Minecraft is digging its own grave with its latest release on XBLA -- and by "grave" we mean "lavish, gold-plated throne room with an indoor pool and grape-feeding robots." Today's tweet from Markus "Notch", Markus Persson who is a Minecraft developer, claimed that Minecraft was profitable within an hour of its debut through XBLA. This is on top of Notch's multi-million-dollar PC version.
Based on leaderboard participation numbers, Minecraft sold more than 400000 copies in a span of 24 hours, Notch said. Minecraft broke digital sales records for the console, selling more than any other XBLA title in its first day according to Microsoft.
Notch tweeted earlier in the day that he had Minecraft sales numbers (turns out that they were the above leaderboard figures). This sparked discussions about the inner workings XBLA developer contracts and Fez's Polytron. Polytron still doesn't know the exact figures of Fez, even though it was released in the last month.
"Standard procedure" according to Polytron is "you discover the amount you've sold when you receive your first check three to four months after." Notch believed that receiving immediate figures was the norm but he was not interested in contract negotiations and isn't sure what it says about the subject.
Minecraft also gets free updates, "which is something every other developer on the platform is told is not an option," Polytron wrote. Notch replied: "We had to fight for that, and we got a limited number of them. Not sure why they don't want it."
We might have discovered the secret talent of Notch and secret to his success: fighting for something in a contract while not negotiating contracts, and winning.
Minecraft servers
MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION BREAKS DIGITAL SALES RECORDS Microsoft Studios Presents: Arcade NEXT program delivers two back-to-back record-breaking titles in four weeks
Microsoft today announced Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition Mojang's console version the immensely popular PC game, which has broken all previous records for digital sales. It was the most popular game sold by any other game within the first 24 hours of its release on Xbox LIVE Arcade.
This follows the example of Trials Evolution, who also broke records for revenue on the first day of sales for its first game in the "Arcade Next" program.
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition was developed by 4J Studios and Mojang in collaboration with Microsoft Studios. It introduces new gameplay experiences like a unique crafting menu and tutorials for games. Online multiplayer and split-screen multiplayer for up eight players on Xbox LIVE are also available.
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition can be purchased on Xbox LIVE Arcade at 1600 Microsoft Points. It is the final game in the "Microsoft Studios Presents Arcade NEXT” lineup that also includes Trials Evolution (Redlynx), Bloodforge(Climax) and Fable Heroes, (Lionhead).
For more information about Minecraft: Xbox 360
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