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Joeyro

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,760
You are severely over estimating how much minecraft does, they have almost assuredly not even made the 2.5 billion back, they sold roughly 22 million copies in 2017 since in february of 2017 they reported 122 million copies sold, assuming the distribution of platforms remained constant since 2016 easily 40% of those sales are for the mobile version which is 7$ or roughly 62 million $, but ofc there is a very good chance that apple and google are taking 30% of that, so around 43 million (very rough calculations losing a few million here and there), then lets assume the consoles see around another 40%, which at 27$ is 240 million $, console sales have to pay their dues to the console manufacturer which is roughly another 30% depending on the method of distribution so lets say they get 167 million there, then you get around 20% pc sales for around 119 million $, here they get almost the full pie (there are payment processing fees, and they are sold through stores too but what ever lets assume 100% digital), so that is a total of 330 million in game sales, if we assume they made an equal amount in merchandise (which I have no idea where they are at) that would be 660 million $ in a year, then we know that from june 2016 to february 2017 the game sold around 15 million copies, so lets say that the revenue in 2016 was around 900 million $ with merchandising, and that in roughly half a year of 2015 they made another 660 million $, that would still leave microsoft around 300 million shy of making their money back, assuming they are making as much of the merchandising as they are on game sales, assuming 2016 was around 36% better than 2017, and that the time they had minecraft in 2015 was as good as the entire 2017, and that they had no costs, and that they paid no taxes on that revenue, and that they sold every single copy at full price.

So really Microsoft hasn't made their money back even doing things way above what they are likely to be in reality, now will they do their money back eventually? Sure. Was it a good purchase? Yeah.
But to do 2 to 3 times what it paid for it, minecraft would have to be pulling profit above any other game out there, and it isn't, stuff like league of legends far surpasses it, even some annual franchises, or ofc even non annual franchises like GTA which are also pulling insane amounts of money, the place where minecraft is truly king in games is not in revenue, but in mindshare among the younger demographic, it is an absolute beast there and the true reason why microsoft bought it in the first place.
You forget about merchandise, the game is insanely popular among children and sells gangbusters on that alone. Who ever approved that purchase in Microsoft is a genius.
 
Nov 1, 2017
655
wow... and I thought wii sports or Mario kart wii sales were impressive..

why ms is not keeping this xbox exclusive is a mystery. how much money did Markus Persson make?
Nah man, you don't get to those kinda numbers on one platform. Treating Minecraft as an exclusive would've been a huge mistake and the backlash would be immense. They've done a pretty good job all things considered.
 

nekkid

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
21,823
You forget about merchandise, the game is insanely popular among children and sells gangbusters on that alone. Who ever approved that purchase in Microsoft is a genius.

They didn't forget merchandise, but they probably underestimated it significantly considering you need to consider it under the umbrella of 'licensing' which would also include cross-promotions.

They also didn't consider DLC.

Nah man, you don't get to those kinda numbers on one platform. Treating Minecraft as an exclusive would've been a huge mistake and the backlash would be immense. They've done a pretty good job all things considered.

Sony's doing a pretty good job of making it console exclusive for them!
 

Novocaine

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,946
If PS5 maintains the PS4 momentum, I agree. But a new gen is a fresh start, why give your main competitor one of your biggest titles before you know which platform is the most popular/dominant?

I can't really say for sure. I guess they make more of a profit doing it than not. But considering they release on all their competitors platforms and keep it updated I can't see why they wouldn't continue to do so. Who knows, maybe they will can a PS5 release. My bet is it on getting one though.
 

Gearsmith

Permanently banned for usage of an alt-account.
Member
Jan 16, 2018
102
I can't really say for sure. I guess they make more of a profit doing it than not. But considering they release on all their competitors platforms and keep it updated I can't see why they wouldn't continue to do so. Who knows, maybe they will can a PS5 release. My bet is it on getting one though.

I imagine spin offs will be exclusive though. Let's say Microsoft created a No Man Sky version of Minecraft, I think it would be exclusive to the Xbox platform as it would be a spin off and not a main line game.
 

KonradLaw

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
1,960
If PS5 maintains the PS4 momentum, I agree. But a new gen is a fresh start, why give your main competitor one of your biggest titles before you know which platform is the most popular/dominant?
I don't think Minecraft operates under Xbox division. I think it's separare division looking for at that interview and their audience completely dwarfs Xbox One. So I don't think anyone from Xbox branch has anything to say about which platforms the game will come to.
At this point Xbox heads trying to make Minecraft exclusive to their console would likely have as much chance of success as Chrome devs trying to convince their bosses to make Google search website avaible solely through Chrome browser.
 

Deleted member 20297

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
6,943
I can't really say for sure. I guess they make more of a profit doing it than not. But considering they release on all their competitors platforms and keep it updated I can't see why they wouldn't continue to do so. Who knows, maybe they will can a PS5 release. My bet is it on getting one though.
On a serious note, the PS5 version will probably just be the PS4 version with higher resolution. They will recompile it, sell it and still make money off it.
 

Gearsmith

Permanently banned for usage of an alt-account.
Member
Jan 16, 2018
102
The Telltale game wasn't though and that was well after the acquisition.

I'm talking about MS developed/published not third party, it would make no sense for a third party to restrict their game to one platform but an MS developed game probably would.
 

Cokie Bear

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,944
This thread reminds me that I need to buy it for the Switch which will be my 5th time buying it.
 
Oct 25, 2017
1,884
Incredible numbers. I remember playing the free version for months, going into servers and running creations, winding people up.

As it it happens I'm currently trying to reclaim my old PC Minecraft account, which I paid for in 2010, played for survival a few times up to about 2013, and add it to a modern Mojang account so I can access it again, rather than buying it again.

Most of my hours have gone into the PS4 version, if I lost that survival save I would be wounded.
 

Gundam

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
12,801
I don't think Minecraft operates under Xbox division. I think it's separare division looking for at that interview and their audience completely dwarfs Xbox One. So I don't think anyone from Xbox branch has anything to say about which platforms the game will come to.
At this point Xbox heads trying to make Minecraft exclusive to their console would likely have as much chance of success as Chrome devs trying to convince their bosses to make Google search website avaible solely through Chrome browser.

I get what you're saying, but I don't think MSOFT would ever make it exclusive, just entertaining the idea that they might try and make it everything-but-whatever-Sony's-thing-is, seeing as the Playstation is their only real direct competitor.
 

CyberNerd

Member
Oct 28, 2017
9
I don't think Minecraft operates under Xbox division. I think it's separare division looking for at that interview and their audience completely dwarfs Xbox One. So I don't think anyone from Xbox branch has anything to say about which platforms the game will come to.
At this point Xbox heads trying to make Minecraft exclusive to their console would likely have as much chance of success as Chrome devs trying to convince their bosses to make Google search website avaible solely through Chrome browser.
Minecraft is part of Microsoft Studio. Head of Minecraft reports to head of Xbox. So yeah, Minecraft operates under Xbox, and Microsoft has everything to say about how Minecraft operates.
 
Oct 27, 2017
699
So purchasing Minecraft was the the only good decision that Phil Spencer has made allowing him to climb the greasy corporate pole at Microsoft despite the xbox brand massively under performing.
 
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Novocaine

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,946
I'm talking about MS developed/published not third party, it would make no sense for a third party to restrict their game to one platform but an MS developed game probably would.

Yeah. It's still a first party IP though. They could have easily made the caveat that it would be exclusive but they didn't.

I don't think we will see any spinoffs outside of third party anyhow, they will just be incorporated into the base game as paid mods.
 
Oct 29, 2017
2,103
NL
QMNAZSj.gif
 

Deleted member 9237

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
1,789
You are severely over estimating how much minecraft does, they have almost assuredly not even made the 2.5 billion back, they sold roughly 22 million copies in 2017 since in february of 2017 they reported 122 million copies sold, assuming the distribution of platforms remained constant since 2016 easily 40% of those sales are for the mobile version which is 7$ or roughly 62 million $, but ofc there is a very good chance that apple and google are taking 30% of that, so around 43 million (very rough calculations losing a few million here and there), then lets assume the consoles see around another 40%, which at 27$ is 240 million $, console sales have to pay their dues to the console manufacturer which is roughly another 30% depending on the method of distribution so lets say they get 167 million there, then you get around 20% pc sales for around 119 million $, here they get almost the full pie (there are payment processing fees, and they are sold through stores too but what ever lets assume 100% digital), so that is a total of 330 million in game sales, if we assume they made an equal amount in merchandise (which I have no idea where they are at) that would be 660 million $ in a year, then we know that from june 2016 to february 2017 the game sold around 15 million copies, so lets say that the revenue in 2016 was around 900 million $ with merchandising, and that in roughly half a year of 2015 they made another 660 million $, that would still leave microsoft around 300 million shy of making their money back, assuming they are making as much of the merchandising as they are on game sales, assuming 2016 was around 36% better than 2017, and that the time they had minecraft in 2015 was as good as the entire 2017, and that they had no costs, and that they paid no taxes on that revenue, and that they sold every single copy at full price.

So really Microsoft hasn't made their money back even doing things way above what they are likely to be in reality, now will they do their money back eventually? Sure. Was it a good purchase? Yeah.
But to do 2 to 3 times what it paid for it, minecraft would have to be pulling profit above any other game out there, and it isn't, stuff like league of legends far surpasses it, even some annual franchises, or ofc even non annual franchises like GTA which are also pulling insane amounts of money, the place where minecraft is truly king in games is not in revenue, but in mindshare among the younger demographic, it is an absolute beast there and the true reason why microsoft bought it in the first place.
They didn't buy it to make their money back, that's not how investments work. The money they spent didn't go away, Minecraft still has a ton of value and is giving them a great return on investment. Think about it this way: if you have 3 billion dollars, what the hell can you spend it on to actually see a good return? It's not that easy. Smaller investments are much easier to grow, because there's more room for say a million dollar company to become a 10 million dollar company.
 

Garrison

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,912
So purchasing Minecraft was the the only good decision that Phil Spencer has made allowing him to climb the greasy corporate pole at Microsoft despite the xbox brand massively under performing.
Don't know where you would get that from. The Xbox one S and X, Gamepass, Mixer and play anywhere came under Phil's lead, and Xbox one is still doing more than the 360 on the same timeframe. Don't think someone would really track his promotion to some sort of retroactive impression and gratitude.

Microsoft obviously sees gaming as one of the core divisions they have, not some side project, and that's why it's up there with Azure and Windows being represented in the top.
 

christocolus

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,932
Don't know where you would get that from. The Xbox one S and X, Gamepass, Mixer and play anywhere came under Phil's lead, and Xbox one is still doing more than the 360 on the same timeframe. Don't think someone would really track his promotion to some sort of retroactive impression and gratitude.

Microsoft obviously sees gaming as one of the core divisions they have, not some side project, and that's why it's up there with Azure and Windows being represented in the top.
.
 

Guardians

Banned
Dec 23, 2017
654
Microsoft should develop Minecraft 2 only for the next XBox, and I'm sure it will sell like hot cakes :) But sadly Microsoft will probably not doing this :/
 
OP
OP

Soony Xbone Uhh

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,156
They didn't buy it to make their money back, that's not how investments work. The money they spent didn't go away, Minecraft still has a ton of value and is giving them a great return on investment. Think about it this way: if you have 3 billion dollars, what the hell can you spend it on to actually see a good return? It's not that easy. Smaller investments are much easier to grow, because there's more room for say a million dollar company to become a 10 million dollar company.
Yeah they could just sell the franchise for 5 or more billion now, plus they made still a lot of revenue and especially profits over the last few years on the game. This does not even take any synergy effect for their business into account, that are also very valueable.


There are alao MTX, DLC Packs, Realms, Marketplace Transactions, the Educational Version and the F2P Version making money. This stuff adds up. It's not only game sales and merchandise.
 

Guardians

Banned
Dec 23, 2017
654
They could sell the game on every platform besides Sony devices but then we would again argue whether it's exclusive again as everyone of course owns a PC.
I meant also exclusively to XBox. No PC version either! Microsoft shout stop this PlayAnywhere thing with the next XBox. That there are no really exclusive games on the XBox was a bad decision, consoles need exclusive games to sell!
 

Bax

Banned
Jan 8, 2018
127
You are severely over estimating how much minecraft does, they have almost assuredly not even made the 2.5 billion back, they sold roughly 22 million copies in 2017 since in february of 2017 they reported 122 million copies sold, assuming the distribution of platforms remained constant since 2016 easily 40% of those sales are for the mobile version which is 7$ or roughly 62 million $, but ofc there is a very good chance that apple and google are taking 30% of that, so around 43 million (very rough calculations losing a few million here and there), then lets assume the consoles see around another 40%, which at 27$ is 240 million $, console sales have to pay their dues to the console manufacturer which is roughly another 30% depending on the method of distribution so lets say they get 167 million there, then you get around 20% pc sales for around 119 million $, here they get almost the full pie (there are payment processing fees, and they are sold through stores too but what ever lets assume 100% digital), so that is a total of 330 million in game sales, if we assume they made an equal amount in merchandise (which I have no idea where they are at) that would be 660 million $ in a year, then we know that from june 2016 to february 2017 the game sold around 15 million copies, so lets say that the revenue in 2016 was around 900 million $ with merchandising, and that in roughly half a year of 2015 they made another 660 million $, that would still leave microsoft around 300 million shy of making their money back, assuming they are making as much of the merchandising as they are on game sales, assuming 2016 was around 36% better than 2017, and that the time they had minecraft in 2015 was as good as the entire 2017, and that they had no costs, and that they paid no taxes on that revenue, and that they sold every single copy at full price.

So really Microsoft hasn't made their money back even doing things way above what they are likely to be in reality, now will they do their money back eventually? Sure. Was it a good purchase? Yeah.
But to do 2 to 3 times what it paid for it, minecraft would have to be pulling profit above any other game out there, and it isn't, stuff like league of legends far surpasses it, even some annual franchises, or ofc even non annual franchises like GTA which are also pulling insane amounts of money, the place where minecraft is truly king in games is not in revenue, but in mindshare among the younger demographic, it is an absolute beast there and the true reason why microsoft bought it in the first place.

I could walk into my sons room and construct a 4 foot pile of merchandise easily. Books, stuffed animals, foam pickaxes and swords, Halloween costumes, T-shirts, action figures, light enhanced Diamond and Redstone blocks, creeper pajamas. I imagine I'm missing a lot of things.

He then owns the Game on X360, Amazon Kindle, Switch, 3DS, Windows 10, Xbox One X, google phone. With all DLC and Skin packs. Plus the Minecraft telltale series.

That's the pressure I'm under. I'm just a single parent of an obsessed child. His birthday parties even had Minecraft Piñatas.......

It's an epidemic!!!
 

killerrin

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,240
Toronto
And people laughed when Microsoft bought Mojang for $2.5Billion. I wonder what their investment is up to now.
 
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Lappe

Banned
Nov 1, 2017
1,651
Well I mean:

lego-minecraft-the-waterfall-base-(21134)--497B6221.zoom.jpg


What other game has a goddamn LEGO series?!?! Minecraft & PUBG will become games that go over generations.
 

Golvellius

Banned
Dec 3, 2017
1,304
I meant also exclusively to XBox. No PC version either! Microsoft shout stop this PlayAnywhere thing with the next XBox. That there are no really exclusive games on the XBox was a bad decision, consoles need exclusive games to sell!

Reading something like this always baffles me. Microsoft's endgame extends far beyond Xbox hardware. MAUs are what's important, console sales is a mere bonus.
 

Panther2103

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,920
It's insane how popular it got. Word spread quick when it first came around. I remember playing back when it had like no features and I think was in alpha? It's crazy the progress it has made over time. Allowing creativity in a well made easy to run game makes it spread quick.
 

MatrixMan.exe

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,501
wow... and I thought wii sports or Mario kart wii sales were impressive..

why ms is not keeping this xbox exclusive is a mystery. how much money did Markus Persson make?

Because Minecraft wouldn't have sold anywhere near 144m copies if it was exclusive to one platform. Microsoft aren't stupid enough to hinder that. They don't view Minecraft in the same way they do something like Gears of War or Halo. This game represents a bigger business opportunity for more than just Xbox and so it only makes sense to keep it multiplatform.