This week Minecraft enthusiasts were thrilled to hear the much-beloved PC title will be hitting the Xbox Live marketplace on May 9th. The Xbox 360 version was announced at last year’s E3, where Microsoft revealed the title will include regular, free updates and motion support using the Kinect sensor.
The game is characterized by its chunky, stylized pixel artwork, and plays either as a game of survival or a Lego creation toolkit, depending on what style you prefer. The former mode pits the player against their environment, where they must dig resources from the land to create tools and shelter from enemies that lurk in the dark. Others use the game as an extensive creation toolkit in a free form mode where supplies are unlimited and they can build anything as intricately as they can imagine. Reddit’s r/minecraft community is a great resource to see some of the insane creations its most enthusiastic fans have made over the years.
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Minecraft became an enormous indie success back in 2010, selling over four million copies during its development alone. The game has been adding new features regularly since the alpha release, and has entered its 1.0 version in November of last year.The team’s lead developer, Markus Persson (or Notch), has become a celebrity among developers and various internet circles (most notably reddit). He’s additionally known for his iconic black fedora.
Although the announcement excited many Minecraft fans, some were bothered by its relatively hefty price tag. For an Xbox Live arcade title, which now averages around 1,200 Microsoft Points (or $15), Minecraft: Xbox Edition’s price of 1,600 ($20) looks a little steep. Others have pointed out that in comparison to the PC version – whose final release is now around $25 – it’s still a pretty good deal.
I remember buying the game when it became a huge sensation during its alpha phase for only $14. Since then, the team at Mojang has been extremely kind to its early adopters, offering every update along the way, including the final release, free of charge. Even though I have the Mac version I’ll probably end up grabbing the Xbox Live release. In part because my processor could cook a Hot Pocket with the temperatures it reaches while playing the game, and also because I want to break blocks by flailing my arms around like an idiot.
