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All Articles: Minecraft
A Halo/Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition crossover is in the works
Microsoft’s PlayXBLA blog is teasing a Halo/Minecraft crossover that will likely take the form of a new Mash-Up Pack (like the previously released ones based on Mass Effect and Skyrim):
We don’t have specific details just yet, but we can confirm that Halo is coming to Minecraft. Details soon.
If you can’t wait to put Master Chief into Minecraft, don’t forget that a Master Chief Skin was released as part of Skin Pack 1 back in July 2012.
Microsoft’s Phil Spencer talks about the company’s E3 2014 plans (and beyond)
Microsoft’s Phil Spencer spent some of his Sunday answering questions on Twitter and the Head of the Xbox Division revealed quite a bit about the company’s future plans. Looking forward to this year’s E3 Expo, Spencer had this to say…
- He confirmed that at least one new property and (shocker of shockers) several sequels will be announced at E3.
- These new game announcements will include several new studios that Microsoft is working with.
- And as we’ve been hearing for months, an Xbox One game from a Japanese developer will be announced at E3.
- But we won’t have to wait for E3 for all of Microsoft’s announcements. Spencer said that several pre-E3 announcements will happen in May. Hey! That’s this month!
- Finally, Microsoft plans to make the hardcore gamer the “main focus” of this year’s E3 Expo, whatever that means.
Spencer also told his followers that Fable Anniversary is most likely not in development for the Xbox One and that Microsoft and Mojang are getting close to a Minecraft: Xbox One Edition announcement, but they’re not there yet. Minecraft might be one of the last digital games Microsoft has a direct hand in as the company is currently moving away from publishing third-party digital games. This is due to the fact they would prefer to focus on “opportunities with IP we own that we’ve neglected.” However, he didn’t elaborate on which properties he was referring to.
And in case you were hoping for an Xbox-branded handheld to be revealed at this year’s E3 Expo, you might want to know that it’s probably out of the question. However, development on games for Windows Phones and Windows 8 tablets will continue, possibly with controller support in the future.
Finally, one thing Spencer didn’t talk about was Halo 5, stating “I can’t talk about anything related to a 343i IP.” Hopefully, we’ll learn more about that one at this year’s E3 Expo.
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged E3 2014, Fable Anniversary, Halo 5: Guardians, Minecraft
Your TitanFall is ready to be the best-selling game of March 2014
TitanFall-mania has engulfed the NPD Group as the market research firm confirmed today that Respawn’s shooter is the best-selling game of March 2014.
March releases dominated the latest bestseller list as InFamous: Second Son (#2), South Park: The Stick of Truth (#3), Dark Souls II (#5), and Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (#8) all cracked the top ten. The retail release of Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition continues to hang on as it checks in at #10 once again. The console port of Mojang’s popular game will surely get a boost in May as Sony will make the disc-based version Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition available on store shelves. According to Joystiq, total hardware/software/accessory sales were up 3% over March 2013 with a 78% increase in console sales according for the majority of the sales bump.
The complete top ten for March 2014 can be found after the break. (more…)
Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition will be available in stores on May 16
Mojang’s Owen Hill has announced (via the PlayStation Blog) that a disc-based version of Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition will be available in stores on May 16. The retail release will join a downloadable version of the game that was added to the PlayStation Store on December 17. Priced at $19.99, the retail version of Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition will be current up through Update 14, which added “Emeralds, Ender Chests, potatoes, and more” to the game.
Mojang also wants to remind us that 4J Studios is hard at work on Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition and Minecraft: Vita Edition. There’s still no release date for either version, but development continues on both and is currently in the “serious business” stage, whatever that means.
The Simpsons did a Minecraft couch gag last night
If you’ve slipped away from The Simpsons, you might be unaware that the long-running show did a couch gag based on Minecraft last night. Swiping Minecraft’s logo font, last night the show was presented as “Simcraft: Parodies Are Easy!” A truncated version of the opening then followed the Simpson family past the statue of Jebediah Springfield, Lard Lad Donuts, and the tire fire until they’re greeted by Moe the Creeper. I’m sure you can imagine what happened next. The intro is available to view on YouTube (for now) thanks to “SuperNecocheaBros.” But if you’d prefer to wait for an official upload, the full episode will begin streaming on Fox.com on April 11.
Someone who did see the opening last night was Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson, who has mixed emotions about The Simpsons using his creation:
The Simpsons did a Minecraft couch gag. I'm not sure how I feel about it.
— Markus Persson (@notch) April 7, 2014
Honestly, I’m not sure I know either. The couch gag was neat, but the blockiness of the characters and the world didn’t really resemble Minecraft. And YouTube is full of fan-made Simpsons/Minecraft mashups that take place within the actual game. Just take a look at this excellent version of the entire opening by 8lack7ight.
Or maybe I’m just one of those crotchety Simpsons fans who checked out a few seasons ago.
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition continues to sell well… over 12 million copies and counting
After crusing past 10 million copies sold in December and 11 million in February, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition has reached another sales milestone right on schedule: 12 million copies sold. Mojang’s Daniel Kaplan spoke to Xbox Wire about the game’s sale figures and he has revealed that the developer would have been happy with a paltry one million:
Daniel Kaplan: It is pretty amazing! I remember when we started talking about sales numbers that we would be super happy to sell 1 million copies. That would have put us on par with BF1943 and Castle Crashers, which both are awesome games, so that was something to aim for. We never even dreamed of selling 12 million!
Kaplan also confirmed that more Mashup Packs, Texture Packs, and Skin Packs are currently in the works for Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition. While he wouldn’t give specifics, the game’s next add-on, the Candy Texture Pack, will be available on April 18.
And on the subject of Minecraft: Xbox One Edition, Kaplan said that it will be released “eventually.”
Amazon unveils Fire TV, a set-top box for games and video
Amazon has entered another product market with the announcement of the Fire TV, an Android-powered set-top box that streams audio and video, and plays games. The Fire TV is available now for $99.
According to Amazon, the Fire TV is designed purely to outpace it’s competitors. The 0.7-inch-thick box features a quad-core CPU with 2 GB of RAM, a Qualcomm Adreno 320 GPU, and a dual-band wireless radio with two antennas for 1080p streaming. Long story short, as far as tech specs go, it trounces the Roku 3 and Apple TV with ease.
The gaming aspect of the box is geared more towards non-traditional gamers, people who may already tap about on a smartphone or tablet. To get into the game, players will have to purchase an Xbox-like add-on controller that retails for $39.99. The controller also comes with 1,000 Amazon coins, a digital currency used for buying games from the Fire store. If a game supports it, players can choose to use their smartphone, tablet, or Fire TV Remote instead.
Amazon’s in-house development team, Amazon Games, plans to build exclusive games for the device. Sev Zero, a third-person shooter/tower defense hybrid, is one such title and everyone who purchases the Fire TV Controller will receive it for free. Amazon hopes that by the end of next month “thousands” of games will be available from developers and publishers like 2K Games, Disney, Double Fine Productions, Electronic Arts, Sega, Telltale Games, and Ubisoft. Third party titles like Minecraft: Pocket Edition and Gameloft’s Asphalt 8: Airborne are already available for the device.
Amazon has pegged the average cost of a Fire TV game at $1.85, with prices starting at $0.99. Free-to-play titles will be available as well. But what else can the Fire TV do? (more…)
Oculus VR acquired by Facebook for $2 billion
When the consumer version of the Oculus Rift ships sometime in the near future, it’ll come complete with a big Facebook logo as Mark Zuckerberg’s technology empire has purchased Oculus VR for $2 billion. Somewhere, Jesse Eisenberg is jumping for joy as his future portrayal of Lex Luthor just got a lot more credible.
I kid, I kid, but Zuckerberg plans to expand the Rift’s focus beyond games to also include “communications, media and entertainment, education and other areas.”
“Mobile is the platform of today, and now we’re also getting ready for the platforms of tomorrow,” Zuckerberg said. “Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate.”
Speaking to Polygon, Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey said that the deal will enable the company to procure better components at a keeper price and, ultimately, deliver a better version of the Rift: “There are things that piles of cash and having a $100 billion plus company behind you can do that you can’t do on your own. Overall, it’s going to be a better product at a lower price.”
However, not everyone is happy with the news. Markus “Notch” Persson revealed that he was in talks with Oculus to develop a version of Minecraft for the virtual reality headset. But he later tweeted that that deal is now dead because he finds Facebook “creepy.” An expansion on his thought process can be found on his official website.
So what’s next for Oculus? According to a Reddit post by Luckey, “We can make huge investments in content.”