My Fears for the Future Of Minecraft

First thing I would like to say is that this is not a hate.
I am stating my opinion.

Recently, it has become clear to me that the 'unique' experience of Minecraft is in danger, in several forms. In this blog post I will explain to you what I fear about the future of Minecraft and what may cause it's downfall.

First off is Minecraft coming to different platforms. Recently Minecraft Pocket Edition for iOS was announced and before that, the android version was released. As announced, Minecraft for the XBOX will be coming next spring. Minecraft coming to all these other platforms is one of my main fears for the game and the community. One of the things I love most about Minecraft is coming home and being able to play the game, with the introduction of the Pocket Edition, you can play anywhere, which erases the feeling of relief of having a whole evening to play the game. The release of the Pocket Edition could mean that people with slightly slower computers give up altogether on playing on the PC and just play on the Pocket Edition. Although 1 community member lost will not effect anything, if more and more people left, there could be problems.

Minecraft coming to the XBOX is a whole new scenario, with the introduction of the XBOX version, many members of the PC community will leave for a lag-free and recordable experience on the XBOX. In turn, this could cause a lack of user submitted stuff(s) such as Texture Packs, Mods and Skins. Many members of the PC community will simply think, "let's play on the XBOX instead". Before, Minecraft was a unique, single-platformed experience. Now, it is just becoming like any other game.

Next, is the topic of games similar to Minecraft. Recently, the makers of Terraria announced a big update coming soon, adding loads of new features to the game. Updates are what interests users to keep playing and now that the 'full version' of Minecraft has been released, the updates may not come as fast as before. Therefore, many people will think, "That Terraria game is cheaper, and gets updated more." The idea of Minecraft clones is a great idea, but in Mojangs point of view it is not a good idea, especially if the clone/similar game gets updated more regularly.

Next, the addition of more games into the market. Soon, before you know it, there will be another 'hit' game that everybody will be wanting to play, and Minecraft will fade away. Take games such as Left 4 Dead or more recently Dead Island. Games like those were both largely supported by the community and as soon as the community stopped giving and more games similar were released, sales dropped and the games became old news. I fear this could happen to Minecraft but as long as Mojang keep up the good work, this probably won't happen.

In conclusion, I do fear for the future of the game but I believe that as long as Mojang keep working on Minecraft, there is nothing to worry about.

Sincerely,
Sam.