Just out of curiousity how many units has minecraft actually sold? 

Last time I looked for it, it was around 6 million units howver not all those were the full game, there was a trial or free version or somthing like that.

In this thread alone people have said 4, 6, 9 and now 18 million (I doubt the last one but it is possible).

Anyone have any actual links with actual numbers from reliable people?

edit - well this site says 9 million.  Probably farily reliable :)

https://minecraft.net/stats

Where did you get 18 milllion?

Originally posted by VengeSunsoar

Just out of curiousity how many units has minecraft actually sold? 

Last time I looked for it, it was around 6 million units howver not all those were the full game, there was a trial or free version or somthing like that.

In this thread alone people have said 4, 6, 9 and now 18 million (I doubt the last one but it is possible).

Anyone have any actual links with actual numbers from reliable people?

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/22/minecraft-pc-sales-reach-9m-units-franchise-at-20m/

18 million was too low, my bad.

Also, for PC only - http://minecraft.net/stats

That joystiq link was the most recent I could find within my self imposed 15 second time limit on the search.  It was at the time of this writing two days ago.

Edit: the minecraft stats page shows both PC and Mac sales, sorry bout that.  The same number is reflected on the homepage with the additional clarification.

Originally posted by VengeSunsoar

edit - well this site says 9 million.  Probably farily reliable :)

https://minecraft.net/stats

Where did you get 18 milllion?

From the site I linked in the post I made before you editted.  Sorry about that.

Originally posted by VengeSunsoar
Ah.  I didn't know it also sold on other platforms, interesting.

The Minecraft homepage lists the other platforms.

I feel like the key that Minecraft teaches us, isnt about player made content, but that worlds dont need to be filled with "massive" numbers to be fun and have community.

I believe future "MMOs" will be far less massive and focus instead on worlds with more like 50-200 people max in them. A world where a community can truly form and you can get to know your neighboors. There are other games teaching this lesson as well. Day Z comes to mind for its private hive servers where you can login and know the other 20-40 people you are gaming with and against.

It's in these smaller, more intimate worlds, that players can connect and adventure together for longer periods. I feel certain the biggest issues with today's MMOs arent the themeparks or the details of the game, so much as the fact that you never need interact with other players. They have quietly turned into MASSIVELY SINGLE PLAYER games where you group with random people occasionally to run a dungeon. Back in the day servers were smaller, players more frequently ran into each other. Guilds were there for more than Raid Loot....

Remember when you grouped cause the world was a scary place alone? The depths of a dungeon in Asheron's Call or Everquest couldn't be delved alone.

I think companies would do well to drop the "MASSIVLEY" moniker that was so meaningful when the internet was new and instead focus on games that promote a sense of belonging to the community and the game world.

Player made content is great, but on a server with thousands? It'd be a giant internet troll fest. Let's size down the player base and increase the communities!

---

Originally posted by nariusseldon
Minecraft does not have fun combat to me. It is a non-starter. And most player created content is crap. I have seen my sons playing it with his friends .. they can't pay me to play their "content".

Sure, there are those who create novelty like putting a WOW city into Minecraft, or create the Starship enterprise, but anyone who think it can replace WOW is smoking crack.

It is just a different kind of game. It is only for people who want to build stuff, not those who like progression/combat MMOs.

---

Originally posted by wormywyrm

Originally posted by nariusseldon

Originally posted by wormywyrm

Minecraft is huge.  It is really popular, especially among kids.  I work with kids and you'd be surprised how many of the boys play minecraft.  They'll even come into the office playing it on their phones or tablets.

It is huge, but not anything more than any successful online game. My kids play Minecraft for a while, and now they move onto LOL.

So if you want to talk about online games that are more successful than MMOs, you should include LOL, Diablo 3, WOT and quite a few others. In fact, if you look at xfire numbers, minecraft is at #9 .. which is great .. but certainly not more "great" than COD4, BF3, D3, WOT, and of course LOL.

So why aren't we talking about LOL (which has more than 10M active users, more than minecraft) "makes fools of MMO companies"?

I sometimes work with kids 5-10 years old, and I often ask them what games they play.  I do not mention any game in particular.  I have never had any of them tell me they play LOL or Diablo 3, but many play minecraft.

I am not very familiar with LOL, but it is my understanding that it is derived from custom maps going all the way back from warcraft 3 and starcraft 1.

Minecraft on the other hand, is an example of a very cheaply made recent multiplayer game that focuses on building/sandbox and has become incredibly successful.  Minecraft is not necessarly a new genre or even a new concept, but it does represent a type of game that MMOs could have evolved into 10-20 years ago but failed to.  Minecraft contrasts sharply with the MMO genre which has shifted away from virtual worlds and building and towards linear story driven content.  Hence why minecraft might 'make a fool' of a AAA MMO developer that is not hitting it big with their copy cat linear MMOs.

My kids are teens and they are in high school. Lots of their friends play LOL. It is not hard to verify.

The map in LOL is pretty much meh .. just one basic set up. The point is the characters .. and they have many. Essentially it is pure instanced pvp. You control one character, but there are NPCs on your, and your opponent side. And you can upgrade through the course of a game (~40 min).

But the point is that why is minecraft singled out? LOL is more successful. Should MMOs be more like LOL just because it is more successful than all MMOs (it has more active players than WOW).

Originally posted by nariusseldon

Originally posted by wormywyrm

Originally posted by nariusseldon

Originally posted by wormywyrm

Minecraft is huge.  It is really popular, especially among kids.  I work with kids and you'd be surprised how many of the boys play minecraft.  They'll even come into the office playing it on their phones or tablets.

It is huge, but not anything more than any successful online game. My kids play Minecraft for a while, and now they move onto LOL.

So if you want to talk about online games that are more successful than MMOs, you should include LOL, Diablo 3, WOT and quite a few others. In fact, if you look at xfire numbers, minecraft is at #9 .. which is great .. but certainly not more "great" than COD4, BF3, D3, WOT, and of course LOL.

So why aren't we talking about LOL (which has more than 10M active users, more than minecraft) "makes fools of MMO companies"?

I sometimes work with kids 5-10 years old, and I often ask them what games they play.  I do not mention any game in particular.  I have never had any of them tell me they play LOL or Diablo 3, but many play minecraft.

I am not very familiar with LOL, but it is my understanding that it is derived from custom maps going all the way back from warcraft 3 and starcraft 1.

Minecraft on the other hand, is an example of a very cheaply made recent multiplayer game that focuses on building/sandbox and has become incredibly successful.  Minecraft is not necessarly a new genre or even a new concept, but it does represent a type of game that MMOs could have evolved into 10-20 years ago but failed to.  Minecraft contrasts sharply with the MMO genre which has shifted away from virtual worlds and building and towards linear story driven content.  Hence why minecraft might 'make a fool' of a AAA MMO developer that is not hitting it big with their copy cat linear MMOs.

My kids are teens and they are in high school. Lots of their friends play LOL. It is not hard to verify.

The map in LOL is pretty much meh .. just one basic set up. The point is the characters .. and they have many. Essentially it is pure instanced pvp. You control one character, but there are NPCs on your, and your opponent side. And you can upgrade through the course of a game (~40 min).

But the point is that why is minecraft singled out? LOL is more successful. Should MMOs be more like LOL just because it is more successful than all MMOs (it has more active players than WOW).

 

Many recent news stories about LoL refer to the top players being banned for life for their horrifying treatment of their fellow players.

Many recent news stories about Minecraft refer to it being included as mandatory curriculum in schools across several countries.

Do you see the difference?

Edit: Now to wait for my response to be in the form of a new topic "should minecraft's world be replaced with a lobby and would anyone notice?"

Originally posted by ShakyMo
I'm not sure lol is more successful than minecraft

They are both huge games that spread by word of mouth and internet buzz.

If anything these games prove you don't need a big publisher and a huge marketing campaign to be a success.

It's an interesting contrast with tsw. They got ea in to do the marketing / hyping and it sold bugger all. Later it picked up on word of mouth / player testimony. Ea if anything damaged sales rather than helped them.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/179324/League_of_Legends_draws_more_daily_players_than_Zyngas_biggest_hits.php#.UQLlnmfL__k

"It has 12 million daily active players -- that's more than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, World of Warcraft, or any social game on Facebook."

"Ngmoco GM and free-to-play expert Ben Cousins estimates that the core-targeted game grosses $5-10 million every day."

And it outrank minecraft on xfire. So all data points to it is more successful. However, even if i give you benefit of the doubt, LOL is at least as successful as Minecraft, and it is a pvp online game.

SO why shouldn't MMOs learn from LOL instead of minecraft?

Originally posted by kadepsyson

 

Many recent news stories about LoL refer to the top players being banned for life for their horrifying treatment of their fellow players.

 

Many recent news stories about Minecraft refer to it being included as mandatory curriculum in schools across several countries.

 

Do you see the difference?

 

Edit: Now to wait for my response to be in the form of a new topic "should minecraft's world be replaced with a lobby and would anyone notice?"

So? MMOs are not created for education, are they? We are talking about how to make better entertainment, not educational tools.

I am sure if we are only talking about education, i would have my kids doing a science project, or SAT drills, instead of playing minecraft.

Originally posted by nariusseldon

Originally posted by kadepsyson

 

Many recent news stories about LoL refer to the top players being banned for life for their horrifying treatment of their fellow players.

 

Many recent news stories about Minecraft refer to it being included as mandatory curriculum in schools across several countries.

 

Do you see the difference?

 

Edit: Now to wait for my response to be in the form of a new topic "should minecraft's world be replaced with a lobby and would anyone notice?"

So? MMOs are not created for education, are they? We are talking about how to make better entertainment, not educational tools.

I am sure if we are only talking about education, i would have my kids doing a science project, or SAT drills, instead of playing minecraft.

I was merely suggesting that LoL has a deplorable community that even the best players in it get banned for life for their awful treatment of others.

I also think it is funny that you are claiming to know better about education than several countries school systems.  I also think it hilarious if you actualy believe kids of all ages would prefer SAT drills to an interesting popular fun game that has valuable educational merits.

There is something to be said for doing something because the kid wants to and learning a considerable amount along the way.

Anyways, perhaps write some emails to the education boards of the countries in question suggesting they use LoL as a better teaching tool.  I love a good laugh.

I do think it also funny that you are talking about what MMOs are created for.  And yet the thread is about Minecraft - which is not even listed on this site.  So sure, talk about whatever you want.  I'm :allears:

Originally posted by kadepsyson

I do think it also funny that you are talking about what MMOs are created for.  And yet the thread is about Minecraft - which is not even listed on this site.  So sure, talk about whatever you want.  I'm :allears:

Don't tell me you think MMOs are created for education.

And this thread is about how "minecraft makes fools of MMO companies" .. implying that MMOs should be more like minecraft, or learn from it.

So what is wrong in pointing out that MMOs are for entertainment, and educational purposes do not need to be considered?

Originally posted by nariusseldon

Originally posted by kadepsyson

I do think it also funny that you are talking about what MMOs are created for.  And yet the thread is about Minecraft - which is not even listed on this site.  So sure, talk about whatever you want.  I'm :allears:

Don't tell me you think MMOs are created for education.

And this thread is about how "minecraft makes fools of MMO companies" .. implying that MMOs should be more like minecraft, or learn from it.

So what is wrong in pointing out that MMOs are for entertainment, and educational purposes do not need to be considered?

Just that it's an assumption, one that is actually incorrect.  I know it is incorrect, because I know of at least one provider of educational mmos :)

So that is what is wrong with pointing it out - since you are pointing out something incorrect.

Also, the thread is as you say, about minecraft making fools of MMO companies.  In other words, the companies should learn.

I feel like an educator often times here on mmorpg.com, everytime I hit quote on your posts :D

Originally posted by troublmaker
They need to make a Tetris MMO, that game sold over 40M units.

ROFL ... right on!

I own two minecraft licenses to be able to play with someone I love. Last time I did this was with EVE. It never crossed my mind to buy a game two times ever ever and some games I regreted getting even once. With WOW I even regretted installing beta...

OP is right, minecraft puts many to shame, too bad gaming companies are run by accountants and not by gamers.