Mojang Has Enough Cash to Last 10 More Years

[exfileme]

Mojang can live without profit for 10 years.

Mojang Has Enough Cash to Last 10 More Years : Read more

 

[anthony8989]

$332mil over 36 employees is a $9.2 mil average that each employee is responsible for bringing in. The protection of the IP is the bulk of their company's overhead.

Their business model is damn near flawless

 

[jimmysmitty]

$332mil over 36 employees is a $9.2 mil average that each employee is responsible for bringing in. The protection of the IP is the bulk of their company's overhead.

Their business model is damn near flawless

Since the game itself is not some insane next gen graphics, physics or other feature and kids eat it up they have to easily make money hand over fist.

 

[anthony8989]

Hey, if I can sell you a rock for more than it costs for me to pick it up and hand it to you...

 

[tomfreak]

Since the game itself is not some insane next gen graphics, physics or other feature and kids eat it up they have to easily make money hand over fist.

well, they could to make a HD minecraft or another minecraft that make use of Hexagon cube, so the stuff build in-game are "less blocky/more round" in the future. All these have huge potential.

 

[bak0n]

My daughter wanted me to pick up a copy for her today. Didn't see it on steam. Went to check out the pricing and said, uhh. maybe for your birthday.

 

[canadianvice]

Good on Notch. I'm always happy to see somebody make it, and all the better it's through his (and the Mojang crew's) efforts.

I do wish MC had a little more content, as I get bored pretty quickly without mods, but overall I'm happy that it's a very solid indie game with a sensible, non corporate-dickhead at the helm.

I would really like to emphasize that MC shouldn't be criticized for its graphical choices - they were made for a purpose and I think a lot of it was stylistic. Plus, you can get better graphics fairly easily. My personal favourite pack is LB Photorealism.

 

[ctbaars]

The bugs are getting out of hand.

 

[jshoop]

if they have so much money they could afford selling the game for less, probably boosting their sales. If enough people buy it for less money, then their profits may even be greater

 

[Blazer1985]

Not so sure why we should care though...

 

[Ad Hoc]

This comment led to speculation that the company may only have ten years left.

I don't understand how anyone could get that out of what he said. People are stupid.

 

[canadianvice]

This comment led to speculation that the company may only have ten years left.

I don't understand how anyone could get that out of what he said. People are stupid.

I laughed at that comment with your username considered, but yes, I'd have to agree.

Woop: Nevermind. I read ad hominem. Hahahaha, evidently your comment was not too far off the mark xD

 

[user 18]

Jeez, when did Minecraft get so expensive? I bought it back in alpha for around $13 CAD, but that still makes it one of the most expensive games I've bought in the past 4-5 years. It's been a lot of fun over that time period, and I don't really regret the purchase, but I know I wouldn't pay almost $30 CAD for it.

 

[Master467]

Jeez, when did Minecraft get so expensive? I bought it back in alpha for around $13 CAD, but that still makes it one of the most expensive games I've bought in the past 4-5 years. It's been a lot of fun over that time period, and I don't really regret the purchase, but I know I wouldn't pay almost $30 CAD for it.

Best 20 bucks i ever spent, actually. I've met so many great people in the community, and spent many 1000's of hours playing it, i'd buy again in a heartbeat.
Anyways, the people who gave them help in alpha and beta get it cheaper, because that's when Mojang needed the dosh to put into developing it. Buying the finished product (Well, MC will never be finished) is always more expensive.

 

[TyrOd]

So they aren't reinvesting that cash and just sitting on it? Really stupid thing to do as a company.
It's actually bad news for mojang if their leadership doesn't understand that you have to reinvest money to continue making money. You don't just sit on it and tell that to your employees in 10 years. Notch is just an arrogant POS that has no business running a company if that's his perspective on his employees.

 

[canadianvice]

So they aren't reinvesting that cash and just sitting on it? Really stupid thing to do as a company.
It's actually bad news for mojang if their leadership doesn't understand that you have to reinvest money to continue making money. You don't just sit on it and tell that to your employees in 10 years. Notch is just an arrogant POS that has no business running a company if that's his perspective on his employees.

You have no business critiquing a millionaire when you can't even read properly. Plus, is this the same excellent reinvestment model that started a global recession and ruined the lives of countless people?

It's also a very different industry. He's an indie developer. He isn't looking to be the next Microsoft. His job is to make games. He's saying they could sit pretty on a pile of cash for 10 years if there's drought. He has no intention of creating one.

 

[TyrOd]

So they aren't reinvesting that cash and just sitting on it? Really stupid thing to do as a company.
It's actually bad news for mojang if their leadership doesn't understand that you have to reinvest money to continue making money. You don't just sit on it and tell that to your employees in 10 years. Notch is just an arrogant POS that has no business running a company if that's his perspective on his employees.

You have no business critiquing a millionaire when you can't even read properly. Plus, is this the same excellent reinvestment model that started a global recession and ruined the lives of countless people?

It's also a very different industry. He's an indie developer. He isn't looking to be the next Microsoft. His job is to make games. He's saying they could sit pretty on a pile of cash for 10 years if there's drought. He has no intention of creating one.

I read it perfectly fine, and obviously the "no business critiquing a millionaire" line is non-sequiter.

Holding on to 10 years of operational expenses is overkill for any company. It has nothing to do with debt based instruments or investing on the stock market.

That's something you do when you plan to cash out, not when you plan to run a company for 10 years.

Investment as in growing your company and hiring new people is how you continue to create cash flow.

You say "he's not trying to be the next Microsoft" as if somehow it's that simple because he has a lot of cash savings?
Mojang is a small business and Microsoft is a multinational corporation.

Small businesses either grow/reinvest or they cease to exist.

He has 10 years of operational expenses saved, but so what?!
That doesn't mean he won't get crushed in 5 years unless he grows his business.

 

[canadianvice]

So they aren't reinvesting that cash and just sitting on it? Really stupid thing to do as a company.
It's actually bad news for mojang if their leadership doesn't understand that you have to reinvest money to continue making money. You don't just sit on it and tell that to your employees in 10 years. Notch is just an arrogant POS that has no business running a company if that's his perspective on his employees.

You have no business critiquing a millionaire when you can't even read properly. Plus, is this the same excellent reinvestment model that started a global recession and ruined the lives of countless people?

It's also a very different industry. He's an indie developer. He isn't looking to be the next Microsoft. His job is to make games. He's saying they could sit pretty on a pile of cash for 10 years if there's drought. He has no intention of creating one.

I read it perfectly fine, and obviously the "no business critiquing a millionaire" line is non-sequiter.

Holding on to 10 years of operational expenses is overkill for any company. It has nothing to do with debt based instruments or investing on the stock market.

That's something you do when you plan to cash out, not when you plan to run a company for 10 years.

Investment as in growing your company and hiring new people is how you continue to create cash flow.

You say "he's not trying to be the next Microsoft" as if somehow it's that simple because he has a lot of cash savings?
Mojang is a small business and Microsoft is a multinational corporation.

Small businesses either grow/reinvest or they cease to exist.

He has 10 years of operational expenses saved, but so what?!
That doesn't mean he won't get crushed in 5 years unless he grows his business.

You clearly did not read it as well as you thought. Notch specifically stated it's not his intention to hold up, he's just saying that if the company were to go on a vacation tomorrow and all revenue streams ceased, the global economy was destroyed tomorrow and nuclear holocaust broke out, they would theoretically have enough money available to run without profit for another 10 years. That doesn't mean that's the intention, and Notch has stated quite the opposite. (A point, strangely enough, emphasized in the article)

That being said, I think it quite adequately addresses the rest of what you've said.