We had a great time at Minecon this year!  Without a doubt, one of the most exciting aspects was getting a chance to give back something to the community for all their support and encouragement, in our Diamond Deposit Scavenger Hunt!  Before we announce the winners below, we would like to give a special thanks to each and every person who came to see us - it was incredibly exciting and fun to conduct the scavenger hunt, and we couldn't have done it without you!

Now, let's get to the winners of this year's Diamond Deposit Scavenger Hunt!

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  Minecraft-Themed 250GB Xbox   

Winner:

• DeltaKilo81

DeltaKilo81 is now in possession of one of only three customized Minecraft Xbox 360s in the world!  Want a shot at the last one?  It's not too late - sign up now for a chance to own an ultra-rare collector's item!  You can see more details in this video - check it out!

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Ultimate Razer Gaming Peripherals Pack  
Naga gaming mouse, Goliathus extended speed mouse mat, Anansi gaming keyboard, Electra gaming audio

Winners:

• Robert Bund
  
• Josh Young
  
• Natty Coleman (realitybroken)
  
• Franz Michael

Razer gaming peripherals are world-renowned for their high quality, incredible precision and unmatched performance - specifically tailored for gamers, by gamers.  Congratulations!

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Minecraft Branded Xperia PLAY 4G (signed by Notch)

Winners:

• Jordan Chipman
  
• Jonathan Bottger

Xperia Play is a gamer's dream smartphone.  As the first Playstation-certified smartphone, this feature-packed handset is everything a gamer-on-the-go could ask for!

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Solid-State Drive

Winners:

• Criswell
  
• Matt Slote (5c11)
  
• UNICORNSSS
  
• GI Ibinezie

These 160GB monsters have incredibly fast load times (over 270 MB/s!), so you spend more time playing, and less time waiting.  With built-in data-loss protection, incredible performance and variable sizes for your needs, these solid-state drives are a must-have for any hardcore gamer!

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Xbox 360 250GB Kinect Holiday Bundle (signed by Notch)

Winners:

• Duncan Platt
  
• Spencer Reed
  
• Zachery Young (Big Zed)

Kinect brings games even closer to the real world, by making you the controller!  With a fluid, innovative interface and a library of awesome titles, Kinect is a definite hot-item for the modern-day gamer!

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Custom-built gaming PC
Featuring a Core i7 (3.40ghz) Processor, 8GB RAM, MSI Overclocking, liquid-cooling and nVidia-powered graphics

Winner:

• David Haskins

Cole2's World offers the finest in Minecraft server hosting - with superior servers and a unique ranks/rewarding system, Cole2's World is a sure bet for stable, high-performance Minecraft servers!

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$100 J!NX Gift Certificate

Winners:

• Jacob Ross
  
• Tyson Acree
  
• TheDemon021
  
• Cameron Stanton
  
• Amber Breitigan

J!nx has been a gamer-clothing powerhouse since 1999, providing a huge assortment of excellent, high-quality gamer T-shirts, accessories and more!

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Congratulations to all the winners!  We would also like to extend our sincerest thanks to our partners for their participation in this incredible event - you guys are amazing!  Finally, we thank you guys, for your participation, support and love of the game.  We had a great time putting this together for you, and we look forward to doing something even bigger at next year's Minecon - we'll see you there!

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Pico goes on the Scavenger Hunt!

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Xbox Giveaway Contest Details!

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Ever wonder how a massive convention like Minecon gets off the ground?  What goes into organizing, putting together, and maintaining a show like this?  We're about to give you a sneak-peek into the answer to this very question!

First, we sat down with Christine Hilgert and Kate Gemmell, the "Meeting Expectations" Managers of the convention, who speak about how they were contacted, who they contacted for help (including us!), and how they went about determining the best way to lay the groundwork for Minecon.  Every day at Minecon, these two could be seen on the convention hall floor, checking on and checking in with everyone present, streamlining events and more.  They were really great to work with, and we appreciate and enjoyed the time they took to have a chat with us here.  Thanks!

Next up, we have a chat with Vu Bui, Mojang's Minecon Manager.  He touches on how he was brought on-board, the semi-spontaneous nature of how Minecon came to be, and how he came to help with conventions, starting with consulting for the Mojang booth at PAX.

We will include more behind-the-scenes segments of Minecon in the near future - check in frequently! Back to Top

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During Minecon, we had the opportunity to see a wide variety of exciting releases and demos.  Today, we're focusing on the Xbox 360 Minecraft port, by 4J Studios! The booth was demoing the first build of Minecraft on the popular home console, and it was impressive!  Here, Pico speaks with the on-site staff about the game, and sits down for a play-through.

A number of features from the PC version made their way into the port, such as seed-generated worlds, basic Survival mode, the crafting system, and more.  The game handles very well, with smooth animations, a strong fps rate, and a highly intuitive control system.  While player controls are solid, one strong suit of the control system is the menu and inventory navigation setup, which is incredibly well done - swapping items between the tool bar and the inventory is quick and simple.  The crafting system also has an innovative approach, with built-in blueprints that clearly show how to build various in-game objects!  

First, you select a given material from the blueprint area.  To the right of your selection, the menu shows you the various things which can be made with the chosen material - highlighting the desired item shows a detailed breakdown of what is needed to make the item, similar to having someone place the required materials on a workbench for you.  If the correct type and amount of materials are in your inventory (say, 4 wood planks for a workbench), you only need to click on the item blueprint, and it is instantly produced and dropped into your inventory, ready to use!  There are sub-categories for easy navigation, for construction items, tools, food and more.

We would like to thank Microsoft and 4J Studios for giving us a hands-on look at this amazing console port, and we anxiously await the full release! Back to Top

Among the many exciting events at Minecon, one highly anticipated panel was the Q&A session with the Bukkit team!  We've put together the Q&A into segments - take a look at the first two installments below!

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Part 1:

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Part 2:

In between sessions, autographs and other obligations, the Bukkit team (EvilSeph, Dinnerbone, Tahg, and Grum) were hard at work getting Bukkit ready for the final release of Minecraft.  There is currently a stable dev-release of Bukkit (which you can get right here); the final release will be ready in the near future.

Just in case you missed the introduction to the Bukkit panel, you can see it right here.  We will be adding more of the Bukkit session in the very near future, so be sure to check back frequently! Back to Top

The Minecraft Forum Exchange is now live!  Chat with attendees, Curse/forum staff, or whoever else happens to be here!  Just click here and begin chatting immediately! Back to Top

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As we've mentioned before, we're very excited to be attending Minecon this year!  Now, we'd like to give you some inside details about how the Scavenger Hunt is going down!

The scavenger hunt will work like this:

• All Minecon attendees will receive a Diamond Deposit Flyer in their attendee bags (you can also pick up a flyer from one of the partners if you lose yours, but just note, we will only allow one entry per person).
  
• Attendees need to take their flyer to each of the partners booths and perform an interaction there to receive a diamond sticker.  For example, at the Curse booth we will ask you to make a comment about your Minecon experience at the Minecraft Forum Exchange station.  
  
• Once you have collected a diamond sticker from each of the partners return to the Curse booth and deposit your completed Diamond Flyer in the Curse Bank.
  
• Around 3:15 pm on Saturday Notch will be at the Curse booth to draw the winning flyers from the Curse Bank.

All the prizes for the scavenger hunt will be on display at the Curse booth, so come on by and check out all the cool stuff you can win.  Curse and our partners are giving away some SERIOUS loot, so you won't want to miss your chance to enter this one.

Still, what to do if you're not able to make it to Minecon this year?  No worries, we've got you covered!  When Minecon starts on November 18th, Curse is going to open a US Premium sweepstakes on our homepage where one lucky entrant will win a sweet custom Minecraft-themed Xbox 360 for themselves.

So, get signed up and enter for your chance to win!

Finally, we've also made a 3rd Minecraft-themed xbox for one very special kid.  On Saturday during Minecon, Mojang is throwing a VIP charity lunch to benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation.  At the event, Curse will be giving one of these Xboxes to a Make-a-Wish youngster who is a huge Minecraft fan, and whose wish it is to attend Minecon.  Mojang and Curse are working together to ensure they have the most amazing Minecon experience imaginable!

We're very excited to be attending Minecon, and look forward to seeing all of you there, whether in person or right here on Minecraft Forums! Back to Top

Very recently, our Minecon 2011 Premium Sweepstakes wrapped up, and the winners have been drawn!  They are:

Grand Prize - All expenses paid trip for (2) two to Las Vegas to attend Minecon 2011

• TinfoilHate

First Place Prize - Intel® 160 GB 320 series Solid-State Drive

• Lamos987
  
• drache234
  
• manolis11378
  
• DerxwnaKapsyla

Second Place Prize - Logitech Gaming Headset

• THUNDER_CHILD
  
• Wanfohk
  
• MetallicaRocka
  
• OneUniqueGeek
  
• Lostverse
  
• roywillburnu
  
• cardboardcell
  
• JeremyR22

Third Place Prize - C418's 'Volume Alpha'

• Aeroscythe
  
• TetsujinOni
  
• bullet25
  
• SereTuscumbia
  
• oldmandog
  
• hunter22709
  
• Hypevosa
  
• griffy98
  
• Tantarra
  
• John209

Fourth Place Prize - Curse T-shirt

• Liger_XT5
  
• InStim
  
• Pengu
  
• Hxcjohnny
  
• Novagodx
  
• user_506471
  
• laryiskool
  
• mikeclark797
  
• veoviscool12
  
• bgadouas
  
• Ethsperion
  
• JoshM248
  
• xxxTsubasa
  
• dulceice
  
• Druidbox
  
• znoobe
  
• draliss123
  
• takersboy
  
• Harpo29
  
• Mary011853

Congratulations to our winners, and for everyone who participated!  We would also like to extend our sincerest thanks to Intel and Logitech for their generosity - it's very much appreciated!

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The upcoming convention to highlight and celebrate the launch of indie blockbuster Minecraft has no more tickets left for purchase.  We're looking forward to seeing everyone who will be attending Minecon!  If you didn't have a chance to purchase tickets for attendance, don't worry - we will have full coverage of the convention, which we'll bring straight to you right here on the forums!  Check in frequently for more updates. Back to Top

Carl recently pointed out that MineCon tickets are still on sale - but only through tonight!  Currently, ticket pricing is $99 per ticket; after 11:59 PST, they will go up to $139.  If you're picking up your ticket, be sure to reserve your hotel room at Mandalay Bay as well!  Hotel booking is currently enjoying a discounted group rate, but it won't last forever - get yours soon!

Note:  Tickets will still be on sale after the discount period expires! Back to Top

Notch recently tweeted that the MineCon registration site is going up tomorrow, 6pm CET.  Tickets will be limited, so be ready to get yours fast!  We will update this segment with the website, and other important information for registration.

UPDATE

More info here!  Check out the new site for pricing (including the $99 'Early Bird' special) and more! Back to Top