While the title of the video may seem misleading - it's not actually Batman's Batcave - don't let it discourage you from checking this place out. Forumite CNBMinecraft has designed this incredibly elaborate secret base, complete with some of the most complex and compact modern convenience devices to be found anywhere! Automated alchemy, advanced hidden storage and so much more - we don't want to ruin all the surprises, so check it out for yourself!
That's right, Mojang and 4J Studios' Xbox 360 edition of indie hit Minecraft has already sold more than one million units worldwide on XBLA since its release on Wednesday, May 9th! MCX360 sells for 1600 MS Points, or $20; in short, the title generated more than $20 million in less than a week. Notch tweeted the day afterwards that the game had become profitable (saw more money gained in sales than spent in creating it) within the first full day of sales.
Microsoft Studios, while initially non-specific about the sales numbers after launch day, confirmed that MCX360 broke all previous sales records on Live Arcade, beating out the previous fastest-selling game on the platform, Trials Evolution, which sold over 100,000 copies in a day, by over four times the numbers.
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Digital Diamond - "Into the Rabbit's Hold"
YouTube film team PrettyAwesomeStudio has cooked up a new series for your enjoyment, and it already shows a ton of promise! What is it about? In short, a rich uncle has given his massive, opulent mansion to his nephew. The problem is, there are two nephews, and he didn't say which one was getting it! This is the first episode in the series, and shows incredible promise with a solid storyline, clever humor and high quality production - take a look!
Look familiar? It might not for many of you, but anyone who has been around since May of 2009 should find this oddly familiar - this was one of the earliest demos of Minecraft in its infancy! Yes, the game we know and love today wasn't much to look at back then - grass blocks and cobblestone, and not much else. It's amazing when you stop to consider - with all the potions, hunger, myriad critters, redstone - just how far the game has come from such humble beginnings. It's been an amazing process to see unfold over the years, to be sure.
It wasn't long ago that Minecraft saw 28 million registered users and nearly 6 million purchased copies , and the number just keeps growing. Along with the runaway success of Minecraft - Pocket Edition (over a million sales) and Minecraft - XBOX 360 Edition (over 400,000 in the first 24 hours!), the epic block-builder continues to take the world by storm. Updates continue to pour forth for the PC version, including the highly anticipated Mod API, NPC trading and so much more. Pocket Edition becomes more and more Survival-esque, and MCX360 - while currently similar to Beta 1.6.5 - has exciting changes on the horizon.
From all of us here at the Minecraft Forum, we wish Minecraft a very happy 3rd birthday! Congratulations to everyone at Mojang for producing such an incredible game, and to the entire community - every single one of you - for making this game one of the most incredible games in the world!
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In the last 24 hours, 127,468 people registered, and 13,375 people bought the game. On average, this means that a little over thirteen thousand people buy a new copy of Minecraft every single day, and that number keeps growing!
MCX360 Smashes Sales Records - Third Platform Dominated
It was announced in a statement released by Microsoft that Minecraft: 360 Edition has surpassed all previous sales records on the XBOX Live Arcade, selling more digital copies in the first twenty-four hours of launch than any other title! There are already over four hundred thousand ratings for the game on XBLA, and it clearly has a strong start in the multiplayer community.
Official figures have not been released yet regarding the exact number of sales; it has been estimated, based on the game's ratings by players, that sales exceeded four hundred-thousand copies within 24 hours of going live, worldwide.
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition was developed by 4J Studios in conjunction with Mojang and Microsoft Studios, and introduces new gameplay experiences such as a unique crafting menu, game tutorials, and split-screen multiplayer as well as online multiplayer for up to eight players over Xbox LIVE, with split-screen, network play, or any combination thereof.
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Minecraft + Mojang News: Minecraft on Xbox & Huge Biomes!
This week, David & Toby talk about - what else? - Minecraft on the 360! In addition, they take a look at the new features of the most recent Snapshot, 12w9a, including the incredibly awesome Huge Biome feature. Take a look!
It’s time for the weekly snapshot. Mojang is continuing to work on separating the client from the server, and has fixed a bunch of stuff related to that transition. What else got added? Check it out below:
Added cocoa plants to jungles
Added a “large biomes” world type
Added specific names for the different sandstone and smooth stone blocks
Improvements continue to pour into each snapshot with every passing week, and the new, improved SSP/SMP system continues to be streamlined, adopting a feel not unlike what MCX360 currently uses to connect players to one-another. Want to try this sleek update out?
The client now comes with both the client-side and the server-side JAR files. The file called “minecraft.jar” should be in your “.minecraft/bin” folder as usual, and the “minecraft_server.jar” file should be in a folder called “.minecraft/server”.
MCX360 is finally out, and Microsoft has a really awesome show planned for Twitch.tv! They are putting on an amazing show called "Xbox LIVE Arcade NEXT". It will feature Minecraft, specifically celebrating the launch of the highly anticipated console port. Seananners and MinecraftChick will be there playing live, as well as other noteworthy gaming personalities!
The show starts tonight at 6:00 pm PST (9:00 pm EST) live on Twitch.tv - don't miss out!
Want Another Shot at a Minecraft-Themed XBOX 360?
We've given away a number of custom Minecraft-themed 360s in the past, and now it's time for some more! Curse is so excited with the new edition of Minecraft that we decided to give away an Xbox 360 with a fully customized Minecraft design to one lucky winner from the U.S. or Canada! Click here for details*.
But wait, what about our European friends? We haven't forgotten you - in the very near future, we are hosting a giveaway specifically for European residents! Keep an ear to the ground as we announce the "Minecraft Giveaway - Europe Edition" - exclusively for you!
Free Code Winners Announced!
Earlier today, we hosted a 6-hour "build your own tribute" contest for 25 FREE MCX360 game codes, and the winners have been selected! If your name appears on the list below, you will be receiving a message in the near future with your free game code. Congratulations to all the winners!
aidancbrady
Cait
Zacxta1
pikaguy900
Intermediate_Minecrafter
Landmine
IronWaffle
Sparky3295
RubensCherub
DarkGodAkito
CubiaRemains
michielcx
Sparkyboy734
laggerbob
pancak3mix
Nick Valdez
Begleiter
Bluecanart
Zaccaboom97
Auukin
pocketrocket
BLINDxHammer
DeviaAnimus
TGI_Chris
Jakk747
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* Premium members in the United States or Canada can submit entries online; anyone can submit an entry by mail. With the launch of the Premium Discount Program, members get exclusive discounts on computer hardware, peripherals, and all kinds of swag - want 15% off some sweet J!NX gear? Done! Want to win free hardware, games and more? Done! Check out what many people already know - the sweet benefits of Premium.
That's right, Minecraft 360 finally goes live today! It is already out on XBLA in certain regions, and continues to become available as time goes on. To celebrate this monumental event, we have a special surprise for you guys: free copies of MCX360!
Lydia Winters (aka Minecraft Chick) of Mojang has generously donated a number of FREE MCX360 game codes to give away, and we're doing just that! Today, we will give 25 lucky winners their own free copy of the game! How do you become a lucky winner? It's easy:
Build a tribute, monument or similarly inspirational homage to Minecraft 360 Edition in your PC game
Post a picture of it in this thread (be sure to have the map available for download, just in case!)
That's it? Yep, that's all there is to it! Builders have until 12:00 pm CST (GMT -6) to submit their builds for consideration, so don't delay! We will announce all winners once they have been picked. Duplicate entries are fine, but they do not increase chances of winning - one code per person. Multiple players may work on a structure if they like, although each winning submission will earn just one code.
Check in throughout the day as we give you the latest on the biggest new contender in the XBLA arena, Minecraft 360 edition! We will also be posting game footage, tips and hints on our Minecraft-focused YouTube channel throughout the week - be sure to subscribe to see it first!
I take a look at minecarts, briefly touch on redstone, and talk about a giveaway for 50 FREE MCX360 game codes - take a look!
Minecraft on the 360 - we've talked about it in passing over the last few months, but have offered very few specifics. Now, that all changes - no wild rumors, no random guesses; let's take a solid look at MCX360.
Multiplayer - What is it Like?
Surprisingly awesome. I was personally a little hesitant about how it would feel to play Minecraft on a 360 controller, but you would be surprised at just how intuitive the controls are. The triggers deal with what we usually associate with left- and right-mouse clicks (albeit reversed, in this case), navigating your inventory & crafting screens is smooth and easy - it's startlingly well done.
What's There, What Isn't
It's been a long, long time since Beta 1.6, and it's easy to forget what exactly was in the game at the time. For example, wolves and powered tracks were in the game by then, although myself and a number of others believed both to be added later on. Having said that, it's almost easier to say what's not in the game, relative to the PC title, and that list is only so long - there's no jungle (or associated critters), and that's undoubtedly the largest absence from the core game.
Beyond that, the differences are mostly mechanical - there's no Creative/Survival mode, but on the plus side, no hunger either. You can still punch the wool off of sheep, but no shears for taking leaf blocks. Powered tracks are definitely present, but the old booster track glitch doesn't work.
For those wondering, the map size is 1000x1000 blocks.
Gameplay footage!
Multiplayer - How It Works
Multi-player Minecraft is about the only kind of Minecraft worth playing, some might say. One of the many SMP-related questions to come out recently is, "How does this even work?" Servers, dynamic joining, subscription requirements? Not terribly hard at all, as it turns out. You start up a single-player game as you would normally, but be sure to leave the "Online" box checked. Then, your friends can join you whenever they like!
We'll be showing this in more detail, of course - but I've got something in the works that might let you guys do it with me instead. More on that in a moment.
This is great and all, but when can I play it?
The game is set to release on May 9th, 2012 (this Wednesday) on XBLA. We will be revealing preview footage of the game all week right here on the front page, so be sure to check in frequently for a real-time look at exactly how the console port works!
In summary, MCX360 exceeds expectations in many respects - one thing Minecraft veterans will notice immediately is that smooth (and consistent) frame-rate: the game runs as smooth as silk, and it's truly a thing of beauty to behold. While I wasn't able to enhance my worlds with any texture packs (I'd even saved a few old ones, just in case), there has been talk that texture packs (and custom skins) will be a reality in the future.
Custom skins are something that's been causing a bit of confusion lately - some people have seen the skins in the official Teaser video and come away with the impression that they were user-made; sadly, this is not the case. There are a number of pre-generated skins that are assigned to players as they join the game, starting with default Steve, and going through "Tuxedo Steve", "Tennis Shorts Steve", "Prison(?) Outfit Steve", and so on. These skins are not persistent to the player themselves, but whoever happened to join in that particular "slot". For example, if you joined my game as the second player and got Tuxedo Steve, that would be you for the remainder of your stay, as well as if you left and returned. But, if you left and another friend joined in your place, they would now be Tuxedo Steve, and you might be Tennis Steve on your return.
Still, it's nice to see that the foundations of custom skinning are there. We'll eagerly watch where it goes.
Check back all week as we cover this newest installment in the Minecraft series, up to and including launch!
Since the most recent weekly snapshot, Singleplayer games run a local multiplayer server. To make this change even better, Mojang wants to make multiplayer servers feel more like how singleplayer games used to feel.
To help with this, there is a thread right here, where they are trying to collect all differences between the most recent released Singleplayer game (1.2.5) and the most recent Multiplayer game (12w18a). If you want to help, please comment on this post with the following information:
Your bug
Information on your bug
If your bug is hard to reproduce, one of the following things
A world download
Easy steps to reproduce
A short video showing & reproducing the bug
All feedback will be used to make the new SSP/SMP format work better for everyone! So if you want to help out Mojang make it the best it can be, click this link and give your feedback!
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Pico shares the latest gaming news this week, don't miss it!
We have been covering all things related to the upcoming MCX360 release, and it's been pretty sweet to see the game evolve on a new platform. Still, wouldn't it be awesome to see it first-hand, to get an idea of what it's about, how it is similar and different from its PC counterpart? If so, we have something that just might interest you.
We have been given preview access to Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition, and we're putting together a collection of videos for you guys! We hope to show off the game's various features in some depth, so you can see for yourself if it is a worthwhile game to grab. While we have a solid idea of the sort of gameplay footage that we want to capture, we would very much like to hear what you would like to see! What sort of things would interest you most in a video preview of MCX360? Some ideas might include:
What's the experience of joining Multiplayer like?
Tell us what YOU want to see in a preview, and we will make it happen! Be sure to head over here, and vote on your favorite choices - or if they aren't there yet, add them! You can also read all about Minecraft XBOX Edition on minecraftwiki.net. The official launch day for the game is May 9th 2012 on XBLA, for $20 (1600 MS Points). Don't miss out!
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Vote for what YOU want to see, right here! Can't wait to see more MCX360? Here's the official teaser video from Hat Films!
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Hunger Games - This Weekend's Event
Last week, we took a look at the highly popular Hunger Craft-hosted Hunger Games, an ongoing weekly tournament for the pros!
This week sees another massive turnout, and promises to be another riveting competition for combat supremacy. You can check out this week's competitors in practice (which includes Ender Dragons, of all things), and get details for tomorrow's exciting match. Remember, you can see the event livestreamed in real-time -tomorrow at 7 pm EDT - or check out the competition afterwards at Hunger Craft's YouTube channel. Click the banner above (or this link - or even this link) for all the details!
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Minecraft Weekly News!
This week's Minecraft Weekly News covers cocoa beans, the future name change system and more - check it out!
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