would have ten other projects going and wouldn't have time to wait on friends because I would already be too busy. I'd vacation a total month out of the year and huge parties would be extremely rare since I prefer a small group anyway. Who the hell needs an entourage anyway. Much of life is easily enjoyable by yourself. I've never understood why people need someone to go with them to a movie or dinner. If it's what you want to do then just do it.

Lastly I'm not a fan of any of the religious books but they are right on certain issues. One of the big ones is love of money being the root of all evil. It changes people.

Army_of_Darkness3161d ago (Edited 3161d ago )

Go cry a f#*king River... Gezz..
Donate to a charity, help your friends and family,develop a new studio and ip, drink, socialize and party hard and stop being a rich, selfish, stingy little cry baby...
If he lived in the shoes of the less fortunate, he wouldn't be seeking this type of attention.
Everyone has some type of physiological and emotional issues, but the thing here is that it wouldn't be as bad if I had plenty of money to go with it rather than nothing.

antz11043161d ago

Anyone else put this guy's story to NIN "Hurt"?

Lol sorry, with that many zeroes at the end of his bank account the f$cks I might have given are all out.

christian hour3161d ago

Everyone here is pretty damn ignorant. I'm poor as shit but even I know the guy is in misery, money aint gonna do shit, and who say's he hasn't already donated a shit load to charity?

The guy is a socially anxious, depressed introvert. No amount of money will ever change that for him. And I'm sure sometimes he thought it would. I know sometimes I think if I had more money than sense, maybe I wouldn't be depressed anymore, maybe I wouldn't be a socially awkward dumb ass and maybe I wouldn't be so introverted (although I pride myself on introvertion). Then I remember, oh wait, this is life, money aint gonna fix SHIT. Just cause more shit!

Bring on the disagrees.

Death3161d ago

Donate the money to charity where it will do some good. Then go get a job and struggle like the rest of us. Problem solved.

EjWarrior3161d ago

money don't make you happy,just your life become easier!!

Dee_913161d ago

@TWB
wth are you even talking about? Your example is wrong and completely irrelevant. If you think unlocking stuff in a video game is the same as clocking in and out of a job then you must not actually have a job.

All of your questions are stupid. People work for money to buy things, they don't work to enjoy those things more.

UltraNova3160d ago

1. Raise a homeless shelter and fund it.
2. Create an new studio and try making the next big thing. That will keep you busy and fill your empty and meaningless life.
3. StFU. Stop crying like a mamas boy like those sad sobs on TV, man up dude.

+ Show (16) more repliesLast reply 3160d ago
scark923162d ago (Edited 3162d ago )

I agree, he felt as if he would be happy with the decisions he made but got lost somewhere afterwords, his fault, nobody elses.

camel_toad3161d ago

It's true he has no one to blame but himself but in all fairness I doubt anyone in his shoes could have turned down that much money.

joab7773161d ago

Yeah. I'm not crying for him at all. But not b/c he sold it. I would have too. 2.5 billion. Are you kidding me? I can only begin to imagine the things I could do with that much money. First, I would NEVER spend 75 million on a mansion. I would create a company, put ppl to work. Dive into whatever I am passionate about, work on the next Minecraft. We all know that creating something like Minecraft is a 1/billion chance. Up the challenge, b/c it's 100 harder to do it twice.

Then I'd dedicate at least half my time with my own charity, helping vets, homeless ppl, homeless vets hooked on drugs etc. How many ppl are afforded the opportunity to spend their lives and fortunes helping others? Very few. So get your lazy ass off the couch, stop whining about some girl, forget about the Minecraft deal and go do something with your life.

Let Jay-z have the mansion. Lord knows he will will never spend any time or money on anyone.

Mrveryodd3161d ago

Totally agree , Bill Gates comes to mind , that dude has given away more than 2.5 billion.

HighResHero3161d ago

I agree with a lot of what you're saying.
I don't hear Zuckerberg, Gates, etc. complaining. They seem to be too busy realizing other aspirations. There are plenty of things to work towards no matter how much money you have.
This guy probably wouldn't be happy either way and may be using his money as an excuse to avoid doing the hard work necessary to break free of whatever is causing his depression.

Master of Unlocking3160d ago

Who's Jay-Z? Is he really that selfish?

What you said before that is, at best, wishful thinking I'm afraid to say. Everybody always say things like that BEFORE they get rich, but once they are, all the firm promises to help the poor & the starving and make huge donations to charities and create companies to give people jobs and whatnot tend to fade away pretty quickly, and the money is rather invested to buy luxury houses and cars and expensive paintings and in the stock exchange to try and become even richer. I'm sorry, this is the simple truth. Truth be told, we live in a largely selfish world, and given that the rich have never been so rich in spite of the fact that we live in an era when there has never been so many poor people, if the rich actually did what they often say they will do if/when they become rich, there simply wouldn't be as many poor people in this world as there are right now.

BeefCurtains3161d ago

Maybe Money can't buy happiness, but it can rent it for a while. LOL

zidane13413161d ago

"most corporate people on the planet from the most capitalist nation on the planet. "

Hahahahaha what are you, 12? What a f'ing joke. Grow up and realize there are bigger things in the world then a petty video game competition, you child.

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3161d ago Replies(2)
Azzanation3161d ago

The problem with your comment Ashlen is your basing games off brands. Minecraft is still as awesome as it ever was and if anything MS is allowing the game to grow even bigger. Just because I am not Japanese doesn't mean I have to hate there stuff. What this guy did is his opinion which I think if his upset then he should donate to charity. At the end of the day its better to be high up then low down.

christian hour3161d ago

"nobody to blame but himself"

To everyone who's said that, at what point did he blame anyone else? He's just giving some honest insight in to some mistakes he's made and how it hasn't magically cured any of his pre-existing mental disabilities.

It's a cautionary tale, one very few people will not disclose. A lot of rags to riches folks will maintain an image of happiness, leading others into a world of unhappiness thinking they want that too. Kudos to Notch for being honest about it.

Of course this is the internet of the new millenium so I better get in line and start hating, right? Empathy is for the birds I guess.

Articuno763161d ago

Only a hive as devoid of empathy and understanding of the human condition as the internet would disagree. And what's disappointing is that people are tripping over themselves to express the opposite of your sentiment.

Their comments reveal more about themselves and their pettiness than saying anything about Notch.

It shouldn't need to be stated that money doesn't buy happiness. I think too many people are confusing comfortable living with happiness... and that to me suggests they have no idea what happiness is at all.

OhMyGandhi3160d ago

funny how so many billionaires express their disdain of their personal life on social media feeds rather then actually deal their problems.

kenshiro1003161d ago (Edited 3161d ago )

I'd like the money he has now to pay off everything I owe and start a business.

Pogmathoin3161d ago

It would be nice to be in his shoes to try feel what he is feeling.... Also, tweeting to people who will never know themselves what it is like to be rich like him...... It sounds like an Adam Sandler movie ffs..... Maybe he does have genuine anguish....... But he is going about it the wrong way, complaining to people who have to do the everyday thing in life, hoping have a little extra to be able to enjoy some other things in life......

JsonHenry3161d ago

I'd be too busy doing what I wanted if I had 2.5 billion in the bank to bother complaining about anything.

PurpHerbison3161d ago

You must of been one of those guys on /v/ back in the day complaining about him taking vacations instead of updating the game.

Dirtnapstor3161d ago (Edited 3161d ago )

So what's your real rant about? The fact that he has more money than is necessary or what? Who's business is it other than his own, concerning his wealth?
I don't think he's "woe is me" complaining. He made some valid statements about instant wealth. The fact he acknowledges his predicament as an issue is a good thing in that he needs to change something.

Anyone in these forums would gladly take a chance with "sudden wealth", you know it.

Lord_Sloth3160d ago

Nothing is stopping this man and his huge bank account from jumping back into the game.

-Foxtrot3160d ago

This is the best line

"In sweden, I will sit around and wait for my friends with jobs and families to have time to do shit,"

GIVE THEM SOME MONEY THEN

Seriously I'm a selfish arsehole but if I had that much money I'd give all the people I hung out with some money, at least 5-10 million each.

Hell I'd go to work and give most of my co-workers money aswell just as a major "F-U" to Asda...what they going to do when all there staff leaves.

I'd literally give them a reason to party with me AND feel so grateful they'd not want to p*** me off.

Lord_Sloth3160d ago (Edited 3160d ago )

I think if I had 2.5 billion dollars I'd share it with my closest friends as well. I damn sure wouldn't just sit in my house and be bored all day.

OhMyGandhi3160d ago

the biggest problem is that Notch bought the most expensive house in LA. He outbid Beyonce and Jay-Z, and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. It's an absolutely massive house. For one person.

People are annoyed with him because even on Twitter, friends and and strangers alike are trying to be empathetic and he is shying away from the assistance.

He needs to donate to charity. He needs actual good friends, and jump back into game development, with the mentality of a first timer. I'm surprised Microsoft didn't hire him directly to work on further projects. But if he as impassioned as he is with game development, He needs to jump right back in.

People shouldn't even think about putting Notch with a person like Phil Fish, who truly is whiny crybaby who neglects and disrespects his most loyal fans and wonders why everyone is against him. Notch seems like any other person, with that good ol' Billionaire Blues.

Losso-Oso3160d ago

I agree with you to a certain degree. I agree that he could have had the success along with an absurd amount of money and remained true to him self and his values without selling Minecraft.

I don't see the need to bring Capitalism into it? What does an economic ideology have to do with anything right now? Capitalism sucks as a system, it's horrible, but it is still miles better than any other system and history has proven that.

Money can't buy happines, but that's because happines comes included (horrible joke, I know).

But again you are right, he is unhappy and he's got no one to blame but himself. Then again what were his choices?

Keep Minecraft, makes boat loads of money but be known for that and only that? Or wipe the slate clean, still make a metric crap ton of money, and maybe, just maybe, stretch your creative muscles, and be able to get out from under the shadow of your first success.

Personally, I would have just stayed with Minecraft, but that's just me. I can understand feeling trapped, feeling like all you'll ever be is a one trick pony because of how successful your first "trick" was and therefore feeling unfilled professionally.

BLAKHOODe3160d ago

I've always believed that money can't buy happiness, but it helps.

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Rimgal3162d ago (Edited 3162d ago )

"Hanging out in ibiza with a bunch of friends and partying with famous people, able to do whatever I want, and I've never felt more isolated."

Yeah, sounds like Notch life is a living hell. /s

bicfitness3162d ago

I can't pity someone who has everything in the world. If he's depressed, it's not as if he couldn't afford/ arrange for counselling with the best shrink of our generation (whoever that might be).

Rimgal3162d ago (Edited 3162d ago )

Completely agree.

I can't pity someone who uses twitter for counseling. If he has problems like you say, the best for him is to seek a shrink.

"Found a great girl, but she's afraid of me and my life style and went with a normal person instead."

http://i714.photobucket.com...

Activemessiah3161d ago

You know what they say: Some people are so poor, all they have is money.

camel_toad3161d ago

You see this kind of thing happen to a lot of people who instantly become super wealthy. Ive seen a lot of similar stories about people who won the lottery.

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christian hour3161d ago (Edited 3161d ago )

hahaha, yes, a shrink is gonna fix his depression XD Maybe some meds too? Oh yeah. Totally gonna fix that shit right up! I went through that "system" from 8 years old until I was 24, and it left me more fucked up as a result. The last 4 years of not doing meds/psych, I've never felt better (or crazier :D )

"uses twitter for counseling" Is he though? It seems like he's just trying to share some insight and crush some false beliefs about success and hopefully have some nice ol' human interaction along the way, ya no, the non "lets all jump on the hate wagon cos we're so funny" kind.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3161d ago
WPX3162d ago (Edited 3162d ago )

yeah the empty side, the 00,000,000.
I'd love to see my bank account with a few of those zeroes at the right of my current balance now.

kungfuian3161d ago

I have to say I think some of these responses are sickening. The lack of empathy expressed here and on other sites is kinda sad. I don't care how rich he is now the truth is he's a real human being who has undergone a loss (loss of direction, loss of connectedness).

Whether it's of his own making is beside the point. Having your life drastically change can make anyone lose themselves a bit. From what I've seen of him he's a good human being. Hope for him he finds himself again and plugs into something of value.

From the outside it seems kind of obvious that a creative like him needs to stay creative to be happy. I personally would love to see him help create/fund amazing large scale games and/or help others create those games. Or maybe poor some of that cash into the indi community and help foster the next generation of Minecrafts.

Whatever he chooses best of luck to him.

Ashlen3161d ago (Edited 3161d ago )

I would have a lot more sympathy for him if he gave me the impression he wasn't totally selfish.

If he was like I went to Africa and used my money to stop the spread of AIDS or I went to Asia to help the fight against human trafficking or something charitable. And it didn't make me happy that would be something.

But no he's crying because he has everything a person could ever possibly want and it doesn't make him happy.

That and the fact he's a ginormous sellout.

But what sympathy I can express is that depression is a terrible thing and he should seek help, but that's about all the sympathy I have for him.

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60°

Minecraft Meets Bloodborne With The Help Of A Stunning Mod

YouTuber Potomy has revealed new details about the new Bloodborne mod and that it is now in a playable state for Minecraft.

230°

All the Essential Video Games Everyone Needs To Play At Least Once

Given the medium's wild diversity, this primer of the essential video games everyone should try is a good place to start.

Read Full Story >>
wealthofgeeks.com
thorstein44d ago

.... from the 2000s (mostly).

shinoff218344d ago

I can't fk with this list. They missed on alot of games probably before the writers times. Also I know people loved some portal but I was never a fan.

Cacabunga44d ago

Tomb Raider 1
Driver 1
Abe’s Odyssey
FF6
King of Fighters 94
Mortal Kombat OG
LINK 2 the past
Street Fighter 2
Resident Evil 1

Inverno43d ago

Infinite but not the first two games? Witcher 3 but not the first two games?? GTA V but not literally any of the games before it??? Portal 2 but not the first? Also if you're going to play Shadow of The Colossus play the remaster and not the remake. Can't say I disagree with the list but my man it's all over the place.

Name Last Name43d ago

I mean some sequels are objectively better and you don’t need to play the whole series.

Inverno43d ago

But most of these games have a story to follow, sure you can catch up with a YouTube vid but where's the fun in that?

LucasRuinedChildhood43d ago (Edited 43d ago )

A list like this isn't telling you not to play the previous games if you want to. It's just giving you legendary games to play.

But tbh, you don't always have to force yourself to play every entry in a franchise to get to the better ones.

- The vast majority of Witcher 3 players never played the first 2 and had a great time. The first 2 games aren't in the same league.
- The GTA games are self-contained with the odd fun reference. You can easily jump into any of them.
- The Shadow Of The Colossus remake looks and controls better than the original (plus it has a 60fps option while the remaster is just 30fps). New players will enjoy it more.
- Portal 2 is a lot better than Portal 1 and takes the concept much further gameplay-wise. Storywise, Portal 1 is fairly light too. Not that you shouldn't play it but realistically ... you'd love Portal 2 whether you play it or not (at lot of Portal 2 players have never played 1).

Bioshock 1 is the only one I agree with you on simply because it's one the best games of all time and arguably better than Infinite. No other setting like Rapture.

Looking at the list, I'd recommend playing Uncharted 1 before 2 but no doubt, 2 is the legendary one you have to play.

Inverno43d ago

I get it, but that's just my opinion on his opinion. I just think that before you play a sequel you should still play what came before it. Maybe it's just me but i find it fascinating playing through the first game in a series and seeing how it has evolved through its sequels. Like I said I don't disagree with the list, other than SoTC which I strongly believe the remaster of the original should be played above the remake.

AuraAbjure43d ago

Awesome list! Hot take on Fear (and it's hard af expansion Persaus Mandate!) Bioshock Infinite is stellar, so is the Witcher 3 and you nailed it by having Ocarina of Time. So many fantastic games! Gotta play 'em all! Next one on my list is Prey after I beat Dead Space 2 and Splinter Cell Conviction.

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130°

Minecraft Bedrock Introduces Official Add-Ons To Marketplace

Minecraft Bedrock is introducing add-ons to the marketplace. The add-ons can now be added to many existing and new worlds.

Jin_Sakai64d ago (Edited 64d ago )

Nice! Next up, shaders on consoles.

“A new update is improving how mods work for Minecraft Bedrock. Mojang has introduced add-ons to the marketplace.”

“These add-ons can now easily be added to new and existing worlds instead of being tied to a single world.
There are plenty of free and paid add-ons that will let you customize just about anything in your world.”

OtterX63d ago

So RayTracing is no longer locked to the NVIDIA maps? I know there was a workaround, but it will be nice to have easier access to all worlds.