It's really surprising (to me) that 10k people per day are still buying pc minecraft. I'd think pretty much everyone that was interested in a game like that would have gotten it by now? How can there still be 10k new people per day (over what, 3 years now?) that have just found out about minecraft?
The game is still getting new features through official development and through addons. People who weren't interested in the pure survival or "3d drawing" modes might be more interested in the improvements in interactive storytelling, both creating them and running through maps by others.
The game has also gained a significant community on YouTube (and probably elsewhere), which ends up promoting the game. I watch Minecraft videos occasionally -- some of the interactive storytelling is quite good --, despite the fact that I've never actually played the game. And it's just an impulse buy away if I ever see a video which makes me thing I need to play this myself.
Currently (I'm in London UK) Minecraft has a huge folllowing among boys aged (roughly) 8-14. As long as that demographic remains obsessed there'll be a constant new market.
My 8yo son is obsessed, as are two of his friends.
I am really impressed that a system with simple graphics has been so successful. A more traditional games shop would have screwed it up by trying to make things look pretty.
[Java still remains a poor gaming platform. I had to fiddle with the VM settings for a while before it would even run.]
I have a question for you if you've got a moment: what part of Minecraft is your son most involved in (eg: playing with his friends, creating modifications, building cool things alone)? And if he's involving in playing online, do you know if he has any involve with Minecraft communities?
I'm getting the feeling more and more recently that Minecraft may eventually become what BBSes were to the 90s: a way for "new" to the internet people to get involved in the community side of the internet (vs. just being a "consumer") and by extension the technical side. We (the Minecraft forum) have 10s of thousands of teenagers that are now programmers contributing code and creating things just because of Minecraft, people that probably wouldn't have got involved in programming this early in life otherwise.
I'm curious if that sort of effect extends beyond those actively involved in the official Minecraft communities, but I have no real way to find out as my reach only covers the Minecraft forum.
My 8yo son, 11yo daughter, 10yo niece, and 14yo nephew all recently got into it. I set up a server for them.
My nephew I think might become an architect, he loves making real-world looking buildings, complete with furniture, rooms, bathrooms.
The daughter and niece make houses where they live with each other. My daughter in particular takes her room, and adds a panic room (for when the mobs attack).
And my son has recently taken to building redstone gadgets. He took a room and put a switch on the wall, then ran redstone on the outside up to the attic to power glowstone blocks that he recessed into the ceiling. That way he can turn the lights on and off.
They mostly use the tekkit mod, and I've been trying to get them into programming by showing the how the computercraft turtles work ... it's a work in progress :P
I think Minecraft as a programming teaching tool would be a whole lot more valuable with a proper API and hopefully that will be introduced before the game starts to fizzle. It would be one less barrier to entry for kids, as currently they have to learn Java and get thrown into a messy (deobfuscated) codebase. Not exactly the best first experience with programming.
I think Valve's Portal 2 map maker is another good example. They give you a really nice interface for the easier stuff, and then for advanced changes you can import it into Hammer.
Sorry, just noticed your query. He plays alone - I've asked him if he's interested in the multiplayer aspects, but he just likes building things like automated mines, and watching replay movies on YouTube.
I have found that kids are particularly attracted to it, and a new generation of kids matures every year - most of them have access to funds, so it is often purchased on special occasions (i.e. birthdays). It is kind of the new Legos for kids. They had drawing from kids up on the wall in my local supermarket - roughly 10 of the 50 drawings had Minecraft characters in them.
The game format is pretty conducive to "casual" gaming. I'm sure with all the new features getting added it's more and more attractive to these gamers.
