Mojang Selling Out

[owsf2000]

That subject probably says it a bit more harsher than I really intend it but no matter how I try to word it, it's all the same.

Apparently Microsoft is close to closing a deal to buy Mojang for 2 billion.

Apparently this has been in the works for a few weeks now. That's long enough to cover the whole bukkit shakedown and the GPL DMCAing going on for bukkit to help ensure it comes to a halt. I wonder if these guys knew about the deal... And I wonder if that's the main reason for the sudden intention for Mojang to start enforcing the eula.

So I guess I'll make a few predictions.

1. Minecraft popularity will likely begin a headlong crash.

2. There will probably be a move away from java into windows-specific programs.

3. I will start to become more productive again as my interest in the game starts to dwindle with the loss of bukkit plugins and a large, diverse plugin/mod community.

In all honesty I see a major clampdown on all mods and plugins in the future.

Regardless of their other games, Mojang is basically Minecraft. They're shooting themselves in the foot in the long run (Some ACs on Slashdot appear to be claiming to be on the inside, thus posting as AC, and seem to indicate that the devs are basically being let go when this goes through. Something about Microsoft not being interested in amateur indie java programmers.)

Oh well. 2 Billion for Notch and a couple others. I hope Notch plans on retirement because I honestly don't think he'll be able to repeat this kind of success or even produce anything to hold a candle to it.

Comments

[owsf2000.livejournal.com]

As the article in your other reply mentions, it looks like he's leaving on his own. I'd presume his staying around at all will basically be in the deal to make sure the new owners know how things use to be run before they go change and ruin everything.

I honestly don't know what makes people cash out on a $100M/year company when they're making millions themselves. I should really develop an awesome must have game, get it to go viral among the population, make hundreds of millions of dollars... just to see if I'd be tempted to sell out as well.

[kane-magus.livejournal.com]

A semi-interesting little anecdote: The other day, when I was in town doing some shopping with my mom, I checked the book section in K-Mart and saw some of these things (http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Minecraft_Books) sitting on the shelf. First time I'd ever seen them, or even knew of their existence. My initial reaction was "Why the hell would anyone pay $8 a pop for a book about how to play Minecraft when they can just look any of that shit up on the wiki for free? Does Mojang really need the money so much that they're willing to essentially scam little kids (or the Internet-illiterate parents of little kids) out of money like this?" I really never expected Mojang would go the route of releasing a lame "strategy guide" (and not just one, but a whole series of them, for $8 a piece) for their game like so many of the AAA-games out there.

Well... fast forward to now... it's not so surprising in retrospect. Maybe they did "need" the money so much, after all.

Anyway, I now think, as you do, that pretty much all of the recent news to come out about Mojang (their sudden interest in enforcing the EULA, the, at the time, seemingly petty and buttmad attitude of the bukkit guys about it [and I wonder if those guys knew this MS deal was in the works all along, which could be part of the reason why they were reacting as they were in the first place]) was all just a prelude to this news about them being bought by Microsoft.

Essentially, if I wasn't already mostly done with Minecraft anyway even before all of this, I certainly would be now. I'll just say the same thing that I said when BioWare got bought by EA (http://kane-magus.livejournal.com/160419.html): "This won't end well, mark my words."