5 ms·

My main problem with this is i've bought minecraft already, why must i pay again if i already have a legitimate license?

runjake 15y ago
Because Minecraft Pocket Edition is different software that required months of work and financing (if you've followed its development) to develop. You have to pay again in order for the software developer to make those funds back. There would be a lot less incentive to port software or develop future versions if they had to be made free.
- pyre 15y ago
  They wouldn't necessarily need to be for free. Porting it to another platform opens up a new market. There are probably a lot of people that have an Android phone that haven't bought Minecraft for iPhone or PC.
  - jokermatt999 15y ago
    Minecraft for iPhone doesn't exist, so that's out. Minecraft for PC has existed for months. I could see it drawing in new people with the promotion a new port gives, but I doubt it would be enough to cover development costs considering how many people have already bought Minecraft PC.
    - shinratdr 15y ago
      > Minecraft for PC has existed for months. > Minecraft is a sandbox building indie video game...It was released on May 17, 2009, with a Beta on December 20, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minecraft http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minecraft Years, actually.
MonkeyCrumpets 15y ago
When you buy a game for the Wii, do you expect to get the 3DS version free?
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- risratorn 15y ago
  Exactly! Imo it's nothing more than normal you'd have to pay for the mobile versions too.
- njharman 15y ago
  Yes, just like shifting music or movies from CD/DVD player to mp3/Computer. When I buy "content" or a license to "play" I expect to be able to transfer it amongst all the devices I own. I know software requires manual translation. But, the above behavior is what I expect.
  - ugh 15y ago
    Well, then expect to be disappointed. People will want to be paid for their work.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - aw3c2 15y ago
    Music is just data/content, no program code. You can certainly transfer any client files you got from the normal Minecraft installation to your phone and (unsuccessfully) try to use them. A program port is more than just moving data.
  - watty 15y ago
    If you bought a house would you expect a smaller replica of your house to be free? No, it requires work to build that house just like the original and therefore costs money.
    - jholman 15y ago
      Worst. Analogy. Evar. If you bought a house, would you expect to be able to use that house on both your desktop AND your laptop, because it's the same damn house? Uh, no, because physical matter doesn't work that way. In case you haven't heard, though, copying data _does_ work that way, and many people DO expect that if they buy music they SHOULD be able to use it on more than one device. And similarly for games (when it's a single chunk of code), which is actually how Minecraft actually works. Note, I'm not arguing that MPE should be free with purchase of Minecraft, or that it shouldn't. I'm just pointing out the deadly obvious: that physical-goods arguments are basically useless for digital goods. I just fed a troll, didn't I?
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
jmilloy 15y ago
Why downvotes? Maybe for many of you, the answer is obvious, but I think this can be an interesting question. Certainly, some additional work goes into each separate version and you shouldn't just get that for free. But to pay full price for both versions seems wrong too. Might there be a base cost, with an additional cost for each system? That's as simple as giving Tam a discount for the mobile version after entering a legitimate license.
- watty 15y ago
  It's just not how the gaming business works and Mojang would lose money. It's a different game on a different system and probably required a huge effort to optimize code and trim it down to work on a mobile device. They could do a promotion at some point to give discounts but this will never be the norm.
- Game_Ender 15y ago
  The issue here is that this is not a port, it's a completely new mobile code base with a new internal developer behind it. It doesn't benefit directly from any of the work done on the Java version. It might make business sense to give some discounts to existing players, but I think the logistics of that would be difficult.
- ugh 15y ago
  Just think about all the trouble: Mojang doesn’t use one payment processor, they use two and they would have to find some way to let customers prove to one payment processor that they used the other one. That’s not all that problematic on their side (though still a lot of work), maybe they could find some sort of (semi-)automatic way to get a discount on the desktop version of Minecraft with a receipt or a code the Android app displays. (I would guess that at the volumes Minecraft sells something like this has to generate a lot of support requests, though.) The much, much more common case (existing buyers of Minecraft for the desktop buy the mobile edition) is also much harder. I don’t think the Android Market has a built-in mechanism for entering codes to get discounts or something like that. (Maybe it has, I don’t know. I have never heard of something like that, though.) They would have to create a way for buyers to, I don’t know, maybe enter a code the Android app displays on their website to get a discount. That would again be work but at least it’s possible. But how is Mojang going to get $2, $3 or something like that to the customers? Is there a way to easily do that? I don’t think so and even if the fees would be horrendous. All of this is work and would also probably be a customer support nightmare. It’s easier to just have one price point, especially if it is so low anyway. Hardly anyone will buy the mobile edition and not the desktop edition, how would it be worth it to create an additional price point for this tiny minority? It just doesn’t make any business sense.
beaumartinez 15y ago
For those unaware, when you bought Minecraft in Alpha you were promised you would get all future versions for free. Hence you should get this for free if you bought it in Alpha—this image[1] explains it nicely. [1] http://i.imgur.com/ccckk.png http://i.imgur.com/ccckk.png
- ugh 15y ago
  Really? This kooky theory finds it way to HN from Reddit. Wow. Who would have thought? I’m very disappointed. The language he uses in a blog post is not relevant. What’s relevant is whether a court would think that “future versions” from the license also includes different games using in some respects the same mechanic, that share some resources but not code. That’s very, very unlikely. Your first sentence is justified, the second is speculation masked as a factual statement. (This also reeks of entitlement. Even if Mojang made a mistake when writing their license, asking for all ports to be free is behavior I’m unable to comprehend.)
  - Dylan16807 15y ago
    What makes you consider minecraft pocket edition to be a different game? It looks to me like a straightforward port of the same graphics and mechanics, but I admit I haven't seen any gameplay videos yet. I don't feel particularly entitled to it but it certainly seems like a version of minecraft.
    - ugh 15y ago
      0.7, 0.9, 1.6. Those are commonly understood to be versions. If anything Minecraft is a port of creative mode Minecraft (which is completely free). But not even a straightforward port.
      - Dylan16807 15y ago
        In some contexts "version" only applies to release numbers like that, but this is a more general sense of the word. It explicitly includes add-ons and expansions. I think it's reasonable to expect it to apply to everything minecraft, though I personally accept it if their wording was a mistake and only intended to apply to the pc version(s).
ja2ke 15y ago
I've also bought Minecraft, but I haven't bought this new, differently named title, "Minecraft Pocket Edition," so I'm not concerned or confused.

runjake 15y ago

Because Minecraft Pocket Edition is different software that required months of work and financing (if you've followed its development) to develop. You have to pay again in order for the software developer to make those funds back. There would be a lot less incentive to port software or develop future versions if they had to be made free.

pyre 15y ago
They wouldn't necessarily need to be for free. Porting it to another platform opens up a new market. There are probably a lot of people that have an Android phone that haven't bought Minecraft for iPhone or PC.
- jokermatt999 15y ago
  Minecraft for iPhone doesn't exist, so that's out. Minecraft for PC has existed for months. I could see it drawing in new people with the promotion a new port gives, but I doubt it would be enough to cover development costs considering how many people have already bought Minecraft PC.
  - shinratdr 15y ago
    > Minecraft for PC has existed for months. > Minecraft is a sandbox building indie video game...It was released on May 17, 2009, with a Beta on December 20, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minecraft http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minecraft Years, actually.

MonkeyCrumpets 15y ago

When you buy a game for the Wii, do you expect to get the 3DS version free?

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
risratorn 15y ago
Exactly! Imo it's nothing more than normal you'd have to pay for the mobile versions too.
njharman 15y ago
Yes, just like shifting music or movies from CD/DVD player to mp3/Computer. When I buy "content" or a license to "play" I expect to be able to transfer it amongst all the devices I own. I know software requires manual translation. But, the above behavior is what I expect.
- ugh 15y ago
  Well, then expect to be disappointed. People will want to be paid for their work.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- aw3c2 15y ago
  Music is just data/content, no program code. You can certainly transfer any client files you got from the normal Minecraft installation to your phone and (unsuccessfully) try to use them. A program port is more than just moving data.
- watty 15y ago
  If you bought a house would you expect a smaller replica of your house to be free? No, it requires work to build that house just like the original and therefore costs money.
  - jholman 15y ago
    Worst. Analogy. Evar. If you bought a house, would you expect to be able to use that house on both your desktop AND your laptop, because it's the same damn house? Uh, no, because physical matter doesn't work that way. In case you haven't heard, though, copying data _does_ work that way, and many people DO expect that if they buy music they SHOULD be able to use it on more than one device. And similarly for games (when it's a single chunk of code), which is actually how Minecraft actually works. Note, I'm not arguing that MPE should be free with purchase of Minecraft, or that it shouldn't. I'm just pointing out the deadly obvious: that physical-goods arguments are basically useless for digital goods. I just fed a troll, didn't I?

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

jmilloy 15y ago

Why downvotes? Maybe for many of you, the answer is obvious, but I think this can be an interesting question. Certainly, some additional work goes into each separate version and you shouldn't just get that for free. But to pay full price for both versions seems wrong too. Might there be a base cost, with an additional cost for each system? That's as simple as giving Tam a discount for the mobile version after entering a legitimate license.

watty 15y ago
It's just not how the gaming business works and Mojang would lose money. It's a different game on a different system and probably required a huge effort to optimize code and trim it down to work on a mobile device. They could do a promotion at some point to give discounts but this will never be the norm.
Game_Ender 15y ago
The issue here is that this is not a port, it's a completely new mobile code base with a new internal developer behind it. It doesn't benefit directly from any of the work done on the Java version. It might make business sense to give some discounts to existing players, but I think the logistics of that would be difficult.
ugh 15y ago
Just think about all the trouble: Mojang doesn’t use one payment processor, they use two and they would have to find some way to let customers prove to one payment processor that they used the other one. That’s not all that problematic on their side (though still a lot of work), maybe they could find some sort of (semi-)automatic way to get a discount on the desktop version of Minecraft with a receipt or a code the Android app displays. (I would guess that at the volumes Minecraft sells something like this has to generate a lot of support requests, though.) The much, much more common case (existing buyers of Minecraft for the desktop buy the mobile edition) is also much harder. I don’t think the Android Market has a built-in mechanism for entering codes to get discounts or something like that. (Maybe it has, I don’t know. I have never heard of something like that, though.) They would have to create a way for buyers to, I don’t know, maybe enter a code the Android app displays on their website to get a discount. That would again be work but at least it’s possible. But how is Mojang going to get $2, $3 or something like that to the customers? Is there a way to easily do that? I don’t think so and even if the fees would be horrendous. All of this is work and would also probably be a customer support nightmare. It’s easier to just have one price point, especially if it is so low anyway. Hardly anyone will buy the mobile edition and not the desktop edition, how would it be worth it to create an additional price point for this tiny minority? It just doesn’t make any business sense.

beaumartinez 15y ago

For those unaware, when you bought Minecraft in Alpha you were promised you would get all future versions for free. Hence you should get this for free if you bought it in Alpha—this image[1] explains it nicely. [1] http://i.imgur.com/ccckk.png http://i.imgur.com/ccckk.png

ugh 15y ago
Really? This kooky theory finds it way to HN from Reddit. Wow. Who would have thought? I’m very disappointed. The language he uses in a blog post is not relevant. What’s relevant is whether a court would think that “future versions” from the license also includes different games using in some respects the same mechanic, that share some resources but not code. That’s very, very unlikely. Your first sentence is justified, the second is speculation masked as a factual statement. (This also reeks of entitlement. Even if Mojang made a mistake when writing their license, asking for all ports to be free is behavior I’m unable to comprehend.)
- Dylan16807 15y ago
  What makes you consider minecraft pocket edition to be a different game? It looks to me like a straightforward port of the same graphics and mechanics, but I admit I haven't seen any gameplay videos yet. I don't feel particularly entitled to it but it certainly seems like a version of minecraft.
  - ugh 15y ago
    0.7, 0.9, 1.6. Those are commonly understood to be versions. If anything Minecraft is a port of creative mode Minecraft (which is completely free). But not even a straightforward port.
    - Dylan16807 15y ago
      In some contexts "version" only applies to release numbers like that, but this is a more general sense of the word. It explicitly includes add-ons and expansions. I think it's reasonable to expect it to apply to everything minecraft, though I personally accept it if their wording was a mistake and only intended to apply to the pc version(s).

ja2ke 15y ago

I've also bought Minecraft, but I haven't bought this new, differently named title, "Minecraft Pocket Edition," so I'm not concerned or confused.