Printcraft, a multiplayer server for Minecraft, lets players build creations on an in-game representation of a build platform. Once the creation is complete, players can then convert their creation into an STL file that’s compatible with 3D printers. Even better, Printcraft has teamed up with MakerBot to allow direct uploads of creations to Thingiverse.

Printcraft from Paul Harter on Vimeo.

What makes Printcraft so amazing is that it has turned the often complicated 3D modeling software into Minecraft. Those with no knowledge of 3D modeling can instead build objects in Minecraft to have them printed on their own 3D printer.

Granted, Printcraft is pretty limited in what it can do compared to traditional 3D modeling software, but it’s great for the hobbyists that just want to see their creations come to life.

[h/t: 3ders]

Microsoft announced today that it will be launching a retail version of Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition in stores on April 30. The new retail version of the game will include all the latest features of its digital counterpart including the ninth title update that’s on the way.

The retail version will be identical to the digital version in every way. That means retail players will be able to play online with those who only own a digital copy. As expected, the retail copy will also receive all future updates.

There’s no word on if the retail copy will come with any special features or extras, but it would be a great opportunity on Microsoft’s part to encourage those who already own the digital version to buy the retail version. Minecraft diehards will probably pick up the retail release anyway, but a little something extra – like a download code for the Minecraft documentary – definitely wouldn’t hurt.

Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition will launch in the U.S. on April 30 for $20. Gamers in Australia, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan will be getting it in early June.

Mojang announced today that Minecraft Pi Edition is now available for download. It’s pretty basic at this point, but the team at Mojang says they will be adding new content in the future. Here’s how to get started:

If you’re able to follow all of that, you’re well on your way to learning the basics of programming. Once in game, you can fully hack away at the title to learn more about how code comes together to make games work.

Mojang’s Jens Bergentsen announced this morning that the next update for Minecraft Pocket Edition – version 0.6.0 – has been submitted for review. That means players should see the update hit the iOS and Android version of the title in the next one to two weeks.

Here’s all the new additions you can expect from version 0.6.0:

New features:

Tweaks:

Bug fixes:

As you can see, quite a bit of work went into the latest version of Minecraft’s mobile counterpart. There should be plenty of new content here to keep Minecraft Pocket Edition’s 5 million players satisfied until the next update.

Unfortunately, not everybody will be able to enjoy this latest update. Mojang announced that this latest version of Minecraft Pocket Edition is dropping support for Android 2.1 and 2.2. You’re going to need Android 2.3 or higher now to play the latest version. Older versions of the game will still work on older versions of Android though.

Earlier this morning, Mojang’s Jeb posted on Twitter that the PC version of Minecraft has now hit 9 million copies sold. He said that this brings the total across all platforms up to 20 million.

Follow @jeb_

Jens Bergensten
@jeb_

About 10 hours ago, Minecraft (PC) hit 9,000,000 sold copies! Which should bring the total for all platforms to… 20 million?

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5 hours ago via Janetter · powered by @socialditto

That’s impressive, but Minecraft Pocket Edition is really starting to pick up steam. The mobile title was sitting at a fairly impressive 5 million copies sold in November of last year, but it’s now already at 7.3 million copies sold. It will probably break 8 million by the end of the month.

Follow @jeb_

Jens Bergensten
@jeb_

… but MCPE beats all: in November 2012 it was at ~5 million sold copies, this week it’s at 7.3 million and not slowing down

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5 hours ago via Janetter · powered by @socialditto

Minecraft wouldn’t be enjoying half of its success if it wasn’t for the tireless teams at Mojang and 4J Studios who bring constant updates to the various versions of the game. It seems like more and more people are buying Minecraft as new features are announced.

Speaking of new features, Minecraft: Pocket Edition should be getting some new features soon via a version update to 0.5.1. The update will include oft-requested features like gravity, clouds and maybe some Redstone related updates.

The PC and Xbox 360 versions of the title are continually receiving updates as well. 4J Studios is still hard at work and taking suggestions from the community on Twitter as to what should be added next. It’s this kind of community interaction and transparency that will push Minecraft in all its versions to at least 30 million sales.

The next update to hit Minecraft: Pocket Edition will bring the game up to version 0.5.1. It’s not the mythical 0.6.0 update that will bring a lot of new features to the game, but the latest update will feature a number of additions that will make any Minecraft fan happy.

For starters, the update will finally add signs to the mobile version of the game. You can check out a preview of what they look like on Johan’s Twitter feed. Clouds and bluer skies are also being added with clouds being only available on fast devices.

The biggest addition to version 0.5.1 is gravity. Now certain block types will fall when losing the support of blocks beneath it. I’m sure some players enjoyed the gravity defying blocks of the Pocket Edition, but the addition of gravity is just one more step towards making Pocket Edition just like its console and PC cousins.

As for the big update coming with version 0.6.0, the team has revealed some of what they’re working on. First, caves will be added for those with faster devices as the feature seems to cripple older devices. The update will also probably add stone brick slabs and stairs alongside Redstone and Redstone powered objects. There’s a chance that these could show up in 0.5.1, but it’s more likely that these features are being saved for the big 0.6.0 update.

So, when can you expect to see the 0.5.1 update hitting your favorite mobile device? Mojang is planning on having it out by the end of the month. If not, it will be out at the beginning of February. Until then, keep mining your anti-gravity blocks while you have the chance.

[h/t: Droid Gamers]

The holiday season was particularly big for Minecraft, as over 1.2 million copies of the game were sold during the week of Christmas. The PC version of the game, where it originated, was actually the platform where the fewest copies were sold, with 241,845 copies sold for Mac or PC over the week.

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition has proven to be incredibly popular with Xbox gamers. It broke Xbox LIVE sales records when it was released last may, and over 5 million copies have been sold since. 325,591 copies of the Xbox 360 version were sold during the week of Christmas.

For those who are still denying that mobile has become a legitimate form of gaming, consider that Minecraft: Pocket Edition sold almost 5.9 million copies on iOS and Android last year. The mobile edition sold 706,419 copies during Christmas week alone.

At $7 each, that’s a cool $41 Million just from mobile sales in 2012. Considering that the Xbox 360 edition costs $20 and the PC version is $27, that’s well over $200 million that the small Swedish developer raked in last year. That’s a significant increase to the $80 million Mojang made in the first 15 months after Minecraft was released.

4J Studios announced that Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition surpassed 5 million sales on New Year’s Eve. It was already the most successful XBLA game on the Xbox 360, but crossing 5 million sales is a major accomplishment regardless. In fact, there are some retail titles that would kill to have even half those numbers. It just shows that Minecraft is still tremendously popular on whatever system it’s on.

So, what is 4J Studios up to now? The developer is working on the bugs reported in Title Update 7, and will be addressing them in a patch to be released this month. One such fix is that 4J will ensure that every new world will include a Nether Fortress, Blazes and Nether Wart.

Beyond that, the future of Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition looks bright. 4J Studios will continue to provide updates that will add more features from the PC version. After they catch up, it’s anybody’s guess as to what happens next. It would be interesting to see 4J Studios flex its creative muscle and add some original features unique to the console version of the game.

Along the same line, it would be awesome to see 4J Studios add new features that then make their way to the PC version of the game. It would only be natural to see the two teams work together to improve the Minecraft experience for everyone – regardless of platform.

[h/t: Joystiq]

2PlayerProductions announced this week that Minecraft: The Story of Mojang will be available on December 23. For those wanting an advanced sneak peak, there will be a free screening of the film for Xbox Live Gold members on December 22 at 8 p.m. EST in the US and 8 p.m. CET in Europe.

For those who have no idea what to expect out of a Minecraft documentary, here’s a synopsis from the film’s creators themselves:

In 2009, independent video game designer Markus “Notch” Persson released a work in progress that would go on to break every industry rule for achieving success. Part exploratory adventure, part creative building tool, “Minecraft” evolved from a cult classic into an unprecedented hit, raking daily sales in by the thousands. By the end of 2010, Notch was able to quit his day job and live the dream of founding his own development studio, Mojang.

This feature-length documentary follows the young company over the course of its first year as their profile expands across the world stage and into the homes of millions of gamers. Featuring insights from industry icons (Peter Molyneux, Tim Schafer), journalists (Geoff Keighley, Stephen Totilo), tastemakers (Gabe & Tycho of Penny Arcade), and players profoundly impacted by the game (Yogscast, The Shaft, Minecraft Teacher), the film serves as a time capsule for one of this generation’s most unorthodox success stories.

If walls of text aren’t your thing, 2PlayerProductions has also released a trailer for the film:

Details on how fans can pick up a physical copy of the documentary are forthcoming. Check out the official site for the film for more information.

Johan Bernhardsson, one of the developers on Minecraft Pocket Edition, took to Twitter this morning to announce that Minecraft Pocket Edition is doing pretty well for itself:

Follow @jbernhardsson

Johan Bernhardsson
@jbernhardsson

5 million of you have bought Minecraft Pocket Edition, amazing!

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10 hours ago via MetroTwit · powered by @socialditto

Minecraft Pocket Edition is the second version of the game to hit 5 million sales. The PC version passed 8 million sales back in November, and it was recently reported that the Xbox 360 version is almost there with 4.4 million copies sold. The Minecraft franchise as a whole has now surpassed 17.5 million sales, which is not too shabby for an indie developer.

With this sales milestone behind it, what’s next for the little brother of the Minecraft franchise? Bernhardsson says that version 0.5.1 is slated for release in late January/early February. It will be the first update for Pocket Edition since Minecraft PC development head Jeb joined on as the head of development for Pocked Edition as well.

[h/t: Joystiq]