If on September 13 we commented that Microsoft could buy the Swedish company that develops Minecraft, collecting the information of all the media that commented on it, finally on September 15, 2014 Microsoft has announced that it acquires Mojang, the owner of the Minecraft franchise for a price of 2.5 billion dollars. An extraordinary price that makes Swedish investors probably withdraw to their rooms or beyond because although in euros it is somewhat less the truth is that it remains a dizzying figure.
The operation is expected to close before the end of the year 2014 and it is estimated to obtain benefits very quickly and is that considering that Minecraft has more than 100 million downloads, with sales prices of 20-30 dollars you can recover the investment soon. Now the challenge is to know what features they will give to Minecraft, what attractions it will have for the community of players, what new games can shade Minecraft, what applications, probably educational, can give this game in which the pixel is the most prominent element and that is played as if it were a virtual LEGO.
Minecraft is played on computers, tablets with iOS and Android and also on consoles such as Microsoft's Xbox in which 90% of players pay to access all the features.
He Microsoft CEO is Satya Nadella which says that “Minecraft is more than a great franchise, it’s an open platform, full of very active players to those who will take care of providing them with tools and opportunities to have a great gaming experience ”
Although the founders of Mojang will be retiring, as we have said, I am not sure that some are staying and take advantage of the possibilities offered by Microsoft to develop business. In everything at Microsoft they indicate that Minecraft will remain available on all platforms: PC, iOS, Android, Xbox and PlayStation.
In Five daysEnrique Dans explains the pros and cons of the acquisition. Although the cons are based more on how a company like Microsoft is perceived and the departure of the founders, I think the pros are remarkable and you have to wait for Microsoft to only keep the momentum of this game And it is Minecraft, it seems to me a gaming, entertainment, learning and, above all, experience that allows you to share what you have learned quickly with other friends, making it very lively and attractive for others to join the process.
Last 2013 was the first that my daughter approached the Minecraft world and continues to work and observe with interest the news and possibilities it offers. Is in the school and in the academic field where it has a lot of travel and I hope that Microsoft will soon be encouraged to organize competitions and give it a practical use among students. From 8 years to 20 and beyond I think there is a lot of potential to turn it into a training oriented tool. See what happens.
