Minecraft Optional Subscription Mode Plans

[Mar 14, 2013, 08:59 am ET] - Share - Viewing Comments

GamesIndustry International has details from a Swedish report indicating Mojang is working on a Minecraft Realms mode for their indie hit Minecraft, as a way for parents to allow their kids to play without the potential hazards they could be exposed to on independently administered game servers. Mojang CEO Carl Manneh speculates this may actually generate more income than the game has already earned, and here's an outline of how this will work:

Subscribers will be given their own self-contained world, with full control over who has access and their friends list. Only one person per world will need a Realms account, and anyone invited to join will need a copy of Minecraft and an internet connection.

The price of the subscription has not been set, but Mojang has indicated that it will be between $10 and $15 a month. It also intends to issue special pre-paid cards for those with no access to credit cards. Ultimately, Manneh believes that Realms has the potential to open up Minecraft to new players, and, in the long-term, become as strong a source of revenue as Minecraft itself.

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12.

Re: lol

Mar 15, 2013, 08:09

Tim Collins

the $15 a month is what blew me away, they had a meeting as if they have the ability to offer a service worth $15.

11.

Re: lol

Mar 14, 2013, 19:39

TurdFergasun

for $5/mo you could rent a minecraft gameserver that had 2 slots.

10.

Re: lol

Mar 14, 2013, 18:18

jdreyer

$15/month seems like a crazy price for this. I'd pay $5 for sure tho.




Man is equally incapable of seeing the nothingness from which he emerges and the infinity in which he is engulfed.

Re: Minecraft Optional Subscription Mode Plans

Mar 14, 2013, 15:15

Dev

I guess I'm ok with this as long as its not mandatory. Also, as long as they don't decide to focus only on development of subscription services. There's still a lot of promised features and work to be done on minecraft.

Re: Minecraft Optional Subscription Mode Plans

Mar 14, 2013, 13:56

Krizzen

This reminds me of ActiveWorlds, circa '96. Funny that some things I built there lasted nearly a decade. I could see all sorts of useful services they could provide. Running a Minecraft server isn't always so easy (though a very basic server is extremely easy to setup). Good move.

Re: Minecraft Optional Subscription Mode Plans

Mar 14, 2013, 12:41

Jivaro

I don't see how this could be perceived as a bad thing as long as it isn't mandatory. Offering the service is different from forcing you to use the service. From where I am standing, I am actually kind of surprised this wasn't thought of sooner. It makes good business sense and it helps to continue to keep the game popular with successive waves of new players without actually changing the fundamentals of the game itself, which is always a good thing.

Re: lol

Mar 14, 2013, 11:57

ViRGE

NKD wrote on Mar 14, 2013, 10:40: I don't think them offering server hosting is really greedy. It's hard to find a reliable server host for Minecraft at a reasonable price, and even harder to find an existing server that isn't filled with nightmarish douchebags. Especially for the younger players they seem to be trying to cater to here. Agreed. I'm not sure why anyone would think adding 1st party server hosting to the existing 3rd party hosts is a bad thing.

Re: lol

Mar 14, 2013, 11:20

fawker

There are plenty of casuals (including parents) that would love this feature. Yes, setting up a server is easy if you have the know how, but not every does, nor the desire to.

Re: lol

Mar 14, 2013, 10:40

NKD

zombiefan wrote on Mar 14, 2013, 10:28:
Wow, Notch. I guess it's true: wealth and greed go hand-in-hand.

I don't think them offering server hosting is really greedy. It's hard to find a reliable server host for Minecraft at a reasonable price, and even harder to find an existing server that isn't filled with nightmarish douchebags. Especially for the younger players they seem to be trying to cater to here.

Minecraft has a lot of younger players who have to deal with a pretty abrasive community, or else play by themselves. Getting their own server with an easy-mode control panel and friend system would be really fantastic. Especially if it's only like $10 a month.

This isn't really targeted at people who run their own servers and are skilled enough to fix problems that arise. I have a Minecraft server with a custom mod pack of 70 mods and there's a new problem every day I have to hunt down.

Article suggests they will even be providing some safe mod options too.




If you don't like where gaming is heading, stop giving your money to the people who are taking it in that direction.

Re: lol

Mar 14, 2013, 10:28

zombiefan

Wow, Notch. I guess it's true: wealth and greed go hand-in-hand.

lol

Mar 14, 2013, 10:12

Tim Collins

Revenue is the key word....avoid this.

Re: Minecraft Optional Subscription Mode Plans

Mar 14, 2013, 09:42

Hiwkeye

Isn't this already possible if you enable the server whitelist features? Or is this simply a brand name behind them self hosting the server?

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