After many years of waiting, fans can now enjoy the full Minecraft experience on a Nintendo console - specifically the Wii U.
Mojang, the company that brought us the worldwide blocky sandbox game hit Minecraft, has always been receptive to being able to bring their game to the Nintendo consoles. And with Minecraft: Story Mode appearing on the Wii U, it was only a matter of time before the base game to finally make its way into the console as well. Even so, the announcement on the Mojang blog came as a pleasant surprise to the fanbase. The reactions to the announcement were somewhat mixed, however. Many fans feel as if the port had come too late, or that the price would turn away aspiring builders from the game. However, Mojang confirms that there will be off-TV support for the game, free content updates like they have in all the other releases, and that they will have many Nintendo-exclusive material that they're developing specifically for this release, such as skin packs and texture packs, and some of them will be free upon purchase of the game. Mojang and Nintendo are also planning on working on additional content for the future, according to the post.
Recently though, it's been revealed that there will be no inventory management mechanics via the Gamepad for Minecraft Wii U, though it seems as if Mojang is considering its development. Aside from this, the Japanese eShop listing (via Nintendo Life) of Minecraft reveals that there will be USB keyboard support, Wii U Pro Controller and voice chats. Minecraft developers have also acknowledged the fans' demands for a Minecraft Amiibo or for the player avatars, Steve and Alex, to appear in other games, but do not have any plans currently, saying that they have to be approached by Nintendo for permission since Amiibo creation is not under their command and that other game dev studios would need to approach them for permission to use Steve and Alex first.
The game will launch on December 17th for $29.99 and can be pre-ordered on the Nintendo eShop, with a retail version planned to be released in the future.
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