Minecraft – Pocket Edition Will Launch As Android Exclusive, But What About iPhone?

John Brownlee (9:09 am PDT, May 25 2011)

Indie sensation Minecraft is coming to smartphones this year… but it won’t be coming to iOS first. Instead, it’ll debut on Android as an exclusive to the so-called PlayStation Phone, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. It’s a betrayal that especially hurts given the fact that Minecraft was briefly available on the App Store last year.

According to Minecraft lead developer Notch, Minecraft — Pocket Edition will be expressly built to take advantage of the Xperia Play’s unique hardware controls, including PlayStation-like shoulder buttons and D-pads.

This doesn’t mean that Minecraft isn’t coming to iOS… but it does mean that Sony Ericsson paid Mojang a pretty penny for an exclusive window. It’s an exclusive the Xperia Play — which launched last month in Europe — desperately needs, as sales of are terrible, especially for the Play’s exclusive games. From an iPhone owner’s perspective, though, that exclusive is trouble: depending on how long that window is, we could be waiting awhile for Minecraft to hit the App Store.

Also distressing: this means that, at least in the short term, Minecraft — Pocket Edition isn’t being built from the ground up for touchscreen controls only, but for a weird hybrid of multitouch and physical buttons that will never be available on an iDevice.

Frustrating news all around. Not only do iPhone and iPad owners have to wait longer for Minecraft to hit the App Store, but it’s likely to be half-baked compared to the Xperia Play version. For those of us who think the iPad is the perfect platform for building our infinite, voxel-based worlds, this is sad indeed.

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40 comments »

Anonymous
This makes me wish I had pirated Minecraft instead of paying for it.
Anonymous
This makes me wish I had pirated Minecraft instead of paying for it.
Prof. Peabody
I don’t get the attraction of this game. The graphics looks like Second Life did in 2003.

http://twitter.com/Gravedrinker Gravedrinker
They don’t. Its a pixelated look on purpose, take a closer look. Also, as you may or may not know, there is more to a game than just the technical aspect of the graphics. This is a little like Lego. You don’t complain about Lego not being fun just because the bricks aren’t made of silver and are edgy instead of round. Its just a choice of style. A game from 2003 looks dated because it used low poly models, bad textures compared to today and so on. This is really not comparable.
The fun comes from the building and the realizing of your ideas. If you aren’t interested in creating then it probably won’t be fun for you.
http://profiles.google.com/irrdial Alistair H.
You’re not the only one. It’s a very cra….. game…

Anonymous
In your own opinion. Which not many people will care about
Minecrafter Man
Ooh, ZING!!!

http://www.facebook.com/people/Rowan-Arbuckle/100000518240545 Rowan Arbuckle
Because you take one look at something and dont think.
Dsadas
wow just like a little kid no one gives a fucking shit about graphics

Forever Two Wheels
So when minecrap does come to IOS I won’t be buying it. Enjoy your exclusive tards.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QCP4WHWLUQHFIOP66SLEA7E5CA Hampus
To bad there won’t be a whole lot of people to enjoy the exclusivity :p

Ashley Sheridan
Yeah, because Android can’t possibly be more popular than iOS can it? Oh wait, it is. Haters gonna hate, and iFanatics gonna get fanatic, especially if they think there’s something else their poor iOS devices can’t do. How’s the Flash on those things these days? :p
Spencer
But it isn’t launching for all android devices. Just Xperia Play. That’s what Hampus meant. Hampus wasn’t “hating,” just pointing out that the Xperia isn’t selling well. The title of the article is misleading. Its not android exclusive. Its playstation phone exclusive, which by pure coincidence runs android.
And don’t anyone try to put a tone in my comment that isn’t there. I’m just trying to point something out. I’m not trying to incite anything.

yourmom
your a hater, haters should all die

http://www.fort90.com/journal/ fort90
Given how iOS has been the home to a great deal of first run exclusives… and how there’s still many that might never reach other platforms (Eliss plus Sword & Sworcery immediately comes to mind, but there’s SO much more) such in a heartbeat disdain for Minecraft is pretty laughable.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QCP4WHWLUQHFIOP66SLEA7E5CA Hampus
The funny things are:
1. They first announced the game for iOS, they only confirmed android when people started asking about it.
2.To begin with the game will launch on and for some time be exclusive to on one of the most failed gaming platforms in history(Xperia Play)…
JC
Betrayal, really? Even without an exclusive, an Android version would have still probably been out first: given the lack of Java support, porting Minecraft to iOS is a much bigger job than porting to Android.

Hoosiercub
Minecraft for Android is in C++

Anonymous
“a betrayal”
really? I’m surprised you don’t consider the Sony exclusive a “betrayal” to Android users, who assume they get equal access to all Android apps.
I think it’s just smart marketing-no betrayals or whining necessary.
Anonymous
Minecraft won’t be a hit on Android for the simple reason Phandroids like to think even less then iSheep. Now if this was a game with mindless violence and guts flying everywhere Android users would flock to steal the app for their rooted handsets. Did I mention Phandroids are also considered ultra cheap?

Aisha Clarke
I think you’re confusing Android fanboys with Xbox ones. Personally, as a ‘Phandroid’, I tend to steer clear of extremely violent games. Feel free to continue with the whole generalisation angle, though. I also appreciate ‘ultra cheap’, because I refuse to pay out hundreds of pounds for out-of-date kit in a fancy case. But that’s just me. :)

Tim Holladay
I was kind of neutral on this matter, as I play minecraft on my laptop as much as anything, but damn, Sony first? Sony sucks.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Michael-Constantin/1244977584 Michael Constantin
Betrayal? lol. Notch is a PC user, not a mac user. Androids are the PCs of the app industry.

http://www.facebook.com/cardboardmark Mark Morin
“Yeah, I broke my MacBook by being stupid.. Turns out they’re not quite as robust as actual books. Yet.”
“Well, it hit the floor pretty hard, still worked, but no kb/trackpad
connection. So naturally, I tinkered. And now: very dead mac”
http://twitter.com/#!/notch

Mr Man
Notch has a MacBook air (which he dubbed notchbook air), but he might have more computers

Anonymous
everyone calm down this isn’t a betrayal i personally think its a good idea for minecraft to come to the xperia because the buttons can work with it amd will be a good start for notch to work with the buttons so that he can make the minecraft’s on other mobiles bettter. Bet you didn’t think of that you trolls (not everyone here is a troll but the trolls here should STFU)
Aisha Clarke
ORLY?! Deal with it, is my advice. Until they work out purely touchscreen controls other non-Xperia Play users won’t get it either. Apple has a raft of exclusives and whatnot. This article reminds me of the Americans complaining when we got a few 3DS games first – when more often than not a UK release is three or four weeks after a US. As I say, deal with it.
Also: I porkchop Minecraft.
http://www.facebook.com/logan.carbin Logan Carbin
Lol… just one more reason to get a real phone.
http://www.facebook.com/albion.dani Albion Dani
This article is sooooo one sided. the author is just pissed at the fact that idevice are shit, this is a true fact that’s why I am leving my iphone in the dump. and moving on to android. also mojang a.k.a Notch dident get any thing from sony not even ask for any money. john the so called news editor is acting like a toddler and when toddlers don’t know who to blame they just point fingers. the real ression why mojang put mine craft on the xperia play is because the iphone just dosent have the power to handle and massive open world game like minecraft.

Kuro Kitsune
in my experince ive yet to come across a android phone i liked better then my iphone but thats just imo prefrences is all. i love they made a android ver (i do have an android phone) what i mad about is that its xperia play for now >.> when will the general ver come out? id happily lay down10$ for it
Skia bro
That’s completely untrue, the iPhone has more than the capability of android because of the A5 chip. I don’t see why your making excuses to make the iPhone seem obsolete when android has many bugs to fix.
Flamewolf70
I also agree that the article’s one sided but I’m just dissapointed that I’ll have to wait longer for it to come out on the iPhone for a while because I’m always outside and I usually have nothing to do while I’m waiting for things so I want to use that time to work on my minecraft because I dont want to waste any time but I don’t have an android or a laptop just an iPhone

Sam Schrimsher
ios always gets apps first but now suddenly they dont and its a betral? i’m glad android get this first
http://www.facebook.com/heyitzducky Duc Ngo
The writer calls it a betrayal since he is a biased, one sided reader. Thinking only about the platform he uses rather than embracing minecraft for coming to mobile devices.
Tdgracia
What is this crap? iPhone is and always be the best and anyone who says otherwise if full of it
meooooowth
Android is muuuuch better than that apple crap, my iPod Touch was stolen and I didn’t care enough to try n get it back..
Robotponys
NOTCH! Why? Most people DO NOT want to buy a phone ONLY for playing minecraft! Might as well lug around a laptop… I’m guessing the xperia play is not nearly as good as the iphone. And the ipad has a huge screen, why did you choose the bad phone instead. I don’t mean offense to anyone, but IMO this was a bad choice. Maybe android, but not sony. Sony was not designed for phones it was for games. They merely added the ability to listen to staticy voices. Oh, and Notch cracked his macbook air with his TV remote… A very heavy one.

MineCraft
So true i use a ipod and im pretty upset its only for androids and such

Flamewolf70
They should have sold it on the iPhone first, they would’ve made more money and because many people have iPhones so I bet around or more than 50% of those people love minecraft and I’m one of those fifty. I also hope it won’t come half baked like what John said and worth the wait.
Anonymous
Nope wrong. It’s the exact same as the Android version. Get you facts ri… oh just kidding you didn’t know. But, man, what bias. It’s glaringly slanted here. Seriously, it’s not all about you guys, (losers).

About the author

John Brownlee is news editor here at Cult of Mac, and has also written about a lot of things for a lot of different places, including Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, Gizmodo, Kotaku, Lifehacker, AMC, Geek and the Consumerist. He lives in Cambridge with his charming inamorata and a tiny budgerigar punningly christened after Nabokov's most famous pervert. You can follow him here on Twitter.

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