Why is minecraft so successful?

Minecraft is what's called a sandbox game, where the player creates the game themselves by manipulating the world within it. There are no specific steps or goals, so everyone playing the game is having a different experience.

Customizability- Not only can you make Minecraft look different with skins and resource packs, but you can also use mods to completely change the game. For example, in Project Ozone 2 Kappa Mode, the modpack (a collection of mods put together for entertainment). There are vast options from making jet packs, to flying like a bird, to exploring other planets, to following the quest line, magic mods, tech mods, computers INSIDE of Minecraft.

·         The Player base- Minecraft computer alone has sold more than 25 million copies. The player base is huge, therefore increasing marketability in the sense where those 25 million people tell their friends to buy it.

·         Never ending/open world- A video game with no story line sells very well because you can do whatever your heart desires.

·         Share-ability- The fact that you can create things for other players and easily post it online is huge. This creates an online fan base.

·         Game Modes-This goes along with customizability. You can play hardcore, regular survival, creative, and even download a map to play adventure mode. If that's not enough, you can spectate friends in spectator mode.

The opportunities are endless. There is so much that you can do. There is something for everyone, whether you like the underground aspect, gardening, animals, circuitry (Redstone), playing with others… Whatever you can think of creating, you can create. You can choose your own journey, goals, and game play (creative, survival, adventure, spectator). The world is pretty much endless, and it is full of diversity in biomes, animals, and scenery. There is nothing that you have to do. Most games give you a story, and you’re supposed to do what the game tells you to do, then it’s over. Minecraft is different. It combined the survival aspect of a game, and the creativity to make a game that holds many people’s attention. That’s how Minecraft became so popular.

 Minecraft totally embraces the fact that its players want to share their experiences and allows them to build and use their own servers to do so. Forget automatic matchmaking, Minecraft encourages player’s active engagement in building a strong community. Minecraft was one of the first games for years that saw players go out of their way to build and maintain their own servers just to play together.

Minecraft sports one of the most vibrant and active gaming communities seen to date. Gamers are proud of their creations and niche sites will feature especially amazing worlds. Add to that the thousands of YouTube videos, Facebook fan pages and numerous fan sites and you see why Minecraft commands so much power in the gaming world.

Goal-less gameplay is one of the single most important aspects behind Minecraft’s success. It hasn’t got any clear or specific goals. The only real goal is that you as a player enjoy your time in the world. This gives players a feeling of ownership over the gameplay. The game promotes active engagement and is fueled by word of mouth – the most powerful form of advertising there is.

Minecraft became so popular techno giant Microsoft bought it from its original creators last year for £1.5 billion. As of 2014, Minecraft has sold more than 54 million copies for computers, consoles, and mobile devices. Merchandise bearing its logos - hoodies, wallets, necklaces - can be found wherever computer game spin-offs are sold.

Minecraft is now more successful than Persson could possibly have imagined. As well as being played by millions, it is used as an educational tool in schools and has even been employed by urban planners to see how the public want spaces developed. Every major games studio now have games lined up which have been influenced by Minecraft, Larsson says - the most high-profile of which so far has been the immersive world of Disney infinity from Disney interactive