Minecraft series sales hit 20 million

I imagine it's success is partly due to getting gamers thinking again, don't see anything wrong with that, probably a refreshing change to the "GO HERE AND PRESS X" or  "FOLLOW THIS GUY" scenarios.  

minecraft sucks, and I hate natch's face, but kudos to them :P

MassiveCraft.com!

While I like this game a lot, why are there so many articles about the sales every week or 2?

I tell you the real news story is that raspberry pi - which looks very interesting. 

Why are people so upset about a Minecraft article? Seems to me that a game like Minecraft hitting big numbers is a good thing for gaming whether you like the game or not. I have the Xbox version and love it. It's one of the few games I own that my 3 year old and I can play together that doesn't have blood or swearing or ridiculous amounts of violence in it. Plus it allows us to create. In a world where so many games are M-rated, F-bomb dropping, end of the world, sepia-toned murder simulators, Minecraft and games like it (Spelunky, Trials, etc.) are a ray of sunshine. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing M-rated games. I've got plenty of those, too, but Minecraft fills a niche that's been lacking in games for a long time. Congrats Mojang, I hope you sell 9 million more.

Make no mistake about it - Minecraft has been a fad that's enjoyed tremendous success not because it's a stellar game experience, but because it's one of those rare games in which the ideas involved can be communicated in such a simple, yet mysterious way that people want to check it out to see what everyone's talking about. (Angry Birds enjoyed the same sort of cultural success for the same reason, and I suspect DayZ will too).

What's been interesting about Minecraft is that it began life as an indie alpha title that showed promise, but which didn't have a lot of features. Gamers who got in early were able to help not only shape their own game worlds, but the very development of the game itself.  Most of the things that have been added to the game since the alpha state have been ways in which the game's concepts can be deepened and made more interactive - very little has been done to fix the problems with the experience itself. It's up to the community to teach others how to play.

Because the community embraced modding so early on, Minecraft became a simple way for non-programmers to create game worlds. It's not the first time this option has been available in gaming, but it's an easy, accessible way for gamers to do do. It's sort of like playing with virtual Legos, except without all the annoying restrictions of branding.

But because Minecraft has filled this niche and been this major force for indie gaming, it's important to recognize that it also can't be replicated. The game has been about so much more than the game itself - it's been about the experience shared by a community of passionate fans who have been able to inspire others to get interested in the concept. It's a fascinating case study, but it's also an anomaly.

I'm gonna make a half baked clone game like Minecraft (ripoff of Voxelstein 3D) or Angry Birds (ripoff of Crush the Castle), and get millions, too! 

This news is remarkable because in a way it gives indie devs inspiration to keep on making great games.

It still surprises me that in a industry where FPS are sales hits there is a game called Minecraft which is made on a much smarter and educational level and is booming at the same time making all other AAA companies green with envy.

I'm not sure why folks are dumping on Gamespot here.  This game sold 2.5 million units in one month extending *after* the holidays.  That's both impressive and newsworthy to me.

I think the Xbox version would get more sales if they added creative mode to it. Would be a better game if Survival was more interesting as well. It's a heck of a lot better to play with friends as well.

Gamespot, do you have shares in Mojang?

Pretty sure there's a Notch noseblowing you forgot to write a "news" article about Eddie.

20 million sales and i still have barely any friends that play it....

Does anything actually happen in this game or is it just building.  That is all I see, building.  

Sim City had more to it than building.  Why is this so popular?

Do we really need weekly updates on Minecraft's sales?? :\

Nice

Still printing money. Awesome. (don't like the game, but still awesome)

Slow news day. Who cares?

Yes, we got the message already, Gamespot. Minecraft is great...

so?