Minecraft sells 4 million copies and prepares for full release

Who would have thought that in a time where high definition is king of the castle and the inclusion of more details is almost mandatory, a game based on pixelated objects and built on Java could pass the 4 million sales mark? Yet, here we are, witnessing Minecraft’s coronation as one of the most played titles in recent history, which comes to show that simple mechanics combined with a good idea can go a long way.

The road to success, block by block

It’s incredible that a game that have yet to leave its beta phase has reached such a number of players, but it’s obvious that Minecraft has that “extra something” that make certain things successful.

It’s more shocking to learn that Markus “Notch” Persson, the title’s developer, was inspired by a very similar game called Infiniminer. The resemblance between both titles is astonishing, with the difference that the latter only gained a selected cult of followers (Notch included) and was discontinued after a short existence.

With this story behind it, it seems like Minecraft is the living proof of how things can somewhat be predetermined. It’s like the game mechanics were off to conquer the world, regardless of the title they were used in.

Time to graduate

But that isn’t the only relevant news surrounding Minecraft nowadays. That’s because after more than two years in development, Minecraft will be released as full version, leaving behind a long beta period. The launch will take place during next week’s Minecon 2011, an event with all of the game ‘s related subjects, which will be held in Las Vegas.

There, Notch will taking the stage to make the necessary introductions, something with which he doesn’t feel comfortable. According to his own blog, he has “a feeling most people are waiting for the full release. This makes me nervous.” And added “what really makes me nervous is the fact that I’m going to have to do at least some public speaking at MineCon.”

However, and as Notch himself made clear in his post, the game has already proven itself. Now it’s the time to enjoy it while, of course, continue with the development to provide its players with more content and possibilities that keep them interested.