Why do you think Minecraft has become so popular?

[Luke Martin]

As I said in the title, why do you think Minecraft has become so popular? Just so we're clear, I love minecraft. I've played hours and hours of it. I've just been wondering lately why it's become so popular. Other game have used old school looks, and many games have used the building mechanics. Do you think it was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time?

 

[techbeast34]

I guess it's just how it's been designed for both people young and old. Younger people have an outlet for creation, where rules don't really apply and you can do just about anything, where as older people use it to reminisce over their own childhoods. It's gotten even more popular because of YouTubers doing LP's of Minecraft. Programmers have a place too, where they can not only create amazing redstone creations, but create mods, and even program in some mods. The abilities you have in just vanilla Minecraft is already pretty extensive, and if people 5 years ago saw what it's like now, they'd be enthralled. But yeah, I believe it was a matter of right place, right time, because a few years earlier or a few years later would've resulted in a smaller userbase, but it was released just at the time where teenagers who played these old games wanted to play them again, and younger people wanted something new.

 

[Nate5]

I think the fact that you can now join a server and create huge projects with other people is a huge factor. The creativity factor is huge in Mincraft, and there's also the aim to get more rare materials and dig deeper than ever before. I've seen so many large scale projects, such as an entire city or a fully functional "computer" made with redstone. It's pretty awesome stuff, not to mention the more fantasy element to it e.g. Netherworld

 

[BluBird]

I think minecraft became popular due to the similarity to the popular brand called LEGO. Lego however, has became increasingly expensive and continue to bargain costlier prices. Minecraft is simple, and the competency to be able to build anything you can imagine is something that defiantly arouses the human mind. Minecraft is only 25 dollars, compared to the 500 dollar lego deathstar, minecraft is definitely worth it!

 

[primaLucid]

I think Minecraft has become so popular because of the expansive and endless possibilities Minecraft offers. You can do anything, there is nothing that can prevent you from exploring the world and opening up your limits, going beyond what is expected and experiencing what Minecraft can offer (Creativity, Adventure, Combat)

 

[c9h2ua]

I think that is because it provides a platform for players to create a world they want.
In reality, they would not be able to build anything, and Minecraft is a good platform for them to build their dream!!
Also, it is not that kind of exciting game that requires much skill or knowledge.
Therefore, players can be liberated from the real world and enjoy their little happiness!!

 

[utneqo7d]

The thing with Minecraft is that you can literally do anything with it. You can go online and play minigames like hunger games, TNT run, ... or you can build together a huge project on a server which you can host yourself. And the fact that you can mod the game to your own preferences makes it even better, since that makes the game truly unlimited!

 

[Medo22]

I think that Minecraft became so popular because the game has no limitations, meaning that you basically decide your own destiny when playing the game, as there is no one way to play it. This means that you can play the game with tons of different goals on your mind every time you play it. Also, Minecraft was something new and different at the time of its release, which attracted lots of people including myself. Learning Minecraft was one of the best things about it. I remember when I used to watch videos of people playing and trying to do things they did and it was very fun! Just exploring, finding new things and recipes was very fun for me and I imagine it was for others too. As others said, people also loved Minecraft because they assumed it was virtual legos.

 

[phreakeh]

Probably because it's simple but can get really difficult if you want. Another reason is that you can mod it into an different game and this attracts a lot of people and developers. It was also the only game having cubes when it released and people really liked the style. Also the huge youtube community made it even more popular and it's like the most popular game ever made.

 

[Webene]

The beauty of Minecraft is that there is no underlying objective in the game. You can argue that even MMO's expect you to level up certain things to gain access to otherwise inaccessible content. So Minecraft lets the player just enjoy themselves and do whatever they want, which is a huge part of its popularity. Being allowed so much freedom to explore your creative side is one of the major appeals of the game to me. Even when your mood changes throughout the day or week, you can still find something that suits your particular mood at that current time. I know with many games this is not the case. For example, you are probably not in the mood to play a first person shooter all the time. Also, that feeling of having a goal in mind and dedicating so much time working towards it, then finally sitting back and looking at what you just made is very powerful in my opinion.

 

[utneqo7d]

The beauty of Minecraft is that there is no underlying objective in the game. You can argue that even MMO's expect you to level up certain things to gain access to otherwise inaccessible content. So Minecraft lets the player just enjoy themselves and do whatever they want, which is a huge part of its popularity. Being allowed so much freedom to explore your creative side is one of the major appeals of the game to me. Even when your mood changes throughout the day or week, you can still find something that suits your particular mood at that current time. I know with many games this is not the case. For example, you are probably not in the mood to play a first person shooter all the time. Also, that feeling of having a goal in mind and dedicating so much time working towards it, then finally sitting back and looking at what you just made is very powerful in my opinion.

'There's no objective' ... 'having a goal'
Damn it, what is it what you want? XD

No, I'm just kidding, I see what you mean by 'no objective'. The game has a kind of story (with the End and the Wither and stuff) though you can choose yourself what to do indeed, that's a thing a lot of developers forget, to give their gamers freedom, and since notch started it as a small, hobby project, it's way more free than any other game.

 

[kittyworker]

I think from the early days the way Notch engaged with the community really helped develop a cult following for the game. It also was at a time where there wasn't any other games really of its type, this really helped it establish its position. The impact of Youtube and Social Media is without question on this game, I would say this was the difference between Minecraft being a successful game and the powerhouse it has become.

 

[Pudge]

At the time when started to become popular it was a rather fresh and exciting title. Most people didn't really have contact with games like these before, and Minecraft popuralized the genre (kind of like WoW did with MMOs). It's also a title that pretty much markets itself, because players want to share their creations online, so they make YouTube videos and discuss the game online.

 

[Esharion]

A combination of an incredible community, effective marketing through user created content and mouth-of-word, fun, addictive gameplay, endless replayability through modding and personal projects, iconic design, etc etc. I think this is just one of those 'lightning in a bottle' cases. I can't really see any other game exploding to success like Minecraft did. It's gotten to the point where Minecraft is a pop icon, something no one would have expected at the game's conception.

 

[Avex]

Both marketing and the simplicity of the game itself are what gave it the success it has. People have the ability to let their imaginations go wild and build whatever they want. All the new plugins and whatnot you can get for your servers have given it that extra boost. That's just my opinion though

 

[LitoLawless]

I honestly only played very little of the game and it isn't really anything that is that special. Games like Minecraft and Candy Crush are so simple that they appeal to many different people. It's a strategy that a lot of games made for casual gamers take (although, Minecraft is a little more complicated than Candy Crush). I think that it's one of the reasons that games like Minecraft have had a lot of success.

 

[RobertNick]

I guess it's because it doesn't really have a goal. It doesn't place you in the middle of the map asking you to shoot this or that, nor does it ask you to overthrow some corrupt government, it just leaves you there to do whater you want. You don't build a house because there's a quest that tells you to, you do it because you have to, or just because you want to. You're in your own tiny world, no rules, no authority, just you. AND A CREEPER.

 

[RobertNick]

I guess it's because it doesn't really have a goal. It doesn't place you in the middle of the map asking you to shoot this or that, nor does it ask you to overthrow some corrupt government, it just leaves you there to do whater you want. You don't build a house because there's a quest that tells you to, you do it because you have to, or just because you want to. You're in your own tiny world, no rules, no authority, just you. AND A CREEPER.

 

[Jack123]

It's populartity, at the heart, is down to the community. The community is always generating new content: maps, gamemodes, modifications and resources. It is always in your face. Go on YouTube's homepage, scroll to Gaming, you see Minecraft. Go on a gaming forum, what do you see? Minecraft. Talk to a kid, what do you usually hear? Minecraft (or god forbid, Call of Duty).

 

[RUTHLESS]

I think it helps that adults and children, both, can enjoy it. And there. It a lot of violence so parents prefers it for their children, as opposed to GTAV. My 6 year old plays it every chance he gets, and he is REALLY good at it. I think another bonus is it gives you the power to make your own world. It's whatever you want!