The Minecraft community just got a whole lot bigger according to some numbers posted by Majong. According to the developer, over 453,000 copies of its popular world-building game were sold on Christmas Eve (most likely making them Christmas presents for some very lucky recipients). The company did not give any exact figures as to how many of those sales were slotted on iOS, but they did state that the figures were across all platforms (PC, Console, Mobile).
Mojang has released its total numbers though, which you can see on the company’s website. According to their reports, Minecraft has sold a total of 8.7 million copies on PC, 4 million on xBox 360, and 5 million on Android and iOS. While it is impossible to say exactly how many copies were sold on iOS on Christmas Eve, we can assume that it was a relatively large number, considering the impressive stats on the groups website.
What’s more impressive though, is what these numbers show us about the state of mobile and casual gaming. Minecraft is a casual game in its own merit, not just the mobile version. It appeals to all players and has a learning curve that is both challenging and completely casual. It’s already impressive enough in its own right to have over 17 million copies sold, but the fact that this title has more copies sold on iOS and Android than it does console is pretty interesting. We are used to seeing games appeal to only “gamers” or individuals who use consoles as their primary form of at-home entertainment.
But what exactly does this tell us? Is Minecraft such a beautifully done game, with such a thrilling concept, that it appeals to anyone, regardless of their background with gaming? Or does this speak more about where casual and mobile gaming is heading as a medium? Are we seeing more gamers pop up on mobile devices as a legitimate form of the gaming culture? What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below!
Photo Credit: Mojang
