Minecraft Commercial

On 12 January 2011, *Minecraft* passed 1 million purchases less than a month after entering its beta phase. At the same time, the game had no publisher backing and has never been commercially advertised except through word of mouth, and various unpaid references in popular media such as the *Penny Arcade* webcomic. By April 2011, Persson estimated that *Minecraft* had made €23 million (US$33 million) in revenue, with 800,000 sales of the alpha version of the game, and over 1 million sales of the beta version. In November 2011, prior to the game's full release, *Minecraft* beta surpassed 16 million registered users and 4 million purchases. By March 2012, *Minecraft* had become the 6th best-selling PC game of all time. As of 10 October 2014, the game has sold 17 million copies on PC, becoming the best-selling PC game of all time. As of 10 October 2014, the game has sold approximately 60 million copies across all platforms, making it one of the best-selling video games of all time. On 25 February 2014, the game reached 100 million registered users.As of February 2017, over 121 million copies had been sold, making it the best-selling PC game to date and the second best-selling video game of all time behind *Tetris*.

The Xbox 360 version of *Minecraft* became profitable within the first 24 hours of the game's release in 2012, when the game broke the Xbox Live sales records with 400,000 players online. Within a week of being on the Xbox Live Marketplace, *Minecraft* sold upwards of 1 million copies. GameSpot announced in December 2012 that *Minecraft* sold over 4.48 million copies since the game debuted on Xbox Live Arcade in May 2012. In 2012, *Minecraft* was the most purchased title on Xbox Live Arcade; it was also the fourth most played title on Xbox Live based on average unique users per day. As of 4 April 2014, the Xbox 360 version has sold 12 million copies. In addition, *Minecraft: Pocket Edition*has reached a figure of 21 million in sales. The PlayStation 3 version sold one million copies in five weeks. The release of the game's PlayStation Vita version boosted *Minecraft* sales by 79%, outselling both PS3 and PS4 debut releases and becoming the largest *Minecraft* launch on a PlayStation console. The PS Vita version sold 100,000 digital copies in Japan within the first two months of release, according to an announcement by SCE Japan Asia. By January 2015, 500,000 digital copies of *Minecraft* were sold in Japan across all PlayStation platforms, with a surge in primary school children purchasing the PS Vita version. *Minecraft* helped improve Microsoft's total first-party revenue by $63 million for the 2015 second quarter.

### Critical reception

 Metacritic | (PC) 93/100
(PS4) 89/100
(XONE) 88/100
(PS3) 86/100
(NS) 86/100
(PSV) 84/100
(X360) 82/100
(WU) 75/100
(N3DS) 62/100
 Publication
 *Game Informer* | 9.25/10 (PC)
 *GameSpot* | 8.5/10 (PC)
7.5/10 (mobile)
8.5/10 (Xbox 360)
9.5/10 (PS3)
9.7/10 (PS4)
9.7/10 (Xbox One)

*Minecraft* has been praised for the creative freedom it grants players in-game, as well as the ease of enabling emergent gameplay. Critics have praised *Minecraft*'s complex crafting system, commenting that it is an important aspect of the game's open-ended gameplay. Most publications were impressed by the game's "blocky" graphics, with IGNdescribing them as "instantly memorable". Reviewers also liked the game's adventure elements, noting that the game creates a good balance between exploring and building. The game's multiplayer feature has been generally received favourably, with IGN commenting that "adventuring is always better with friends". Jaz McDougall of *PC Gamer*commended *Minecraft*, deeming it "intuitively interesting and contagiously fun, with an unparalleled scope for creativity and memorable experiences". It has been regarded as having introduced millions of children to the digital world, insofar as its basic game mechanics are logically analogous to computer commands.

Reviewers have said the game's lack of in-game tutorials and instructions make it difficult for new players to learn how to play the game. IGN was disappointed about the troublesome steps needed to set up multiplayer servers, calling it a "hassle". Critics also said visual glitches that occur periodically. In 2009, GameSpot said the game has an "unfinished feel", adding that "some game elements seem incomplete or thrown together in haste."

A review of the alpha version, by Scott Munro of the *Daily Record*, called it "already something special" and urged readers to buy it. Jim Rossignol of Rock, Paper, Shotgun also recommended the alpha of the game, calling it "a kind of generative 8-bit Lego *Stalker*". On 17 September 2010, gaming webcomic *Penny Arcade* began a series of comics and news posts about the addictiveness of the game.

The Xbox 360 version was generally received positively by critics, but did not receive as much praise as the PC version. Although reviewers were disappointed by the lack of features such as mod support and content from the PC version, they acclaimed the port's addition of a tutorial and in-game tips and crafting recipes, saying that they make the game more user-friendly.

*Minecraft: Pocket Edition* initially received mixed reviews from critics. Although reviewers appreciated the game's intuitive controls, they were disappointed by the lack of content. The inability to collect resources and craft items, as well as the limited types of blocks and lack of hostile mobs, were especially criticised. Recently,[*when?*] though, it has started receiving positive reviews, due to the game's updates adding more content. In addition to the controls, reviewers have complimented the graphics, though still note the lack of content.