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Forums - Microsoft Discussion - Microsoft Nearing Deal To Purchase Minecraft for $2 Billion CNBC Reports

Soundwave on 09 September 2014
Damagon said:
I just can't wrap my head around this. What does Microsoft grain from this? This whole thing is the exact opposite of the Tomb Raider deal. That was a wise move , this however, is not.

Minecraft has sold 54 million copies, how much more does MS think it will sell to warrant $2B? The game is already on everything and sales will only go down. Not even Minecraft 2 will be able to match the success of the original. Most of the sales were precisely because of the new gimmick, why don't you ask Nintendo what happens when your new popular gimmick is played out?

Is sticking it to Sony really worth 2 billion dollars? Because as of right now that's the only immediate gain I can see. Dropping support for rival consoles would surely bring the attention to your products (particularly mobiles) but I'll be damned if there aren't cheaper ways to do that.

The worst part is I can't see Mojang not taking the deal. I mean surely they know the franchise already passed its prime, and that the other IPs are nothing special. Unlike Squenix, them taking the money is actually the smart move.

They'd be idiots not to take this deal. 



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Dr.Henry_Killinger on 09 September 2014
Damagon said:
I just can't wrap my head around this. What does Microsoft grain from this? This whole thing is the exact opposite of the Tomb Raider deal. That was a wise move , this however, is not.

Minecraft has sold 54 million copies, how much more does MS think it will sell to warrant $2B? The game is already on everything and sales will only go down. Not even Minecraft 2 will be able to match the success of the original. Most of the sales were precisely because of the new gimmick, why don't you ask Nintendo what happens when your new popular gimmick is played out?

Is sticking it to Sony really worth 2 billion dollars? Because as of right now that's the only immediate gain I can see. Dropping support for rival consoles would surely bring the attention to your products (particularly mobiles) but I'll be damned if there aren't cheaper ways to do that.

The worst part is I can't see Mojang not taking the deal. I mean surely they know the franchise already passed its prime, and that the other IPs are nothing special. Unlike Squenix, them taking the money is actually the smart move.

Which actually is illegal.



In this day and age, with the Internet, ignorance is a choice! And they're still choosing Ignorance! - Dr. Filthy Frank

Soundwave on 09 September 2014
Dr.Henry_Killinger said:
Damagon said:
I just can't wrap my head around this. What does Microsoft grain from this? This whole thing is the exact opposite of the Tomb Raider deal. That was a wise move , this however, is not.

Minecraft has sold 54 million copies, how much more does MS think it will sell to warrant $2B? The game is already on everything and sales will only go down. Not even Minecraft 2 will be able to match the success of the original. Most of the sales were precisely because of the new gimmick, why don't you ask Nintendo what happens when your new popular gimmick is played out?

Is sticking it to Sony really worth 2 billion dollars? Because as of right now that's the only immediate gain I can see. Dropping support for rival consoles would surely bring the attention to your products (particularly mobiles) but I'll be damned if there aren't cheaper ways to do that.

The worst part is I can't see Mojang not taking the deal. I mean surely they know the franchise already passed its prime, and that the other IPs are nothing special. Unlike Squenix, them taking the money is actually the smart move.

Which actually is illegal.


Illegal in what way? They own the content they can do whatever the hell they want with it. It's like saying Perfect Dark 0 not being on Wii is illegal. 



Madword on 09 September 2014
Soundwave said:
Dr.Henry_Killinger said:
Damagon said:
I just can't wrap my head around this. What does Microsoft grain from this? This whole thing is the exact opposite of the Tomb Raider deal. That was a wise move , this however, is not.

Minecraft has sold 54 million copies, how much more does MS think it will sell to warrant $2B? The game is already on everything and sales will only go down. Not even Minecraft 2 will be able to match the success of the original. Most of the sales were precisely because of the new gimmick, why don't you ask Nintendo what happens when your new popular gimmick is played out?

Is sticking it to Sony really worth 2 billion dollars? Because as of right now that's the only immediate gain I can see. Dropping support for rival consoles would surely bring the attention to your products (particularly mobiles) but I'll be damned if there aren't cheaper ways to do that.

The worst part is I can't see Mojang not taking the deal. I mean surely they know the franchise already passed its prime, and that the other IPs are nothing special. Unlike Squenix, them taking the money is actually the smart move.

Which actually is illegal.


Illegal in what way? They own the content they can do whatever the hell they want with it. It's like saying Perfect Dark 0 not being on Wii is illegal. 

Not if there is an existing contract already in place. You cannot just buy a company and then ignore anything they've signed.



Making an indie game : Dead of Day!

Goatseye on 09 September 2014

Were Twitch and Youtube(?) banking $1 billion before they were acquired?



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Soundwave on 09 September 2014
Madword said:
Soundwave said:
Dr.Henry_Killinger said:
Damagon said:
I just can't wrap my head around this. What does Microsoft grain from this? This whole thing is the exact opposite of the Tomb Raider deal. That was a wise move , this however, is not.

Minecraft has sold 54 million copies, how much more does MS think it will sell to warrant $2B? The game is already on everything and sales will only go down. Not even Minecraft 2 will be able to match the success of the original. Most of the sales were precisely because of the new gimmick, why don't you ask Nintendo what happens when your new popular gimmick is played out?

Is sticking it to Sony really worth 2 billion dollars? Because as of right now that's the only immediate gain I can see. Dropping support for rival consoles would surely bring the attention to your products (particularly mobiles) but I'll be damned if there aren't cheaper ways to do that.

The worst part is I can't see Mojang not taking the deal. I mean surely they know the franchise already passed its prime, and that the other IPs are nothing special. Unlike Squenix, them taking the money is actually the smart move.

Which actually is illegal.


Illegal in what way? They own the content they can do whatever the hell they want with it. It's like saying Perfect Dark 0 not being on Wii is illegal. 

Not if there is an existing contract already in place. You cannot just buy a company and then ignore anything they've signed.


You're assuming there's some imaginary contract in place to begin with which I doubt. MS could just choke the future DLC from the PSN versions, I doubt there's any obligation on their part to have to support all versions indefinitely. 



DerNebel on 09 September 2014
Soundwave said:
Damagon said:
I just can't wrap my head around this. What does Microsoft grain from this? This whole thing is the exact opposite of the Tomb Raider deal. That was a wise move , this however, is not.

Minecraft has sold 54 million copies, how much more does MS think it will sell to warrant $2B? The game is already on everything and sales will only go down. Not even Minecraft 2 will be able to match the success of the original. Most of the sales were precisely because of the new gimmick, why don't you ask Nintendo what happens when your new popular gimmick is played out?

Is sticking it to Sony really worth 2 billion dollars? Because as of right now that's the only immediate gain I can see. Dropping support for rival consoles would surely bring the attention to your products (particularly mobiles) but I'll be damned if there aren't cheaper ways to do that.

The worst part is I can't see Mojang not taking the deal. I mean surely they know the franchise already passed its prime, and that the other IPs are nothing special. Unlike Squenix, them taking the money is actually the smart move.

They'd be idiots not to take this deal. 

Why? What does Mojang need $2 billion for?



Dr.Henry_Killinger on 09 September 2014
Soundwave said:
Dr.Henry_Killinger said:
Damagon said:
I just can't wrap my head around this. What does Microsoft grain from this? This whole thing is the exact opposite of the Tomb Raider deal. That was a wise move , this however, is not.

Minecraft has sold 54 million copies, how much more does MS think it will sell to warrant $2B? The game is already on everything and sales will only go down. Not even Minecraft 2 will be able to match the success of the original. Most of the sales were precisely because of the new gimmick, why don't you ask Nintendo what happens when your new popular gimmick is played out?

Is sticking it to Sony really worth 2 billion dollars? Because as of right now that's the only immediate gain I can see. Dropping support for rival consoles would surely bring the attention to your products (particularly mobiles) but I'll be damned if there aren't cheaper ways to do that.

The worst part is I can't see Mojang not taking the deal. I mean surely they know the franchise already passed its prime, and that the other IPs are nothing special. Unlike Squenix, them taking the money is actually the smart move.

Which actually is illegal.


Illegal in what way? They own the content they can do whatever the hell they want with it. It's like saying Perfect Dark 0 not being on Wii is illegal. 

Its illegal, because in order to publish a game on any console requires a licensing agreement, which is contractual, with the manufacturer of said console. The owner of the IP is required to honor this licensing agreement as long as it lasts which would be the lifetime of the game. 

Thus, MS could make Minecraft II, Minecraft Racers, and Minecraft World exclusive, but they would be legally bound to keep Minecraft multiplatform.



In this day and age, with the Internet, ignorance is a choice! And they're still choosing Ignorance! - Dr. Filthy Frank

Pipedream24 on 09 September 2014

The S&P 500 is currently trading at a P/E Ratio of 19.72. This would be right around 16 times earnings. So based on the current market conditions, it's a good deal for Microsoft.



Madword on 09 September 2014
Soundwave said:

A $2 billion acquisition has to come with the blessings of Nadella and the broad Microsoft board ... most of whom don't care specifically about gaming. 

Minecraft is different because it is the no.1 paid smartphone/tablet app in the world today along with also showing signs of being a break out merchandising/toy phenomenon ... apparently there is a Minecraft Movie (from the LEGO Movie guys) already in the works for example. 

Grand Theft Auto is just a video game IP that would only benefit the XBox division. Minecraft benefits Windows + mobile Windows + XBox + MS in general as an entertainment entity. 

Buying Take2 would be worth more imho and yes that would be games, but as games is what's struggling and Minecraft is currently primarily a game with merchandise,... it's more confusing because MS doesnt do merchandise.

As for Minecraft being of more benefit as an entertainment entity, yeah I could agree with you there if they had not sold their TV devision off, and dont have a movie company. MS are *NOT* an entertainment business, they are a software/services company at heart. Thats why I say it doesnt make sense. More sense for Sony to buy them at least they have a few film companies. In fact it would make way more Sense for MS to buy a film company for $2b with their back catalogue of movies... which they could have on their service.

In fact buying them for $2 for just a movie or something is not really going to cut it.

Lets look at mobile, windows mobile isnt doing that well. Do we think buy Mojang will mean more sales of Windows Mobile because they will have minecraft on them... nope. It's already on the main devices, would my kids who have minecraft as me to get them a phone because it's on there... no they wouldnt. Kids are fickle creatures, they already have minecraft, they wouldnt care.

It's not worth $2b, if MS did this deal, it would be a shocker.



Making an indie game : Dead of Day!