In an interview with Gamasutra, Rich Hilleman, Chief Creative Director of Electronic Arts, says Notch and Mojang need help managing Minecraft and wants to put the game on Origin, EA’s platform for purchasing and downloading games.
Hilleman acknowledges that Notch probably doesn’t care about a third-party’s opinion on his business model, but he gives it freely anyway: “So I don’t know if Notch cares — in fact, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t. What I’ve told the guys who run Origin for us is that we should do it for free, because as you can see my vision of that business, that’s not where the money comes from anyway.”
He thinks Minecraft could benefit from a more structured and commercial product when it come to mods, “As somebody who has had to reinstall Windows on my son’s computer after he attempted to install Mod Manager on that machine, there’s a lot of value to be provided for the customer in making Minecraft and its mods and installations something that’s a more commercial and predictable product.”
“And those are the kinds of things that Notch needs help with, and that without the help of a publisher or other support, he’s probably not going to get there completely by himself. Now maybe his community will, and I’d love to see that happen. It’s a great experiment; I’m really anxious to see what happens.”
Though Hilleman’s advice seem a little grandfatherly to someone who has already made a big impact on the business, his heart is in the right place. “The reason I wish we were involved is because I think we’d learn from him. And the other thing that’s true is Notch is a true talent of this business; I just like us being associated with great talent.”
Despite Hilleman’s suggestions, Minecraft isn’t likely to get a mod manager anytime soon. Creator of Minecraft, Markus Alexej Persson, known as “notch”, says he doesn’t need help on this front. He shot back with this comment on Twitter.
@notch
Markus PerssonI’m sure EA is very successful at monetizing games, but the more we don’t do what they would do, the happier I am. #nooffense
2 days ago via web · Reply · Retweet · Favorite · powered by @socialditto
There are some vocal gamers out there who think Origin is the one that needs help. What do you think?
@KamikazeSharkey
Evan Sharkey@EA I love how much origin sucks. cant log in, requested a pw change 3 times and nothing… gj 6 days ago via web · Reply · Retweet · Favorite · powered by @socialditto
@minusworlds
Brandon Dickersoncool, I was stoked about the new Sim City until finding out it requires Origin to run. I’m not installing that EA garbage. 1 hour ago via web · Reply · Retweet · Favorite · powered by @socialditto
@vyseofhr
VyseAhh, you can always trust EA. Simcity 5 requires Origin and an always-on internet connection? Stuff your DRM up your arse, toerags. 8 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone · Reply · Retweet · Favorite · powered by @socialditto
@HilariousCow
Aubrey HesselgrenTo the people who work at EA following despite my Origin irritation… it’s cool. We know you think it’s dinosaur thinking, too. 2 hours ago via TweetDeck · Reply · Retweet · Favorite · powered by @socialditto