Mojang Reveals Subscription-Based Minecraft Realms

[Jiefu]

it could ultimately end up bringing in even more money that Minecraft itself

Correction, it could ultimately end up bringing in even more money into Notch's bank account. To even remotely imply that after the literally hundreds of millions of dollars in profits they can't get a decent development team onboard is absolutely maddening. Absolutely maddening and they can go fuck themselves along with all their money-making schemes for as long as they don't give the game the attention it needs.

You're completely unreasonable. The game just got another major update. New things are constantly being added. This is literally the second time they've monetized Minecraft itself, the first being selling the game. Your attitude is what is wrong with the world.

 

[The_Echo]

I... wait, what? Minecraft's servers work a bit differently than other games. You kind of have to go find them yourself. There isn't some list in-game.

I mean... it's not like there aren't plenty of servers out there already that enforce an all-ages code of conduct (Nerdcrafteria comes to mind).

Not that I'm against this... I just don't see why it needs to be.

 

[WanderingFool]

People. It's a server rental. This exists as a third party service, so what the hell is wrong with Mojang doing the same? Just ignore it and run your own private server, it's still allowed.

Safe and easy for kids? So no Creepers? Don't they already have a peaceful mode?

Different kind of creepers...

That's a nice chastity you got there...



(Captcha: "Oh yes". God dammit captcha. Must you make this even more creepy?)

0_o...


Captcha seems to have quite the drak side now, doesnt it...

 

[Denamic]

Eehhh, this does seem dubious as hell. Sorry but I don't have enough blind faith in Mojang to say this doesn't look like money grubbing, cause it damn well does. I really can't see the whole "parents wanting a safe environment" thing being that big either, to warrant THIS anyway. Most parents (That aren't tech savvy) have no idea what their kids are doing on the PC as it is and won't care about this, those that do could usually figure out how to rent another server, or setup a local one.

And, a lot of people seem to be treating these "kids" like god damn toddlers. Most, if not all of them are teenagers, 10+, perhaps I put to much faith in my younger brother (13), but I'm pretty sure he could figure out how to run a damn server himself, it really isn't difficult if you can read.

Dubious?
It's rented servers, not back-alley drug deals.

 

[Elate]

Eehhh, this does seem dubious as hell. Sorry but I don't have enough blind faith in Mojang to say this doesn't look like money grubbing, cause it damn well does. I really can't see the whole "parents wanting a safe environment" thing being that big either, to warrant THIS anyway. Most parents (That aren't tech savvy) have no idea what their kids are doing on the PC as it is and won't care about this, those that do could usually figure out how to rent another server, or setup a local one.

And, a lot of people seem to be treating these "kids" like god damn toddlers. Most, if not all of them are teenagers, 10+, perhaps I put to much faith in my younger brother (13), but I'm pretty sure he could figure out how to run a damn server himself, it really isn't difficult if you can read.

Dubious?
It's rented servers, not back-alley drug deals.

Hey yo kid, I get some freshly cut, premium redstone here.

But I don't see your point, dubious was correct usage there. I don't trust it, it marks the start of a possibly bad path for Mojang, they were already talking about trying to add subscription to their new game, funnily enough for the same reasons EA did with Sim City, for "server side calculations".

 

[theultimateend]

Private paid servers for people who don't know how to/don't feel like running their own free server.
This is... actually a pretty good idea

Yep.

Lot of geeks in this thread are overestimating the average knowledge level of Minecraft players (or people) in general.

 

[Denamic]

Eehhh, this does seem dubious as hell. Sorry but I don't have enough blind faith in Mojang to say this doesn't look like money grubbing, cause it damn well does. I really can't see the whole "parents wanting a safe environment" thing being that big either, to warrant THIS anyway. Most parents (That aren't tech savvy) have no idea what their kids are doing on the PC as it is and won't care about this, those that do could usually figure out how to rent another server, or setup a local one.

And, a lot of people seem to be treating these "kids" like god damn toddlers. Most, if not all of them are teenagers, 10+, perhaps I put to much faith in my younger brother (13), but I'm pretty sure he could figure out how to run a damn server himself, it really isn't difficult if you can read.

Dubious?
It's rented servers, not back-alley drug deals.

Hey yo kid, I get some freshly cut, premium redstone here.

But I don't see your point, dubious was correct usage there. I don't trust it, it marks the start of a possibly bad path for Mojang, they were already talking about trying to add subscription to their new game, funnily enough for the same reasons EA did with Sim City, for "server side calculations".

I don't think you understand how the online server dynamic works in gaming communities. People are already renting out servers for Minecraft. Rented servers have been a thing since before even Quake 1. Why wouldn't Mojang take part in that market? It brings more competition and will likely drive the server prices down as a result. It's entirely optional and brings nothing but positive things for the consumer.

Plus, not all people have the computing power, or a spare computer, or a stable enough internet connection to host a server themselves. A few bucks for a rented server is perfectly reasonable.

 

[Elate]

-Snip.-

Having owned several servers, minecraft and otherwise myself. Locally and renting, I'm pretty sure I have a good idea. And I never said it wasn't reasonable, hence the word you so picked on to start with, I said it was dubious, nothing wrong with it as it is, but somewhat worrying about it. I personally can't see the market for it, and don't see why they need to, so it makes me suspicious of their motives, as you already pointed out, there are already plenty of people hosting servers.

As I said, I'm worried about this in the long term business view, I don't believe that a company would implement something like that "Just to see", I think it's more likely they're market testing a new idea for a future game, and those are the implications that worry me, as those are the kind of things that set trends.

 

[Jamous]

So essentially they're running their own servers for hire? That's actually a pretty good idea, certainly within the sort of context they've given. I'd certainly consider at least looking into it if I was in custody of a child into Minecraft. Looking forward to seeing it in action.

 

[Groenteman]

Hold on a minute, 10 to 15 dollars a month? For a minecraft server with a babysitter?

It might be just me but it seems to me all mojang is capable of is publicity stunts and moneymaking without any actual gamemaking. The updates they put out are realy just fluff and feathers compared to what some modders put out (as one-man team, in their spare time...)

...

That all aside I would hate to be the person who has to babysit a horde of pre-teen minecrafters that are well out of smacking range.

 

[PissOffRoth]

I'm baffled that nobody sees the utility of this for parents who want their kids to be able to get the full Minecraft experience, but in an environment that is less threatening.

I know that most of us being adults has caused us to, in general, forget about what we actually look like to a third party. But a bunch of foul-mouthed, dirty-minded chucklefucks probably isn't the sort of group the average parent wants to toss their child into. A setup like this that is more closely monitored could prevent their kids from meeting the more... unseemly sorts, while still letting them enjoy the game. They don't even have to be tech-savvy enough to start their own server to do so.

Yes, you might be tempted to think that all the people who play Minecraft are different from the hate-spewers that inhabit the rest of the internet, but you'd be wrong. These rentable servers will hopefully be monitored by admins and have some bannable offences, like inappropriate language and hate speech. Great idea.

 

[iblis666]

I dont know, if i wanted to play on a kid friendly server with a good community I would just play Worlds Apart or one of the many other servers that cater to kids. But if a person wanted to i guess this is ok as long as their friends dont need to pay $15 to play on their realm.

 

[indelibleStain]

The lack of business acumen in this thread is staggering and, I'm afraid, laughable.

The very fact that there are thousands of players paying for hosted server solutions makes this a wise and belated business expansion. Mojang should have ALWAYS offered such services to players.

It's likely that this limited service is a testing bed for future plans. We know that the Bukkit team are working for Mojang now, which means a Mojang modification layer to replace the third party apps that currently dominate the landscape is coming. Given a simple, straight forward marketing scheme - where the pitch is based on the number of players, and omits hardware, bandwidth and slot concerns almost entirely - this will have the benefit of being a trusted service above and beyond what is available now.

The BIG talking point here is less that it is happening, and more than it will likely lead to the long term erosion of the third party hosting market for Minecraft. Once Mojang add in mod functionality, there is no way third party hosts will be able to compete.

Meanwhile, Notch goes out of his way to attack Microsoft for closing the Windows platform whilst his own company pursues such blatantly protectionist business practices as to work to destroy an entirely legitimate third party market. Good game.

 

[Th37thTrump3t]

Hint: if you want your kids to play minecraft in a private, safe environment, just start a server in your LAN.

It's free!

You realize that about 99.9% of parents out there have absolutely no clue what a LAN even is, let alone how to set one up, right?

If it keeps all the whiny ten year olds out of the actual servers, then shit I'm all for it! I of course won't be buying a subscription myself but I can safely assume that my stepmom would love to hear about this for my 11 year old brother.