Minecraft remains one of the biggest games on the planet – it still has a bigger player count than Fortnite or GTA5, for example – but there is a general perception that its player base skews more towards children, even more so than Fortnite. The simple graphics and LEGO-like design feed into this perception – but according to Microsoft, it’s simply not the case, and the average age of a Minecraft player is older than you might think.
The latest issue of Edge magazine #337 includes an interview with Microsoft’s own head of Minecraft Helen Chiang – who had some interesting revelations to share regarding the player base of the game. According to Chiang, the average Minecraft player isn’t a little kid at all – actually, they’re roughly 24, suggesting that Minecraft has a high adult player base too.
“People are surprised sometimes that the average age of our players is 24,” Chiang explains to Edge. “I think this speaks to the size and scale Minecraft has. We certainly have a lot of kids that are playing, but we actually have a lot of everybody that’s playing!”
Chiang does, however, acknowledge that Minecraft’s audience includes a significantly large proportion of kids, so Microsoft has to be careful with how it develops and markets the game – especially regarding monetisation. “We need to be really clear and simple around how we plan to monetise in the game.”
Helen Chiang recently also spoke about Minecraft’s soaring player counts, which she claims as of this month includes around 112 million players. It continues to sell incredibly well too, and was the second best-selling game of August 2019.
Minecraft is an all-ages phenomenon that appeals to both die-hards and to casual gamers.
How Does a Target Block Work? Minecraft Tutorial and Explanation
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PowerPoint answering questions about Minecrafts audience, distribution and technologies. Part of a group project.
PowerPoint answering questions about Minecrafts audience, distribution and technologies. Part of a group project.
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1. MINECRAFT BY E R I N , R O B & R E E G A N
2. TARGET AUDIENCE • Age: Minecraft has a wide appeal, but primarily targeted towards 5 to 15 year olds. • Gender: Mainly male • Social Class: Minecraft appeals to a wide range of different social classes, although probably upper and middle class because of the consoles you need to play it. • Lifestyle: Children who spend a lot of time indoors on technology such as games consoles, computers or phones. • Taste: all the different modes on Minecraft mean that it can appeal to a lot of tastes, there is a sandbox mode for creative people and a story mode for people who like to play adventure games. There is even an educational version that is played in schools. • Minecraft is most popular in the USA, UK and Canada • Race, ethnicity and religion have no bearing on Minecrafts appeal. • the game is rated PEGI 7 so is appropriate for almost everyone.
3. HOW HAS THE AUDIENCE BEEN REACHED • YouTube is very popular with people in the target audiences age range, often they watch it more than terrestrial media such as TV. So the young audience is influenced by watching their favourite YouTubers play Minecraft. • Originally it didnt have any commercial backing from a mainstream publisher so it relied on word of mouth between gamers on websites such Penny Arcade. • The continued development of fan made media throughout social media, dedicated websites and forums meant the game got more exposure and gained popularity. • By May 2012 there was an estimated 4 million Minecraft related videos on YouTube.
4. CONTENT AND APPEAL OF MINECRAFT • The appeal of Minecraft for young people is that many of their friends also play it so it is a good way for them to connect with their friends outside of school hours. • It allows them to be creative and as it is an open world sandbox game which means that it has endless possibilities of what they can do. So there are hours and hours of gameplay available for them to play so they wont get bored with it. • Minecraft is unconventional because it does not try to impress with high end cinematic graphics and instead uses a grid based Voxel graphic format which allows for cuboid building. • Another appeal of Minecraft is that is available in practically all platforms, so anyone with a console, PC or mobile can play. This has added to the games success. • The novelty of the game when it was first released was also used to develop interest and the fact that the game was an amateur product made it desirable because creatively it was free from the control of major distributors.
5. HOW HAS MINECRAFT BEEN MARKETED • When the game was bought by Microsoft it was much more heavily distributed and marketed similarly to other popular mainstream releases. • Jinx are the company which design and manage all of Minecraft’s marketing, they also distribute merchandise to online retailers such as Amazon • Minecraft has a lot of branded products including clothing, books and toys, this too has increased the success of the game. • After the recent success of The Lego Movie, there is talk of a Minecraft film. • Minecraft is marketed to children as “virtual Lego” and has become one of the most iconic “learning construction education products” ever
6. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES AND PATTERNS OF CONSUMPTION • YouTube, Facebook and online fan communities has enabled Minecraft’s audience to have an active voice in its ongoing production through detailed feedback and commentary on modifications and beta tests. There are several niche forums across the internet. • Minecraft could be downloaded with a code instead of buying a physical disc and with new developments in technology like the PlayStation store, Xbox Live and Microsoft Store this method of purchasing games has become more popular. • The development of cross-play means people can play Minecraft on almost any device and they can play with people using a different device. • Also the development of new technologies like smarty phones means more people consume Minecraft as a mobile game rather than on traditional computers and consoles.
7. HOW THE AUDIENCE INTERPRET THE SAME MEDIA IN DIFFERENT WAYS • There are several versions and formats to play Minecraft • An important development was cross-play which means players don’t need the same console to play Minecraft together • This means people can play together online with any device • Cross play is supported on many devises like Nintendo Switch, IOS, Android, Windows 10 and Xbox One.
8. HOW THE AUDIENCE CAN BE INVOLVED IN PRODUCTION • With Minecraft marketplace is a food example of the industry listening to its audience • Fans can now trade maps , textures and add-ons in a legitimate setting • The nature of the game also allows the audience learn new skills like programming • There are many Minecraft prosumers on YouTube and blogs who discuss Minecraft, they also offer tutorials or just promote their own creations and maps.
9. HOW THE AUDIENCE IS REACHED ON A NATIONAL AND GLOBAL SCALE • The simplicity of Minecraft means it can be enjoyed by people from many different bacgrounds it is universally appealing and in no way exclusive • The ability to play Minecraft on a variety of devices and in different formants means it can be portable and the online version means it can be played on a global scale. • Minecraft can be downloaded from the marketplace or App-store of most devices/consoles so you do not need a physical copy of the game, because of this the game can be played anywhere in the world with an internet connection. • This is how a game originating in Sweden with minimal advertising has become a global phenomenon because of online “word of mouth” recommendations on gaming forums. • Minecraft audiences are reached on a national scale in the USA by the organisation of events like Minecon.
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Target selector variables[]
Summary of target selector variables
Variable
Function
@p
nearest player
@r
random player
@a
all players
@e
all entities
@s
entity executing the command
@c
the players agent[Education Edition only]
@v
all agents[Education Edition only]
@initiator
the player who clicks an NPC dialogue button[Bedrock Edition only]
A target selector variable identifies the broad category of targets to select. There are five (six in Bedrock Edition, eight in Education Edition) variables:
FAQ
What gender is Minecraft for?
Minecraft is not gender-neutral
Minecraft is often referred to as equally appealing to both boys and girls. The game’s creator, Notch, has claimed that “gender doesn’t exist” in Minecraft, and popular discourse commonly refers to young children’s digital play in titles like Minecraft as gender-neutral.
