# How the heck is Minecraft #1 best-selling PC game???



## Aribeth (Jan 14, 2012)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_PC_games










wow
wow
wow
wow
no comment


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## Umpalumpa (Jan 26, 2014)

Never even tried it, what should be #1 in your opinion?


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## minimized (Nov 17, 2007)

Because it sold a lot kappa

It's on every single platform and has good word-of-mouth and is cheap. Anyone can play it.


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## Shameful (Sep 5, 2014)

Well maybe if you didn't pirate the games you like... 

It's cuz of the family friendliness of course, the <14 market sells a lot of games.


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## Wirt (Jan 16, 2009)

how is that surprising? 

half life 2 is 3rd and i dont know anyone irl besides my brother that played it. traditional "gamers" play half life 2

lots of people played minecraft. and like shameful said, kids love it


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## Genos (Dec 17, 2014)

i've played it and i don't quite get it either.


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## Scrub-Zero (Feb 9, 2004)

It made me a little sick to see how well Diablo 3 sold. What a huge rip off.


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## AussiePea (Mar 27, 2007)

Yeah Minecraft seems a hit with the youngsters and on the weekend I was helping a 10 year old and his friend play. I never really enjoyed it personally though.


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## minimized (Nov 17, 2007)

Railroad Tycoon II only sold 1 mil. You tell me how that happens.


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## Marv1991 (Dec 16, 2014)

It's quite cheap, it's a very unique game and it's available on pretty much every platform. It also came out at a time when YouTubers/Let's Plays started to see a significant increase in viewers and a lot of them were playing Minecraft, which in turn increased its popularity. And the fact that everyone and their momma nowadays has a means to play said game.

I like it but only play it every now and then.

What impresses me the most about it, is that it was all started by one man in his own home, probably made it sitting in his dorito stained underwear as well. Lucky b*****d.

EDIT: Just realized you said best-selling *PC *Game, so that negates my "available on everyone platform" and "everyone and their momma" comments.


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## coldmorning (Jul 4, 2007)

Remind me to put the word 'craft' in the title of any game I make.


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## Aribeth (Jan 14, 2012)

VipFuj said:


> half life 2 is 3rd and i dont know anyone irl besides my brother that played it. traditional "gamers" play half life 2


You kidding me? Almost every guy I've ever met (below the age of ~35) played Half Life 2!!!



Scrub-Zero said:


> It made me a little sick to see how well Diablo 3 sold. What a huge rip off.


Yeah but at least you can understand how that is possible. Blizzard... you know Blizzard. Their biggest marketing effort, with a name like "Diablo"... It was bound to sell millions even if the game was 10 times worse.

I personally don't know anyone that plays Minecraft :um
I mean I met a couple of random kids on the internet that played it, but that's pretty much it...


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## BackToThePast (Aug 31, 2012)

It's simple (complex if you allow it to be), easy to pick up (universal), nonlinear (replayability) and apparently endorsed by many school curricula ($$$). Lots of folks I know played Minecraft several years ago. Nowadays I barely know any who do. Maybe the demographic shifted towards a younger generation of gamers.


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## MCHB (Jan 1, 2013)

1. Kids love Lego
2. Minecraft is Digital Lego! 

So Lego my Eggo and go build a Winnebago!

I'm sorry...that was terrible. :boogie


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## Fledgling (Jan 1, 2013)

I don't know what exactly the criteria for that list is, but it seems to be missing some key titles. But Minecraft being at the top spot is certainly believable.


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## CWe (Mar 7, 2010)

Weird. Game seemed boring to me


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## ScorchedEarth (Jul 12, 2014)

The impressive thing to me is that it's not on a major distribution platform like Steam, and still doing very well. Very few indie games can boast that. As for the game, never played it but if it's anything like Terraria the appeal is similar to Legos, and I freaking loved Legos. There's something for everyone in games like this - builders, OCD collectors, explorers and twitch players. They're cheap, easy to get into and the procedural generation gives it a lot of replay value.


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## OutsideR1 (Mar 13, 2014)

What I dont understand if that games today look stunning and yet others choose to sink hundreds of hours playing with blocks. And dont say that good looking games are bad cuz a lot are amazing.


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## ScorchedEarth (Jul 12, 2014)

OutsideR1 said:


> What I dont understand if that games today look stunning and yet others choose to sink hundreds of hours playing with blocks. And dont say that good looking games are bad cuz a lot are amazing.


Depends on the game. If I want to drive around and do crazy **** in a semi-believable world, yeah I'll pop in GTA. But if I want to build, craft and dig I'll get Terraria because AAA games don't have this kind of world manipulation. And GTA is a generous example - games like Mass Effect, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, or Assassin's Creed have static worlds. High-budget art assets, yes, but what can you do with them, really?


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## Joe (May 18, 2010)

OutsideR1 said:


> What I dont understand if that games today look stunning and yet others choose to sink hundreds of hours playing with blocks. And dont say that good looking games are bad cuz a lot are amazing.


I don't look for realism and super high graphics in games.

Minecraft appeals to everyone though, is cheap and has a ton of re-playability and mods single and multiplayer.

How did Diablo 3 sell 8million more than Diablo 2 though?


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## Improbable (Jan 1, 2015)

Haven't played a PC game since Sam & Max Hit the Road.

Doesn't look like I've missed much.


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## Marv1991 (Dec 16, 2014)

Joe said:


> How did Diablo 3 sell 8million more than Diablo 2 though?


I'm guessing it's because more people play video games nowadays and World of Warcraft's popularity probably had a hand in it as well. The hype train was big on that one too because of Diablo 2's critical acclaim. "Choo choo mofo's, all aboard" I believe was there ad slogan.


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## Joe (May 18, 2010)

Marv1991 said:


> I'm guessing it's because more people play video games nowadays and World of Warcraft's popularity probably had a hand in it as well. The hype train was big on that one too because of Diablo 2's critical acclaim. "Choo choo mofo's, all aboard" I believe was there ad slogan.


yeah that would make sense, people who have never heard of diablo were interested due to hype


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## AngelClare (Jul 10, 2012)

I can't believe that Populous sold more than Doom


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## joked35 (Oct 13, 2013)

I can't believe it's not butter!


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## foe (Oct 10, 2010)

I'm a proud owner of the original Half-Life.


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## blueman1027 (Aug 9, 2013)

It's all about replay value. Minecraft is a game you can play over and over again doing different things in different worlds on different servers with different players. 

Minecraft is a simple little game that I play for a week or two, then put down for a couple of months. After a month or two, there are a bunch of new servers, mods, updates, downloadable maps, players, etc. I get another one or two weeks of fun, and the cycle continues. Meanwhile, I can go play through the story of L.A. Noire, a great looking game with a fun story mode and a huge, detailed city to drive around in. Once I finish the story, I exit the game and never reopen it. A year later, I uninstall it, because I know I'm not going to play it again. 

Why don't I play L.A. Noire instead of Minecraft? L.A. Noire has far superior graphics, a story that is more dynamic than "get diamond tools, get diamond armor, make end portal, kill enderdragon", and a ton of cars and places to see. L.A. Noire was also $60 when I bought it. Minecraft Premium was around $20 (I think...not sure. I bought it during beta 1.7.3) Yet, I've certainly sunk over 200 hours in Minecraft and maybe 15 in L.A. Noire. It's simple, after you finish the story in L.A. Noire, there's nothing to do!

That's the downfall of many AAA games that come out today, in my opinion. They focus so hard on making their games visually stunning that they slack on the gameplay and seem to think that a series of collectibles and maybe a few mini-games is sufficient keep people playing for hundreds of hours.

Personally, I'm happy to see Minecraft rise to the top. I hope it helps AAA developers and publishers realize that stunning graphics alone are not worth $60. I would also hope that it would make them realize that $60 is a completely ridiculous price point for any video game, but I'm not holding my breath. 

Not to mention, I'm sure you'd see a lot less people pirating AAA games if they weren't $60 for 8-12 hours of fun. Hell, I spent $7 on Euro Truck Simulator 2 and I'm about to hit 200 hours on that game.


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## knightofdespair (May 20, 2014)

Stupid kids is why - there are a lot of em.


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## anomnomnom (May 28, 2013)

Blizzard certainly nailed marketing and the hype train then...

I'm also surprised WoW is that "low" 

I don't get the minecraft hype, its all kids fault, back when I was kid you had proper games not just a sandbox to make giant stone ***** for comedy!


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## Elad (Dec 6, 2009)

this is something i don't understand either, even my 12 year old cousin has started playing it and when i ask ..why? i get the impression its just because everyone else is

is this like some retro game hipster hype thing that everyone is buying into? serious question 

the only appeal i can see is the social aspect


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## FixMeNow (Aug 20, 2014)

Why is this surprising to you?


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## ScorchedEarth (Jul 12, 2014)

This may help in understanding...


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## coldmorning (Jul 4, 2007)

I learned a long time ago never to assume my tastes on a product reflects that of the wider consumer base. This becomes very useful if you ever do things like make something you want to sell, or invest in stocks or companies.


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## BackToThePast (Aug 31, 2012)

coldmorning said:


> I learned a long time ago never to assume my tastes on a product reflects that of the wider consumer base. This becomes very useful if you ever do things like make something you want to sell, or invest in stocks or companies.


That's a very good point. I suppose it's a reflection of how people don't always consider other perspectives when it comes to questioning the interests of something they personally don't agree with.


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## Nunuc (Jul 9, 2013)

I bought two copies to support the poor indie dev. :cig


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## Kind Of (Jun 11, 2014)

It was probably Endermen. They kept breaking into my home and touching my stuff, or hiding under my fishing tower and scaring me into falling off. They're *******s.


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## JustThisGuy (Mar 24, 2012)

Aribeth said:


> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_PC_games
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well, this proves it. PC gamers are far superior to us lowly console gamers. 

Just poking at the PC gamers who flame.


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## H i (Nov 23, 2013)

Scrub-Zero said:


> It made me a little sick to see how well Diablo 3 sold. What a huge rip off.


What I wish diablo 3 would have been like:

remade diablo 2 the same with just upgraded 2d sprites, animations, graphics.

Add minor content: couple new hirelings, bug fixes. Closed realm events.

Add Moderate content: new items, rune words, couple skills per class.

Add Major content: a couple new areas and events such as cow level, ubers and
events such as clone diablo. Better online servers with more stability (secure).

Diablo 2 should be best game in my book!  minecraft sucks..


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## dadadoom (Nov 14, 2013)

minimized said:


> Because it sold a lot kappa
> 
> It's on every single platform and has good word-of-mouth and is cheap. Anyone can play it.


Autism. Autistic kids to be specific. And human stupidity. That´s why it sells. A pathetic game IMO.


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## Kiba (Apr 26, 2013)

it was the kick off for this ridiculous indie survival sandbox trend, which i guess is what this generation of gamers want. Mindless crafting and building with friends.


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

I don't want to play it but it's easy for me to see why it's popular. The same reason lego is popular.

Creativity is fun kids, stop being a bunch of wet blankets lol.



coldmorning said:


> Remind me to put the word 'craft' in the title of any game I make.


:lol


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## Sain (Sep 19, 2011)

So diablo 3 sold 3x more than diablo 2... and baldurs gate isn't even on that list, yet sacred and dungeon siege (far far inferior games) are.

Yup, that's why people don't bother making good games.


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## fingertips (Jan 11, 2009)

minecraft's fun. i like it. i don't think all the decisions mojang has made are great, but it's got a good core to it.

i don't particularly like mmorpgs, but i'm not shocked and appalled that world of warcraft is so popular. i don't expect ~the market~ to reflect my tastes, and that's okay.


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## Imbored21 (Jun 18, 2012)

I bought it and played it for 10 minutes. Biggest waste of $30 ever.


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## Cmasch (Jan 24, 2015)

It's on a ton of platforms and doesn't require high end graphics or cpu, the key is it's a super AGE friendly game as well. I personally find it boring.


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## Cheesecake (Feb 2, 2007)

I enjoy it. It's fun to mess around in it, create things, explore.


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## youcantseeme (Feb 6, 2015)

It's cheap, fun and addictive. It's talked about by every gamer whether they love it or hate it. Even you made a post about it. It's a very popular game even if it gets repetitive and boring after a while.


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## regimes (Aug 24, 2011)

because it's _great_

and you can do just abt anything- build a farm, a dream house, fight other players, you name it


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## Sprocketjam (Feb 16, 2014)

Because every kid 12 and under plays it and it's really popular with adults as well. It has huge replayability and has a large modding scene. It also went viral thanks to Youtube, so it didn't need the marketing that Blizzard games receive. Youtubers did that for them (Yogscast).


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## dadadoom (Nov 14, 2013)

Minecraft is one of these things that can double my depression in question of seconds. It is not a good game. It doesn´t require that you explain why it succeeded. It succedeed because people are dumb, and kinds are dumber. Like 5 nights at Freddie´s.


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## Unit731 (Mar 6, 2015)

Fuking retard kids play that game, that's how it sold so much


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## Scrub-Zero (Feb 9, 2004)

My 7 year old niece loves minecraft. It's a game for kids and gamers who like to build stuff.

I'm not into minecraft, but i do like Starbound which is similar i guess, beside being a 2d sidescrolling game.


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## WriteMyMind (Jan 4, 2015)

I would have to say because a lot of PC gamers liked the idea of it, its pretty awesome that you can build anything on it, is practically never ending, has a nice 8-bit retro feel to it and is made with java!
Also in some cases you have to use logic and think how to build complex things, such as circuits with redstone etc. So it appeals to the Computer scientists, gamers, engineers and creative people as your imagination is basically your only limit in the game (within reason).
Not to mention it's massive over the younger generation as it's child friendly and it's essentially virtual lego where you can play with your friends wherever they are! Which must be very appealing as I used to love lego as a child!

I think the game is an awesome concept, and I do own it. I especially like the games people make for it & online servers, such as the Hunger Games, Hide & Seek etc. But it's not my gaming preference as I prefer FPS games however I can definitely see why so many people love it!


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