We all know Minecraft is a big deal – why else would Microsoft have bought it for $2.5 billion? Even though I know it’s still wildly popular on YouTube, I sort of figured that sales had slowed down by now and people were moving on to other games. Oh how wrong I was.
In a rather interesting feature in the New York Times Magazine, the latest stats about Minecraft are revealed.
Today it costs $27 and sells 10,000 copies a day. (It’s still popular across all age groups; according to Microsoft, the average player is between 28 and 29, and women make up nearly 40 percent of all players.)
But the article looks at a lot more. A core focus is something we’ve heard about for a while now – Minecraft is a great tool for kids to education themselves. Sure, it’s fantastic for creativity in general, but it also gives kids the opportunity to learn about coding basics through things like red stone mechanisms. Plus, it has pretty much replaced traditional building blocks as the “good play” that parents hope their kids will engage in. I thought that would pretty much be where things end, but there’s actually more to what it’s teaching.
Playing with other kids on online servers, Minecraft is teaching server support and admin, as well as social skills:
Seth Frey, a postdoctoral fellow in computational social science at Dartmouth College, has studied the behavior of thousands of youths on Minecraft servers, and he argues that their interactions are, essentially, teaching civic literacy. “You’ve got these kids, and they’re creating these worlds, and they think they’re just playing a game, but they have to solve some of the hardest problems facing humanity,” Frey says. “They have to solve the tragedy of the commons.” What’s more, they’re often anonymous teenagers who, studies suggest, are almost 90 percent male (online play attracts far fewer girls and women than single- player mode). That makes them “what I like to think of as possibly the worst human beings around,” Frey adds, only half- jokingly. “So this shouldn’t work. And the fact that this works is astonishing.”
There are still instances cited in the feature about girls facing some harassment in the online communities, but from servers to YouTube, Minecraft is encouraging sharing and socializing in a constructive way. As an alternative to Instagram or Snapchat, it gives kids a place to collaborate and engage with each other, essentially doing what all our kindergarten teachers always wanted from us – playing well with others.
I’m still shocked that Minecraft is selling 10k units per day – I thought everyone would have a copy of the game by now. It’s impressive that so many years on, it’s still attracting new players and keeping them interested. Minecraft is the second most popular search term on YouTube, and it’s clearly teaching valuable skills. I wonder if we’ll see more advanced computer science students entering university when the Minecraft generation is ready to start tertiary education.
Last Updated: April 18, 2016
Alien Emperor Trevor
April 18, 2016 at 13:37
I’ve never played Minecraft, and probably never will.
Admiral Chief in New York
April 18, 2016 at 13:38
^This
Captain JJ vs ..............
April 18, 2016 at 13:51
Same here.
But my reason is quite simple…because it’s not on Steam I forget it exists 🙂
Kromas untamed
April 18, 2016 at 13:53
Minecraft is on steam. It is just called 7 Days to Die.
Captain JJ vs ..............
April 18, 2016 at 13:54
Haha. I’ve logged 90+ hours on 7 Days to Die, then that stupid update came out that ruined everything. Haven’t played since that update.
Kromas untamed
April 18, 2016 at 13:55
Latest update was awesome. But Division took my time away.
Captain JJ vs ..............
April 18, 2016 at 13:56
Maybe they fixed it then. But there was an update somewhere in between that messed up the mining/crafting. It took you AGES just to mine a single block.
Kromas untamed
April 18, 2016 at 13:57
Still takes a while for the first 30 minutes then it gets much much faster and then you hit a point where you dump skill points into mining and you pretty much make a huge cave in seconds without barrels.
Captain JJ vs ..............
April 18, 2016 at 14:00
I might pop in again sometime, but with all the survival games out there now I might not get around to it. The mining made it though. Loved building gigantic underground bases.
Alien Emperor Trevor
April 18, 2016 at 14:03
A kindred spirit!
Captain JJ vs ..............
April 18, 2016 at 14:04
😀
Kromas untamed
April 18, 2016 at 14:30
on my server I took over the whole Hospital in that main town in the center of Navezgane. Loads of work keeping it defended though. I still needed to drop down and make a mining shaft. But as I said. Division has divided my attention.
Captain JJ vs ..............
April 18, 2016 at 14:33
Awesome. I joined a bit late, so went straight to building an underground base.
Axon1988
April 19, 2016 at 08:01
When are we all joining you in your server?
Kromas untamed
April 19, 2016 at 08:37
The server is permanently up. Just browse for Red Faction ZA or something like that. It does fight a small bit for resources against my Ark server so I had to drop the amount of users but I recently decreased the servers load so I can easily make it a 10 player+ server again.
Axon1988
April 19, 2016 at 08:40
Excellent. Even though I have like 12 hours in the game, I’ve barely scratched what if offer or even tried any kind of building. So perhaps I’ll try my luck tonight with your server to understand the game a bit better.
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
April 18, 2016 at 15:32
To me the probably part doesn’t exist, I know I’ll never play it…
miaau
April 18, 2016 at 13:41
I remember the review Gavin’s daughter (two children? Or one?) did on Minecraft. I was really impressed with the level of engagement she had with the game and the concepts of creation in general. I like that, thinking. I want my child, when she is older, to have that sort of creative thinking (well on the way, I hope, with all the different building block sets we play with).
Still, not something I have ever even looked at, in demo or otherwise.
Perhaps a future father / daughter thing? She is only 2 and a bit, so some time needed.
Captain JJ vs ..............
April 18, 2016 at 13:52
I remember that so well. He still asked us to be “nice” in the comments 🙂
But these kind of games can do wonders for children. I spent most of my childhood with LEGO and I still love LEGO. Didn’t even drop one of my creations on my head! 😛
miaau
April 18, 2016 at 13:58
Yes, proper protective father. Nothing wrong with that.
I have lots of Lego still, but packed away. Space ship lego, of course, and lots of blocks.
Captain JJ vs ..............
April 18, 2016 at 14:02
Totally. I agree man.
Yes, I also still have a ton of LEGO. Classic space ship ones too. Also Star Wars LEGO, because you’re never too old for LEGO.
miaau
April 18, 2016 at 14:25
Star Wars lego is, for me, right now, te best lego. Got a TIE Fighter, Xwing and other small things. Want some others. Must re-prioritise money. Super Star Destroyer.
Captain JJ vs ..............
April 18, 2016 at 14:34
That Super Star Destroyer. Man. That thing looks insane.
I’d love that Millenium Falcon too.
miaau
April 18, 2016 at 14:37
Yip, that too.
But to buy the Super Star Destroyer? Wife to agree….. Last I looked it was over R8k.
http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Star-Super-Destroyer-10221/dp/B0050R0YB8
Um. Not anymore…….
VampyreSquirrel
April 19, 2016 at 08:32
His daughters make some amazing things in Minecraft
Ottokie
April 18, 2016 at 13:44
Well for a once off fee on the game, you get endless content (player created packs and mods flow in daily). Playing modded Minecraft is probably some of the best fun to have if you are into the game.
Skyfactory
Mad Pack
Tekkit
Feed the Beast
To name but a few. And honestly how many of you have actually finished vanilla Minecraft? 😛
Alien Emperor Trevor
April 18, 2016 at 13:46
I haven’t. ;P
Victor Moolman
April 18, 2016 at 13:51
wait how can you “finish’ vanilla minecraft?
Ottokie
April 18, 2016 at 13:53
Defeating the Ender Dragon and Wither 🙂
Ottokie
April 18, 2016 at 13:54
Which then give you the items you need to craft a beacon and get rescued 😛
Victor Moolman
April 18, 2016 at 13:55
was I lost? WTH! I have just been building a castle and enjoying myself
Also you should probably tag this as spoiler
Ottokie
April 18, 2016 at 13:56
It’s been out 5 years already 😛
Victor Moolman
April 18, 2016 at 13:57
I bet you any PC game that someone else did not know that Vanilla Minecraft had an ending
Ottokie
April 18, 2016 at 13:58
That’s why I teased and commented with “And honestly how many of you have actually finished vanilla Minecraft?”
Since everyone (like 98%) get distracted and just build big forts and castles xD
*I will add a spoiler warning in front of the comment nonetheless
Victor Moolman
April 18, 2016 at 14:01
oh, ok then…
Kromas untamed
April 18, 2016 at 13:56
Spoilers have an expiry date. For instance Darth Vader is Lukes father.
Victor Moolman
April 18, 2016 at 13:54
…..holy crap did not know that o_o
VampyreSquirrel
April 19, 2016 at 08:34
I bought Minecraft in beta for R45 XD
I have however finished vanilla Minecraft.
Ottokie
April 19, 2016 at 08:44
I want to finish it again. But then I remember my mining turtle and go back to modded 😛
konfab
April 18, 2016 at 14:01
“.. studies suggest, are almost 90 percent male…. That makes them “what I like to think of as possibly the worst human beings around,.”
Funny how some people are allowed to get away with such blatant sexism.
justlikemo
April 18, 2016 at 20:59
Ive never played mindcraft
my twins dig it, cant stop talking and playing it, its like the no1 topic in their clique, I can fall asleep when its all they talk about on their way to soccer practice