by Stone Marshall | Apr 13, 2017 | Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, parent-news, State of Stone |
When Google’s Daydream headset came out, we praised it for its comfortable construction, but noted its bare game library. Little by little, the platform is adding experiences, even if many are ports that have already had successful runs on other VR platforms. Today, Daydream got its own version of SculptrVR, a Minecraft-like world-building sandbox game that had previously been released for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
It’s great news if you’re sad that Minecraft hasn’t come to Daydream yet and want to play with your VR-owning PC friends. That might be due to the mobile platform’s controller, fans
have speculated, which isn’t nearly as agile as those on other VR platforms, like Oculus Rift’s
Touch. It’s a shame, since creative experiences flourish in virtual reality — just
look at Google’s Tilt Brush, which has gotten multiple ports and updates. In any case, download SculptrVR from the Google Play store
here.
‘SculptrVR’ brings ‘Minecraft’-style creation to Google Daydream
by Stone Marshall | Apr 12, 2017 | Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Books |
Microsoft is continuing to make huge moves with its Minecraft brand, and that could lead to some even bigger changes in the future.
On this week’s GamesBeat Decides podcast, host Jeffrey Grubb and co-host Mike Minotti go over the news from the last week. Then in the second half of the show, they speculate on what it means that Minecraft is going free-to-play in China while it gets a marketplace where players can sell content to one another.
Is this a precursor to one of gaming’s biggest hits going free-to-play everywhere? Listen to hear what we decide.
Listen to the GamesBeat Decides podcast
In addition to Minecraft, Jeff and Mike check in on Overwatch and its latest cooperative event. Is this what we want from the shooter? We’ll make a decision about that as well.
Join us, won’t you?
Disagree with something we said? Have a comment or question? Email the podcast here at: games+podcast@venturebeat.com. Or tweet at us: @GBDecides.
Click play below for the audio version or on the video above:
Is Minecraft going free-to-play? GamesBeat Decides
by Stone Marshall | Apr 12, 2017 | Awesome Book News, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, Stone Marshall Book News |
This week, Roblox Corporation, the San Mateo, California-based developer of the popular online social gaming platform for kids known as Roblox, announced the closure of its first private equity offering in more than five years.
The funding round, which raised $92 million for the company, was primarily backed by Meritech Capital Partners, a venture capital firm that was an early investor in many tech giants such as Snapchat, Facebook and Index Ventures. In addition to expanding the company’s mobile strategy, the funds raised will also be used to repurchase shares from those employees who wish to cash out of some of their equity. (For related reading, see: Is Microsoft Stock a Bargain at Tech-Bubble Highs?)
Minecraft Rival
The game Roblox allows its players to create their own virtual worlds, and is often described as being very similar to Microsoft’s Minecraft video game. Microsoft acquired Minecraft for $2.4 billion in 2014. The funds raised from the recent funding round could help to better position Roblox to compete with Minecraft. The main ages for the users of both gaming platforms ranges from 6 years to 16 years.
According to the company’s corporate website, Roblox’s platform currently sees 48 million monthly users while a March 2017 article in Bloomberg reports that Minecraft has a total of 55 million active users. (For more, see also: Can LinkedIn Become Microsoft’s Instagram?)
The Business Model
Although Roblox declined to disclose the valuation at which their recent financing round was offered, an article that was published in Forbes last summer revealed that the company had realized more than $50 million in gross revenues in the year 2015. The company primarily makes its money by selling a virtual currency to its players and also by charging a subscription fee to developers who use the platform to develop games. Roblox also takes a commission from purchases on games that were made by developers. Some of Roblox’s top game creators are reportedly making as much as $50,000 a month.
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Startups: How Roblox Plans to Copy Microsoft’s Minecraft
by Stone Marshall | Apr 11, 2017 | Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, parent-news |
April 10 (Reuters) –
* Minecraft introduces Minecraft Coins, which can be bought using in-app purchases on device; coins let creators set flexible prices, take share of sale Source text : bit.ly/2ojvqD6 Further company coverage:
BRIEF-Microsoft’s Minecraft introduces Minecraft Coins
by Stone Marshall | Apr 11, 2017 | Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Books |
Nintendo has announced that Microsoft’s Minecraft will launch digitally for Nintendo Switch on May 11, with a physical release coming “at a later date.” The Japanese publisher confirmed the news in its most recent Direct stream, in which Splatoon 2 and Arms also got release dates of July 21 and June 16, respectively.
Nintendo also confirmed that the Switch version will support both online and local multiplayer. Eight players can play together online, while up to four can craft at once on the TV in split-screen or in tabletop mode.
In addition, Minecraft’s Super Mario mash-up pack will also come to Switch, allowing you to explore blocky versions of Mushroom Kingdom-themed worlds alongside characters such as Luigi and Waluigi.
This Switch edition is seemingly being handled by 4J Studios, the developer that previously brought Mojang’s PC version of Minecraft to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PS Vita, and Wii U. Telltale’s narrative-driven adaptation, Minecraft: Story Mode has also been confirmed for Nintendo Switch, meanwhile, though we don’t yet know when that is due out.
Microsoft recently revealed that some versions of Minecraft will get a new marketplace where you can buy user-generated skins and maps, among other items. That store isn’t coming to Switch, however, as it is limited–for the moment at least–to the PC and mobile editions.
Minecraft Coming To Nintendo Switch Next Month
