Minecraft

Question 1

Distribution

Answer 1

originally PC in 2009
X-box 360 limited build released
after Microsoft acquisition it’s on all current platforms
Bedrock edition is cross platform between windows 10, Nintendo switch and X-box 1

Question 2

Production

Answer 2

Started as grass roots with Markus Persson
bought by Mojang - small company
2014 Microsoft acquisition
Originally players play alpha build
then beta (beta ended in 2010)
now considered finished game, but updates still regularly pushed out

Question 3

Marketing

Answer 3

Merchandise started after the game had mainstream popularity - serves to keep it in the public psyche and make more money
Minecraft is a cultural icon - other popular culture parodies it e.g. southpark,
originally marketed by word of mouth - especially via web 2.0

Question 4

Regulation

Answer 4

7+ PEGI
IP owned by Microsoft, sell IP to other companies to use e.g. telltale games with Minecraft story mode
all games can be pirated, but can’t join servers with “cracked” version, only 1 instance of an account can be logged in at a time

Question 5

Fandom

Answer 5

large community involvement
game encourages people to make content
large youtube presence
large social media presence - multiple posts per day

Question 6

Audience

Answer 6

Used in schools - educational/student audience
built to be easily moddable - developer audience
even balance from 15-30yrs in playerbase
54% of 3-12yrs boys, compared to 32% of girls - disparity reduces as age increases

Question 7

Ownership and Control

Answer 7

Microsoft - conglomerate
prosumer attitude
mods
choose which version to play/no forced updates

Question 8

Genre

Answer 8

defies definition within a genre

defines its own genre - many games try to copy its style