Minecraft has been all over the news this week thanks to the announcement that Microsoft Corporation plans to purchase Mojang AB, the company that created and owns the copyright for Minecraft, for an estimated $2.5 billion. Officially released in 2011, the game has sold over 55 million copies in total–16 million on PC, 21 million on mobile and more than 13 million on gaming consoles. The pixelated block building, mining and survival game has captured hearts of gamers of all ages and is even used in education.

For those who have not tried Minecraft, it is accessible on nearly every platform. This brief guide will illustrate where to get Minecraft, the available platforms and how to play online with friends and even strangers.

PC

Price: $26.95 – Download

Requirements: Java and a Minecraft.net account.

Minecraft began on personal computers and is still available for a number of computer operating systems including:

Microsoft Windows – Download and install Java. Then, download and run the Minecraft.exe executable to start the Minecraft client.

Mac OS X – Download and install Java. Then run Minecraft.dmg to start the Minecraft client.

Linux (and other Unix-like OSes such as FreeBSD) – Install Oracle Java VM (other Java versions may or may not work). Download Minecraft.jar and then right click and run with Java. You may also run it from the command line.

Raspberry Pi Edition – Mojang created a custom version of Minecraft to run on the Rapsberry Pi.

Benefits: Local area network support. Internet servers. Thousands of free mods, texture packs and skins

Gaming Consoles

Price: $19.99 ($4.99 for “NextGen” console gamers who owned previous generation versions) – Download

DLC, such as skins and textures packs, available for additional cost.

Minecraft was just recently released for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 with some improvements over the previous generation consoles. Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 had limited worlds compared to the virtually unlimited randomly generated worlds of the PC version. The nextgen worlds are 36 times larger and have some graphical improvements.

• Xbox 360 Edition
• PlayStation 3 Edition
• Xbox One Edition
• PlayStation 4 Edition

Benefits: Local multiplayer via split screen, online multiplayer and controller support

Mobile

Minecraft Pocket Edition ($6.99) is a mobile version of Minecraft available for iOS and Android devices. It does not include all of the features found in the PC and console editions, and was met with some criticism for that when first released. Since then, later versions have included more features, though it has still been criticized for having limited world size. Within its limitations, however, it still allows players on the go to enjoy building, crafting and general Minecraft activities.

• Android (on supported devices) – Google Play and Amazon Appstore
• iOS (iPhone and iPad support) – iTunes

Benefits: Portable, touch controls, WiFi direct connect support

PlayStation Via Edition – Scheduled for 2014 release

Online Play

Console gamers can play Minecraft online through either Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. PC gamers can play using their own servers, over LAN, using a third-party server or through the official Minecraft Realms.

Minecraft Realms – For $13 per month, a single user can setup a server that can subscribe up to 20 additional users, 10 of whom can play simultaneously. Therefore, 20 users could theoretically chip in to pay only $0.65 per month for a pre-configured Minecraft server. Users can also get a discount on the price by subscribing for the 3 or 6 month packages. Once setup, the owner of the account can send invitations to other players.

Benefits: Low price if split among several players, no configuring LAN and IP addresses or the hassle of setting up one’s own server.

The Future?

One of the many questions a Minecraft player might ask about Microsoft’s acquisition of Mojang is what the future holds for the game. Will Microsoft continue to support rival platforms like Mac OS X, Linux, iOS and PlayStation, even on future versions of the game? Will Microsoft introduce micro transactions on the PC version or set other restrictions on modding, texture packs and skins? Will Minecraft finally come to Windows Phone? These questions may remain unanswered for some time to come, but for now, gamers can continue enjoying Minecraft at home, school, or on the road on a variety of platforms and with a multitude of modifications and user-created content.

Image source: Wikipedia Commons.