Mojang has partnered with UK publishing house Egmont Publishing to create the first official Minecraft magazine, which launches this week.
The 60-page launch issue, which hit stores on Tuesday, is priced at £4.99 and will have a monthly onsale period. Inside, readers will find 14 pages of hints and tips on how to become a better build, a behind-the-scenes looks at Mojang’s offices in Stockholm, as well as a whole showcase of exclusive builds that have been broken down into detailed step-by-step guides.
The Minecraft: Official Magazine will also have its own team of adventurers created by Mojang exclusively for the magazine. Sparks, Beat, Scout and Monty will present both the tips and guides section as well as star in the magazine’s official comic strip, which has been co-created by Mojang.
Egmont has a long history with Mojang, publishing a number of official books that together have sold 9m copies in the UK market to date. The Minecraft: Official Magazine is the only Minecraft mag that has been developed in partnership with Mojang for its 55m active user base.
Cally Poplak, MD Egmont Publishing said: “Outstanding publishing for children means curating and packaging quality content in a desirable print format that they can collect and share with friends. We are proud to have done this with our bestselling Minecraft books and we cannot wait to share with the Minecraft community the only magazine that Mojang endorses.”
Laura Adnitt, publishing director at Egmont Publishing UK added: “We are thrilled to be bringing this exceptional product to the UK market this summer. The appetite for Minecraft is stronger than ever and we know that the Minecraft community will devour the exclusive content in our official magazine.”
Lydia Winters, brand director at Mojang also said she was “delighted to see this magazine come to market: it is the result of many months of hard work and all things Minecraft as we worked on making the best possible magazine for our community.”
Microsoft has updated Minecraft and now 3D printing is part of the blocky world. ‘Better Together’ is the name of the beta release that works with Remix 3D, a Microsoft community where users can share their work.
Minecraft players can now export their creations to Remix 3D.
3D printed Minecraft architecture. Photo via Minecrafters.
The integration of Remix 3D
3D printing Minecraft creations is not a new concept and several options have appeared in the past allowing gamers to purchase 3D printed characters and 3D printed buildings. However, this is the first time that Microsoft has integrated 3D printing into Minecraft.
Better together is also Microsoft’s first foray in allowing players to be able to join each other in the game – regardless of platform. Players on PC or console will be able to create, inspire, cooperate and compete in the update.
3D Minecraft City Render. Image via Minecraft gallery.
Why would players want to 3D print their Minecraft creations?
Minecraft is created using voxels -aka volumetric pixels- this gives the game a blocky aesthetic. The look is frequently seen in 3D design. For example the chair below.
The Voxel Chair v1.o. Photo via Design Computational Lab.
The update also gives players an item that is their own creation and allows them to create models for their own 3D printed, external Minecraft model world.
Beta consoles updates making creations easily accessible
Currently the beta update for Windows 10 and Android are available – Xbox One’s beta is coming soon. Eventually the update will include Nintendo Switch.
While Microsoft already tried to sweeten Sony on the Minecraft crossplay deal before their E3 announcement, it was to no avail. They had already gotten Apple, Google, and Nintendo on board with the concept, but currently market leader Sony seemingly didn’t want anything to do with it.
A new FAQ dealing with the “Better Together” update however informs us that Microsoft is still trying to win them over, stating: “While we are thrilled to be able to confirm the new version of Minecraft is coming to Nintendo Switch, we are still in discussions with Sony about PlayStation and have nothing to confirm. We would love to work with Sony to bring players on PlayStation 4 into this ecosystem as well.”
This isn’t necessarily a new development, but the idea that Microsoft is still trying is encouraging. Maybe they’ll cut some under the table deal where Sony gets a bigger taste of Minecraft sales? Who knows, I just hope it happens at some point.
Because then we can start talking Rocket Leaguefull crossplay across all platforms and so on. It would be a brave new world with giant playerbases and lengthy support cycles. Pretty much every developer I’ve spoken to over the past few years has wanted it, and so do the players.
The latest patch update for “Minecraft” on PlayStation 4 is now out. Update 1.55 offers plenty of fixes and changes, including a free Glide track for users. Reuters/Thomas PeterPlayStation 4 users get an update for “Minecraft” but the game is still not open to cross-play with other platforms.
Some of the fixes include removing the bugs affecting tasks like milking a cow, stacking crafted Banners and spawning Wheat, Ladders and Banners, as well as Monsters in the Woodland Mansions. The fixes also correct the unlocking of the Sniper Duel and Camouflage, as well as some displacements and colors.
The full list of the fixes was published on the Minecraft forum. It also outlined the general additions, including the free Glide track, which can be a big help to players’ efficiency during the mini-games.
The updates will appear automatically once a player logs in to the PS4 console. In addition, players can also purchase the Biome Settlers 2 Skin Pack, which will work with update 1.55.
Meanwhile, Sony announced in June that updates for “Minecraft” on the PS4 will continue even as the company opted out of the cross-play service, which goes to beta this week via the Better Together Update. This cross-play service enables players of “Minecraft” on the Xbox, PC and mobile phones with Windows 10 to use their saved games on any of the platforms, except PlayStation 4.
“Minecraft” developer Mojang tried convincing Sony to join the cross-play for years but remained unsuccessful. The developer, however, recently announced securing Nintendo Switch’s interest.
“While we are thrilled to be able to confirm the new version of Minecraft is coming to Nintendo Switch, we are still in discussions with Sony about PlayStation and have nothing to confirm,” Mojang stated on its official site. “We would love to work with Sony to bring players on PlayStation 4 into this ecosystem as well.”
During the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June, Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe president Jim Ryan said their main reason for opposing and blocking cross-play for the PS4 is to be able to safeguard the kids playing on the platform.
“We’ve got to be mindful of our responsibility to our install base,” Ryan told Eurogamer. “Minecraft — the demographic playing that, you know as well as I do, it’s all ages but it’s also very young.”
Ryan added that the cross-play platform would not be able to protect the kids from external influences while playing “Minecraft.”
Minecraft is now available for beta-testing on both Windows 10 and Android platforms. Users will be able to play on this new cross-platform.
Microsoft had an announcement on their blog u to date according to which Minecraft will also be able to be played on Xbox One in the near future. Their blog update had the title: “Better Together” and talked about allowing all players to access and play Minecraft no matter the platforms they use.
The full update will be launched this fall after all the bugs have been “evicted”, but Switch won’t have a beta testing, though it will not be disregarded. New features for Minecraft players will also be added, such as stained glass and even parrots. Yes, parrots!
Players will also be able to access and play the old version worlds after the update and will be able to enjoy mini games that were on old console Minecraft editions.
Minecraft Won’t be Updated on the PlayStation 4
PlayStation 4 users will, however, be left out, since Sony doesn’t want the update for their consoles. The reason why Sony didn’t accept updating Minecraft is that they want to keep their users safe from other content than what’s to be found on their PlayStation Network. Microsoft had addressed this issue in their blog post, though.
Minecraft Will Keep Its Players Safe
They said that this update will allow players across all devices and platforms access the content and find friends alike in the multiplayer world of gaming. Minecraft will also be keeping the children safe, because Xbox Live provides parent control for all platforms and will let parents restrict and choose the content, adjust communication or settings regarding sharing content, making it a proper and family-friendly solution for gaming.
Microsoft added that a lot of parents are more preoccupied about their kids’ safety and prefer to have control over their accounts.
Perhaps one of the biggest surprise releases last year — one that took many people by that very same word/term and proved it was more than just riding the Minecraft bandwagon — was Dragon Quest Builders and from the looks of it, Square Enix have heeded the call and responded to the sizeable acclaim of one of the series’ perhaps [at first] odd spin-off titles.
During a recent multi-hour live-stream celebrating the series’ thirty-plus years, it was announced that the building-RPG hybrid would be getting a sequel. Dragon Quest Builders 2, though confirmed for PS4, will also be coming to Nintendo Switch. Some of the new elements introduced for the sequel include the ability to explore underwater as well as an entirely co-operative multiplayer aspect that was absent in the first game. So far there’s been no confirmed release date even for Japan — let alone any news on a Western localisation — but stay tuned as we learn more about what the sequel to this surprisingly entertaining spin-off has in store.
