The gaming world’s favorite blocky sandbox game is getting its own fan convention, and we’ve got all the details.
Appropriately dubbed “Minecon,” the world’s first convention focusing on Minecraft will take place at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay hotel on November 18 and 19. Alongside players socializing and the inevitable Creeper cosplay, Minecraft creator Markus Persson (aka “Notch”) claims the weekend will also see the official release of the game.
(Despite the massive press and raving fanbase, Minecraft has been in beta this entire time.)
PC Gamer reports:
“For me, MineCon is about celebrating the full release of Minecraft,” said Notch via email. “I’m really looking forward to getting up on stage and pushing the button to upload the final build.”
The convention will be held at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The registration site will launch next week with tickets available to purchase and complete details of what the event will offer. We’re expecting a lot of block-shaped amusements. For those keen to attend, keep an eye on Notch’s Twitter account for the announcement. Tickets are bound to go fast.
Notch also re-iterated that the launch of the game doesn’t mean the end of development. “We’ll just go back home and keep working on Minecraft directly after MineCon, but it does represent a huge milestone where the game finally leaves beta, something we’d never been able to do without our fans, so it feels natural to celebrate it with them.”
We’ve written reams of text on Minecraft of late — most recently we covered the phenomenal Mine 4 Dead project — but Minecon may be the most interesting development since the game went public.
It’s one thing to attract a few million bored, creative ‘net denizens, but can Minecraft actually draw a sizable amount of fans in flesh and blood meatspace? Presumably we’ll have an answer to that question by the holidays.
Published: Aug 3, 2011 07:03 pm