Why is Microsoft buying Minecraft?

[Ethnod]

 

TLDR:

Looks like they can make their money back in the next 9 months. Between sales, merch and so on. seems the general feeling is that there is no way that MS would have paid $2.5 billion without being extremely sure that they would be able to get it back.

 

Very interesting read, well worth it.

 

Source:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/19/microsoft-buying-minecraft-explanation/?ncid=rss_truncated

 

PS: Please close if this is a duplicate, I searched but so many MS related and Minecraft related results I may have missed it

[Enderman]

They are not going to make it back. Minecraft has only made a couple hundred million dollars from ALL of their sales. Microsoft is not going to make any profit from this purchase, so obviously they bought it for other reasons than money.

 

Also it should be why DID they buy it, not WHY they are buying it.

The purchase has already been made.

[Mateyyy]

I'm pretty sure they're gonna make some profit off of this. Not sure though.

 

Good post btw

[Lavachyste]

to fuck it up

[ShadowCaptain]

So they can distort it into a horrible business

 

Or 

 

To pretend to Gamers that they care

[Brunopls]

what is this MINE CRAFT again?

[qwertywarrior]

microsoft are idiots

i bought minecraft for like 10$

[pensils]

simply? make that microcraft? 

[pensils]

lol

[Mindtrickz]

Trying desperately to stay relevant. This is basically Microsoft:

 

[Altecice]

They bought it for all the accounts and current users. Imagine if they pushed 5 sec adds into the game. With that large userbase they would make there money back with ease. Most companys are valued only on current users. Such as Facebook.

[dragosudeki]

Games make most of their sales within the first week. Minecraft has been out for MONTHS/YEARS.... I'll be surprised if they get back their investment.

[Guest Kloaked]

what is this MINE CRAFT again?

And who is this MICRO SOFT?

[themodernagenb]

A lot of the topics about this purchase are covered poorly. Microsoft expects to make back the interest of 2.5 billion dollars by the end of their fiscal year. That is all they have said.

 

Microsoft had $2.5 billion just sitting around. Had they just put that money in a theoretical savings account, then it would have made interest. MS is saying their new IP should pay out better than a savings account.

 

It will take years - ten, maybe twenty years - before they will see profit. Which is fine - they are gambling on the notion that Minecraft (the IP) will last a long time. That being said, there is no other IP in the gaming industry besides Mario that has reached so many young ones in a given generation. Just look how long Mario has lasted (25+ years). It is a no-brainer to think that Minecraft will have the same success.

 

Is it guaranteed? No, but MS feels like it's their best shot at reaching and keeping this young audience. There is less of a guarantee if they took that money and tried to make their own culture phenomenon. Had they or any company (Sony, Valve, Blizzard, etc.) spent $2.5 billion on making original IPs, none of them would have reached the cultural success that Minecraft has achieved. You cannot force this type of success, just look at LittleBigPlanet, a game that tries too hard to win over young gamers.

[RH00D]

They are not going to make it back. Minecraft has only made a couple hundred million dollars from ALL of their sales. Microsoft is not going to make any profit from this purchase, so obviously they bought it for other reasons than money.

 

Also it should be why DID they buy it, not WHY they are buying it.

The purchase has already been made.

Clearly Microsoft should hire you as their financial analyst and adviser. You obviously have top expertise and decades of experience in financial decision making. Microsoft has never ever been a financially successful company. I bet if they hired you, they would shoot straight to the top and become the most financially successful tech company of all time, all thanks to your financial expertise.

[smjpl]

To change it to DirectX? The got make something so it could just be to keep Microsoft dominant in the PC games industry.

[Kameegaming]

they purchased Mojang didn't they, the whole company not just Minecraft.

[Mindtrickz]

they purchased Mojang didn't they, the whole company not just Minecraft.

 

Which only makes Minecraft, so in that sense they bought Minecraft for 2.5 billion. Waste of money really.

[Kameegaming]

Which only makes Minecraft, so in that sense they bought Minecraft for 2.5 billion. Waste of money really.

but they have Scrolls under development, so there is that

[Enderman]

Clearly Microsoft should hire you as their financial analyst and adviser. You obviously have top expertise and decades of experience in financial decision making. Microsoft has never ever been a financially successful company. I bet if they hired you, they would shoot straight to the top and become the most financially successful tech company of all time, all thanks to your financial expertise.

Clearly you can't comprehend that minecraft does not and never will make that much money. It's a fact. Your sarcasm just makes you look like an ignorant asshole who doesn't want to look at the facts.

[Victorious Secret]

A lot of the topics about this purchase are covered poorly. Microsoft expects to make back the interest of 2.5 billion dollars by the end of their fiscal year. That is all they have said.

 

Microsoft had $2.5 billion just sitting around. Had they just put that money in a theoretical savings account, then it would have made interest. MS is saying their new IP should pay out better than a savings account.

 

It will take years - ten, maybe twenty years - before they will see profit. Which is fine - they are gambling on the notion that Minecraft (the IP) will last a long time. That being said, there is no other IP in the gaming industry besides Mario that has reached so many young ones in a given generation. Just look how long Mario has lasted (25+ years). It is a no-brainer to think that Minecraft will have the same success.

 

Is it guaranteed? No, but MS feels like it's their best shot at reaching and keeping this young audience. There is less of a guarantee if they took that money and tried to make their own culture phenomenon. Had they or any company (Sony, Valve, Blizzard, etc.) spent $2.5 billion on making original IPs, none of them would have reached the cultural success that Minecraft has achieved. You cannot force this type of success, just look at LittleBigPlanet, a game that tries too hard to win over young gamers.

 

Finally, someone with common sense. 

If MS just wanted to milk a franchise, they have the 3-4 billion dollar valued juggernaut known as Halo to feed that desire. MS knows Minecraft has gotten a generation. A young generation to boot. They might not be trying to make a Mario Part 2 for the culture of today, but they sure as hell bought a franchise that has done remarkably well by gaining the marketshare that leads to easy sales and easy marketing. 

 

Clearly Microsoft should hire you as their financial analyst and adviser. You obviously have top expertise and decades of experience in financial decision making. Microsoft has never ever been a financially successful company. I bet if they hired you, they would shoot straight to the top and become the most financially successful tech company of all time, all thanks to your financial expertise.

 

Welcome to the internet, where everyone is capable of making judgements on a company like MS and how they spend their rather hilariously large reserves of money. If MS hasn't stopped burning the billions they have on the Xbox division, little else will deter them from trying. 

 

To change it to DirectX? The got make something so it could just be to keep Microsoft dominant in the PC games industry.

 

Yea, apart from the fact that MS makes Windows and the API that allows for PC gaming to even exist. But yea, apart form that, MS has nothing to do in PC gaming at all. 

[HellaflushMcSwaggins]

Trying desperately to stay relevant. This is basically Microsoft:

 

What movie is this from, senpai?

[themodernagenb]

What movie is this from, senpai?

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it is from the TV show 30 Rock.

[HellaflushMcSwaggins]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it is from the TV show 30 Rock.

Thanks!

[Unhelpful]

Clearly you can't comprehend that minecraft does not and never will make that much money. It's a fact. Your sarcasm just makes you look like an ignorant asshole who doesn't want to look at the facts.

They can, and likely will, throw banner ads onto the login page.