Rumour confirmed: Microsoft Purchase Minecraft for $2.5B (Post#122)
- Thread starter Rangers
- Start date
Just look at any of the companies or technologies that are used heavily in the porn/webcam industry; they tend to have a high valuation.
Silent_Buddha
Legend
Which is respectable (although not necessarily enough to justify a 2 billion USD buyout), but consider that Minecraft originally started off selling for under 5 USD a copy.
The value of the IP has grown substantially since then. Part of the valuation may not even be in the title itself. Similar to how Angry Birds makes very very little money from the game itself. Almost all the profits are now generated through merchandising and advertising for unrelated products..
Perhaps Microsoft can see other avenues to profit off of the IP other than just sales of the game and DLC. Either that or they see significant growth potential.
And when it comes to purchases of something valuable. It is a given that you are likely going to have to pay multiple times what the company has earned in profits or even the company's "potential" to earn in profits over the next few years. Hence, why companies on the ropes are more likely aquisitions than companies that are successful. And a company on the rise, such as Mojang, will have a much larger multiplier than a company earning profits but on the wane.
It's basically a gamble. And a big one.
Regards,
SB
That's not exactly the same thing, they have daily figures ... shame no one is graphing it.
Sigfried1977
Legend
I just don't think anyone's going to buy a console or a MS phone or a pc with a Windows OS just so he can play the next iteration of Minecraft. It's a game you play because you already have the necessary hardware and wanna see what all the fuzz is about.
I think Microsoft, who have had an exclusivity deal with Minecraft on the 360 for a pretty lengthy time, may have a more nuanced view on this than you.
Sigfried1977
Legend
^do you honestly think anyone bought a 360 because he wanted to play Minecraft on it? I'm in no way doubting it's a giant money maker for the company, by the way. Just not a system seller.
Last edited by a moderator:
There are very few system sellers these days, but Minecraft was extremely successful in the younger demographic in particular, and that's a long-term investment, as well as having just really good sales. That title was/is in the charts like forever.
EDIT: the title hit 12 million this April, and it was out only in 2012 on 360 I think.
What are those games?
http://store.steampowered.com/app/250340/
Blockland is one.
Cannot remember the others off the top of my head.
Blockland is one.
Cannot remember the others off the top of my head.
Sounds like a bad invesment, buying now is too late.
The game is sniffing talents and buy them for cheap not buy a company still young and unproven in the long run at a premium price.
Anyway MSFT seems to do every mistake it is given thw chance to do lately, I guess wasting 2 extra billions at this point is not unexpected.
The game is sniffing talents and buy them for cheap not buy a company still young and unproven in the long run at a premium price.
Anyway MSFT seems to do every mistake it is given thw chance to do lately, I guess wasting 2 extra billions at this point is not unexpected.
Mojang isn't unproven. And the point here isn't really to buy the talent (outside of maybe Notch). There are only 4 devs working on the PC version and 2 working on the iOS game. They use an outside dev to work on the console ports.
If its a hardware/OS exclusive play, at 2 billion its going to be a lossy endeavor.
The only way this deal make sense is as a game that supports a wide swath of hardware.
Last edited by a moderator:
upnorthsox
Veteran
Maybe they're buying for include with Windows, there doesn't need to be a console tie-in but an ultimate version for pc/xbox would be possible too.
D
Deleted member 11852
Guest
The ultimate versions, which you can change any way you like, install any resource pack you like, install any shader set you like, run a server any way you like, use and write any mod you like, is already on desktop computers
I still don't get it but I'm really hoping they do it, insane or not, just to explain why they did it.
Do it Microsoft, do it!!
I still don't get it but I'm really hoping they do it, insane or not, just to explain why they did it.
Do it Microsoft, do it!!
The announcement comes out on 1st October that MS has paid $2.2 billion for Minecraft. At the press conference, eager journalists await MS's explanation. Nadella takes to the stand, a wall of microphones before him. He wipes a spot of sweat from his brow with his handkerchief, clears his throat a little awkwardly, and then speaks."We would like to confirm that we have indeed paid $2.2 billion dollars to acquire Mojang and the Minecraft IP."
"Why'd you do it? What are your reasons?" ask a fervent throng of journos as Nadella is irradiated with flash bulbs.
"Ummm, well, we weren't going to. It was just some stupid rumour on the internet. But then DSoup on the Beyond3D forum said he wanted us to buy it just to explain why. So we did. There's your explanation, Mr. Soup. Now if you'll all excuse me, I need to go lie down and try to make sense of this."
D
Deleted member 11852
Guest
That'd make as much sense as anything, but I like crazy! 
