The Minecraft train continues to roll, as the mega-popular’s PC version of Mojang’s low-on-graphics, high-on-gameplay flagship title has now eclipsed the 10m sales mark. Mojang’s lead designer and developer Jens Bergensten provided the official announcement via Twitter, and also gave Minecrafters a not-so-subtle glimpse into what will be added in the game’s upcoming 1.6 update. Not bad for a video game that looks like it’s from 1995, eh? Hit the link below for even more eye-popping, Minecraft stats; high-end video card not required.
According to Mojang’s official financial reports, 2012 was quite the year as sales from its various versions of Minecraft topped out at more than 15m. How did that translate to dollar signs? 2012 revenues came in at around $240m, with about 40% of that total coming from licensing deals alone. Expect those figures to grow in 2013 as Minecraft makes its way to books, subscription deals, and more as the branding marathon continues.
Impressive numbers for any development firm; even more impressive for a game that looks like its 15 years past its prime. Minecraft’s success is just further proof that gameplay trumps graphics any day of the week; the last time the gaming industry experienced this phenomenon, or at least the first instance that pops into my head is 2006 with the unveiling of the graphically-inferior Nintendo Wii. The Wii was a weakling compared to the competition, but Nintendo’s bottom line said otherwise.
MTF as usual.