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Selling Mojang: Is Notch in it for the money?
ProofDust640
Ludicrous
2.5 billion dollars. That's 2.5 thousand thousand thousand dollars. To Microsoft, it's a minor dent in their cash that can be made up in the near future. But what about Notch? Before this deal, he had a "mere" net worth of approximately $300 million. But when this deal goes through, he is expected to be worth $1 billion (Source)
So here's the question buzzing around the Minecraft community: why? Why is Notch selling his golden egg to a company he has spoken out against strongly in the past? The Swedish programmer provides this answer:
For those of you who don't feel like reading it, Notch basically says that he never intended for his creation to become a big hit, and that he is just a simple programmer who doesn't know how to deal with the fame Minecraft has brought him. But should we believe that?
2.5 billion dollars is a loooooooooooot of money. While it's true that Notch will only see about 800 million of those dollars, that's still a significant amount of money. This is going to make Notch one of the newest (and youngest) billionaires of this generation. So did Notch truly sell Minecraft because he didn't want the burden that 35 million players can bring, or were countless 6-inch long green strips of cloth his motivation?
If Notch did indeed sell his company for the money, I personally pass no judgment. For $800 million, I'd sell my software development company in a second! (If I had one, of course.) But I know I wouldn't lie to my fans about it. I'd tell them the real reason I had for making my decision. But if Markus Persson sold Mojang for financial reasons, then he has lied to us all.
I understand, of course, that everything is about PR. If Notch came out and blatantly stated he sold his company for the money only, that might generate a lot of bad rap from people accusing him of greed. Personally, I wouldn't see it that way. I would be proud of the Swedish programmer and his incredible rags-to-riches story, and I would feel content knowing that our beloved Notch is not a liar.
I'm not saying in any capacity that Notch is a liar: maybe he really just doesn't want the stress of having to deal with all his fame. But I'm sure that money certainly played a role in his decision, and I don't think anyone will dispute that.
Well that's just my 10 cents on the whole thing. Post your thoughts below!
So here's the question buzzing around the Minecraft community: why? Why is Notch selling his golden egg to a company he has spoken out against strongly in the past? The Swedish programmer provides this answer:
Click to reveal
I don’t see myself as a real game developer. I make games because it’s fun, and because I love games and I love to program, but I don’t make games with the intention of them becoming huge hits, and I don’t try to change the world. Minecraft certainly became a huge hit, and people are telling me it’s changed games. I never meant for it to do either. It’s certainly flattering, and to gradually get thrust into some kind of public spotlight is interesting.
A relatively long time ago, I decided to step down from Minecraft development. Jens was the perfect person to take over leading it, and I wanted to try to do new things. At first, I failed by trying to make something big again, but since I decided to just stick to small prototypes and interesting challenges, I’ve had so much fun with work. I wasn’t exactly sure how I fit into Mojang where people did actual work, but since people said I was important for the culture, I stayed.
I was at home with a bad cold a couple of weeks ago when the internet exploded with hate against me over some kind of EULA situation that I had nothing to do with. I was confused. I didn’t understand. I tweeted this in frustration. Later on, I watched the This is Phil Fish video on YouTube and started to realize I didn’t have the connection to my fans I thought I had. I’ve become a symbol. I don’t want to be a symbol, responsible for something huge that I don’t understand, that I don’t want to work on, that keeps coming back to me. I’m not an entrepreneur. I’m not a CEO. I’m a nerdy computer programmer who likes to have opinions on Twitter.
As soon as this deal is finalized, I will leave Mojang and go back to doing Ludum Dares and small web experiments. If I ever accidentally make something that seems to gain traction, I’ll probably abandon it immediately.
Considering the public image of me already is a bit skewed, I don’t expect to get away from negative comments by doing this, but at least now I won’t feel a responsibility to read them.
I’m aware this goes against a lot of what I’ve said in public. I have no good response to that. I’m also aware a lot of you were using me as a symbol of some perceived struggle. I’m not. I’m a person, and I’m right there struggling with you.
I love you. All of you. Thank you for turning Minecraft into what it has become, but there are too many of you, and I can’t be responsible for something this big. In one sense, it belongs to Microsoft now. In a much bigger sense, it’s belonged to all of you for a long time, and that will never change.
It’s not about the money. It’s about my sanity. (Source)
A relatively long time ago, I decided to step down from Minecraft development. Jens was the perfect person to take over leading it, and I wanted to try to do new things. At first, I failed by trying to make something big again, but since I decided to just stick to small prototypes and interesting challenges, I’ve had so much fun with work. I wasn’t exactly sure how I fit into Mojang where people did actual work, but since people said I was important for the culture, I stayed.
I was at home with a bad cold a couple of weeks ago when the internet exploded with hate against me over some kind of EULA situation that I had nothing to do with. I was confused. I didn’t understand. I tweeted this in frustration. Later on, I watched the This is Phil Fish video on YouTube and started to realize I didn’t have the connection to my fans I thought I had. I’ve become a symbol. I don’t want to be a symbol, responsible for something huge that I don’t understand, that I don’t want to work on, that keeps coming back to me. I’m not an entrepreneur. I’m not a CEO. I’m a nerdy computer programmer who likes to have opinions on Twitter.
As soon as this deal is finalized, I will leave Mojang and go back to doing Ludum Dares and small web experiments. If I ever accidentally make something that seems to gain traction, I’ll probably abandon it immediately.
Considering the public image of me already is a bit skewed, I don’t expect to get away from negative comments by doing this, but at least now I won’t feel a responsibility to read them.
I’m aware this goes against a lot of what I’ve said in public. I have no good response to that. I’m also aware a lot of you were using me as a symbol of some perceived struggle. I’m not. I’m a person, and I’m right there struggling with you.
I love you. All of you. Thank you for turning Minecraft into what it has become, but there are too many of you, and I can’t be responsible for something this big. In one sense, it belongs to Microsoft now. In a much bigger sense, it’s belonged to all of you for a long time, and that will never change.
It’s not about the money. It’s about my sanity. (Source)
For those of you who don't feel like reading it, Notch basically says that he never intended for his creation to become a big hit, and that he is just a simple programmer who doesn't know how to deal with the fame Minecraft has brought him. But should we believe that?
2.5 billion dollars is a loooooooooooot of money. While it's true that Notch will only see about 800 million of those dollars, that's still a significant amount of money. This is going to make Notch one of the newest (and youngest) billionaires of this generation. So did Notch truly sell Minecraft because he didn't want the burden that 35 million players can bring, or were countless 6-inch long green strips of cloth his motivation?
If Notch did indeed sell his company for the money, I personally pass no judgment. For $800 million, I'd sell my software development company in a second! (If I had one, of course.) But I know I wouldn't lie to my fans about it. I'd tell them the real reason I had for making my decision. But if Markus Persson sold Mojang for financial reasons, then he has lied to us all.
I understand, of course, that everything is about PR. If Notch came out and blatantly stated he sold his company for the money only, that might generate a lot of bad rap from people accusing him of greed. Personally, I wouldn't see it that way. I would be proud of the Swedish programmer and his incredible rags-to-riches story, and I would feel content knowing that our beloved Notch is not a liar.
I'm not saying in any capacity that Notch is a liar: maybe he really just doesn't want the stress of having to deal with all his fame. But I'm sure that money certainly played a role in his decision, and I don't think anyone will dispute that.
Well that's just my 10 cents on the whole thing. Post your thoughts below!
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I believe that he sold it because he needs to move on. And owning Minecraft is a big responsibility. Millions of people love it. And he didn't expect it. So I think he was smart and sold it. And Microsoft a great company, but don't get me wrong, they do have bad things also!
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he already had a lot of money and he already explained he was worn down about everyone hating him on his personal blog. Give the guy a break, even if he did like the money part he isn't a bad person.
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I believe he did it to follow on his dreams and create more projects.
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You probably have a point here. As long as Notch isn't stupid with his money (and Notch has never struck me as stupid), he's got enough of it to last him a lifetime. Which means that he can now devote all his time to working on whatever projects he chooses. Good for him
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Microsoft probably just offered a good deal that he couldn't say no to. Doesn't matter, Mojang is being sold anyway. It might be all the stress of the EULA rage and the Spigot and Bukkit legal issues and such. But like I said, its being sold anyway. I'm not really excited of the idea of Mojang being sold to a big company but...its not my decision.Though I wish it was.
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Yeah, in his farewell post on his Web site, Notch did mention that he was stressed out about all the EULA stuff, which he claimed he had nothing to do with.
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Ah yeah I was just reading that as you said that. Weird. Also watching the video that made him realize what people thought of him. This Is Phil Fish
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Notch left Mojang, because he has stated he don't like such big companies.
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It's no secret that Notch doesn't like Microsoft, so I can understand why he isn't staying on at Mojang. Plus, he's a billionaire now, so I don't suppose he needs to work anymore anyhow.
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I feel like he's just saying he "doesn't want to be in the spotlight."
I mean, of course he's in it for the money.
I mean, of course he's in it for the money.
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I think it's a combination of the two personally. But I think the money is definitely the main factor. I know it certainly would be for me
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There is way too many posts on this.
By the way, the deal was sealed.
Notch handed Mojang over for 2.5billion.
All over and done with now.
By the way, the deal was sealed.
Notch handed Mojang over for 2.5billion.
All over and done with now.
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I'm aware it's all over and done with I just started this thread so people would have a place to discuss why Notch made his decision.
