Post E3 information dump! news

Hi! E3 is over, and we're flying back to Sweden in a few hours. I have loads of information and news to share, so here's a rambling information dump:

* Minecraft fans are amazing. I spent a fair bit of time at E3 signing t-shirts and cardboard heads, trying to speak with as many fans as possible, and every single person was super friendly and nice.

* It looks like we need to change the release date for Minecraft to be able to get a good venue for MinecraftCon. 11/11/11 is fully booked. One week later, perhaps? I'll post more details as soon as we’ve decided and booked a venue.

* Minecraft is coming to XBox 360. It will be a new version of the game, designed specifically for console play. We haven't decided on a name yet. It will feature (but not require) Kinect support, and is being released “this winter”. It will be a 360 exclusive title.

* Minecraft is coming to Xperia PLAY. It will be a new version of the game, designed specifically for mobile play. This version is called “Minecraft - Pocket Edition”. It's built as a native Android game, and will take full use of the Xperia PLAY controls. After some period of exclusivity, we will release it for all modern Android phones.

* On both these platforms, I'm going to be more secretive about giving out details. This is because there are actual PR budgets on them, and I don't want to mess up any big plans.

* I will be the game designer on both new Minecraft titles, but I won't be involved in the programming as I'm focused on the PC version of Minecraft.

* We are working on Minecraft Beta 1.7, which I'm referring to as the “adventure update”. We're keeping the details secret so people can get surprises. The idea with this update is to flesh out the game a bit, making it reward exploration and combat more. Assuming we like them in play testing, pistons are coming in 1.7.

* I've now been to the Playboy Mansion! Woo! Not related to Minecraft at all, but I just wanted to share that. :D

* Speaking of not Minecraft related, I got to see the Skyrim demo (thanks, Tim), and it’s freaking amazing. While the dragons in the demo were obviously scripted (he knew exactly where they would land and such), they claim they're fully dynamic and unscripted in the full game.

* We're starting the modding support on a small scale with 1.7. We'll be giving the source code out to a very VERY small group of people before the release of 1.7. We'll use those experiences to work out the final details, then we'll get the modding api out as soon as possible after 1.7 has been released.

* Again, if you weren't aware, the “modding api” is the entire source code for Minecraft, uncensored and not obfuscated. You need to agree to certain terms to get access, though, but anyone can apply.

(Development blog link)