Minecraft Pocket out on Xperia Play

By Robert Purchese Published 16 August, 2011

An Android exclusive, costs $6.99 / £4.26.

Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play phone has secured the timed (Android) exclusive to the Pocket Edition of Minecraft.

It's out today and costs $6.99 or £4.26.

When other Android devices will receive the game Eurogamer is waiting to hear back.

Sony Ericsson claims the build-anything-using-blocks game has been "fully optimised" for the Xperia Play and will not be fired out and forgotten about.

"The Pocket Edition of Minecraft will be updated regularly with new features," declared Sony Ericsson. "[Minecraft developer] Mojang have stated it is treating game development as a service; ensuring players always have the best possible gaming experience."

The Pocket Edition apparently captures "the core features and gameplay of the PC version in beta".

An iOS version of Minecraft is still part of the plan (as is an Xbox Live Arcade version).

Minecraft has been an incredible success on PC. And it hasn't even launched yet. There are more than 11 million registered users; 3 million of which have paid €10 or upwards for the game.

The full launch of Minecraft is scheduled for 18th November at Minecon - the inaugural official convention for the game hosted in Las Vegas.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (14) Latest comment 9 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • TruSmiles #1 9 months ago

    I would actually consider buying an Xperia Play just for this game. But then I would be dead by the end of the week if I had the ability to play Minecraft anywhere.

  • Anufea #2 9 months ago

    @TruSmiles

    Seriously? The Minecraft Pocket Edition is nothing like the "real deal" - if I'm not mistaken it only features the Creative Mode (i.e. all you can do is build stuff, no crafting, no monsters, no mining...).

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #3 9 months ago

    @Anufea

    Thats only cos its launching as Beta 0.1, expect other features to arrive in time

  • Toothball #4 9 months ago

    I got suckered in to starting Minecraft over the weekend with the two for one deal. Suddenly an Xperia Play is seeming like a very enticing phone.

  • arcam #5 9 months ago

    It probably would've been better for sales if it was on iphone.

    Actually I think the geek-appeal of Minecraft makes Android a perfect match...

    But really I think it will be on all platforms soon enough. The fact that Android doesn't need every update inspected and approved probably makes it a good choice for the early beta days.
    Edited by arcam at 16/08/11 @ 11:30

  • LFace #6 9 months ago

    As mentioned, its only the build "Creative" mode, you know - the one you get for free on PC. There are already several clones that offer a build mode on both iOS and Android. Im pretty sure they are cheaper than this too and offer touch screen functionality so it can be played on all Androids, not just the poor reviewed shitty Sony Ericcson phone this "exclusive" is for.

    As a minecraft fan, this is a piece of shit and too little too late. Creative mode is so last year.

  • Ryze #7 9 months ago

    Xperia play needs its innards swapping out with a Vita.

  • kadooosh #8 9 months ago

    Is this available on all android handsets?

  • HL706 #9 9 months ago

    @Dannyboy1100

    Minecraft was develped with Java, which is the officially supported language for Android development. I'd imagine that was a huge factor in the decision to support Android first - andy possibly Sony thrown a bit of cash their way for exclusivity to their handset too.

  • ajaxpliskin #10 9 months ago

    I'm staying away from Minecraft. I'd like to look back on my life when I'm on my deathbed and know that I didn't waste a year or more of my life moving blocks around.

  • Metalmikey666 #11 9 months ago

    It's not suprising that it's turned up on android first - both minecraft and android are java based frameworks so the port would have been a lot easier. Find me one developer (me included) that *likes* developing for iphone under objective c and i'll find you a liar :)

  • ThePissartist #12 9 months ago

    Wow, i'd like to see this in action.

  • Nuronv #13 9 months ago

    @kadooosh

    At the moment just the Xperia Play, its a timed exclusive
    Give it a few weeks

  • kadooosh #14 9 months ago

    Cheers, got a galaxy s2 this weekend so be.good.timing :)