On the 28th of September, Minecraft’s PC, mobile, and international versions were released at the same time.
Many players were waiting eagerly in front of their computers, purchasing and downloading the game as soon as they could.
Moreover, Chen Mo had already mentioned that the PC could do everything the VR version could, only that the graphics were slightly worse; There was crossplay between PC, VR, and mobile versions, just that the mobile version didn’t support online multiplayer and ‘Chen Mo’s World’.
The PC version of Minecraft was priced at twenty eight RMB, the mobile version at twelve RMb, and the international version sold for thirty-nine USD.
The international version only supported the VR version for now. The game didn’t grab as much attention as Warcraft and Diablo did so it was unlikely that it would be all that popular in a short amount of time. It would most likely take some time to snowball its popularity.
But compared to Chinese players, there were many international players who liked the exploration and creating aspect of the game. And from his previous life, the original Minecraft gained popularity really quickly, so Chen Mo wasn’t worried at all.
What Chen Mo cared about was the PC and mobile version in China.
Everybody had their eyes on the statistics for the PC and mobile version of Minecraft.
The number of sales on the first day was soon released.
Minecraft PC version: sixty-five thousand.
Minecraft mobile version: one hundred and thirty-seven thousand.
The entire gaming industry was dumbfounded again.
This completely exceeded their expectations. To put it simply, the PC sales exceeded Diablo, and the mobile version approached Onmyoji (Average daily downloads in the first week).
Of course it wasn’t the best comparison due to the cost to develop the games and its profit model, but just from these sales, Minecraft was incredibly successful.
Moreover, Diablo and Onmyoji had incredible graphics and had been promoted for a long time before its release.
Onmyoji in particular could be described as having the stars align for it. It was completely normal for a free game like Onmyoji to reach incredibly high downloads when mobile card games were incredibly popular.
But Minecraft?
VR, PC, and mobile versions were considered separate copies, and the all three had crossplay. Many thought that there was no reason for VR players to buy the PC or mobile versions, so the playerbases must be different.
But in reality, this was completely wrong.
Many players who already bought the VR version bought the PC and mobile version without a second thought, and this was the majority of players too.
And most players who hadn’t tried out the VR version would buy the PC or mobile version.
The reason being that Minecraft was a relatively unique game.
As the mobile version was the cheapest, many players who wanted to try the most classic experience bought this to try it out.
And the PC version was the most ideal version, as it was more convenient than the VR version, the players could build for a long time, and had better graphics than the mobile version. Therefore, many players who owned the VR version would buy the PC version as well.
And because of how much hype the VR version generated, the game was incredibly well known and many players were waiting for the PC and mobile versions, which played a big part in the huge number of sales.
With Minecraft’s release on PC and mobile, many players who have been itching to play the game were finally able to scratch that itch.
“This newbie finally got the PC version, could a high skill player suggest which server I should play on?”
“To be honest the PC version is quite great. Although it doesn’t look as good as the VR version, it doesn’t lack in any other aspect at all. The best part is the complete crossplay support. Hooray!”
“The mobile version isn’t bad either. Being able to play anywhere is incredible!”
After trying out the PC version, I’ve decided that I would finally buy a VR gaming pod. I think that the VR version should be even more immersive.”
“I finally understand why you guys call this game ‘Somebody else’s world’ after building a house for some time on PC. I’m destroying this matchbox that I build, nobody get in my way!”
—
On the other side of things, Minecraft’s international version also received great reviews.
Many players were confused, why would the company that made Warcraft and Diablo make a puzzle game?
But after trying it out, the players were stunned at how playable it was. The international version sold quite a few copies, and even had better reviews than Diablo.
Some of the international players also started reposting some of the more classic building guides and tutorials. The building game also gained the attention of some smaller communities, and some technology nerds started delving deeper and deeper into the unique charisma of the game.
—
Today, there were two special guests in the experience store.
Chen Mo was in the office working on what’s coming up next, but he got a phone call from the front desk on the first floor, where a pair of father and daughter wanted to see him.
Chen Mo went down to the first floor to find Nini.
Nini was incredibly happy to see Chen Mo, running towards him to pass the tablet to Chen Mo.
The father said, “Nini, why remember to thank uncle Chen Mo.”
Nini said cutely, “Thanks uncle Chen Mo!”
Chen Mo corrected her, “It’s big brother Chen Mo! Remember that alright?”
Nini nodded, “I’ll remember it, uncle Chen Mo!”
Chen Mo was speechless.
The father also laughed at Nini’s actions, and said to Chen Mo, “I’d like to thank you again for last time.”
Chen Mo waved his hand, “It was nothing. It’s my honour to have a player like Nini. Also, the experience store now has VR gaming pods, you can get Nini to try that out.”
Nini cheered, “Papa, I want to play in the gaming pod!”
The father seemingly helpless, patted her on the head, “Alright, papa got it. I’ll bring you to the gaming pod alright?”
Chen Mo smiled, “Just take the elevator to the third floor. Nini, you can only play for an hour alright?”
Nini was already skipping and jumping towards the elevators, “Okay uncle Chen Mo!”
Chen Mo was speechless.
Nini was still waving excitedly at Chen Mo as the doors to the elevator slowly closed.
Seeing how happy Nini was, Chen Mo knew that it was a great idea to bring Minecraft to this world. At least to Nini, this game brought her a lot of joy.
Isn’t the point of making games to bring people happiness?