In a move that is sure to not stir up any controversy whatsoever, along with Minecraft: Pocket Edition ($6.99)’s big Ender update, the Apple TV version is finally out. Initially announced at the October Apple event, it has just released on December 19th. And two potential sticking points: it’s a separate purchase from the iOS version, and it’s $19.99. It includes three skin packs, three texture packs, and a new 2016 Festive Mash-Up Pack. Plus, it contains all the content from the 1.0 version of the game, the Ender Update including The End and the Ender Dragon.
This is certainly interesting pricing in context of the mobile version, but consider that $19.99 is the same price as it is on the other platforms. Also, it’s Minecraft, and people will pay for it. Just how well this version will do is going to be interesting to see – it’s not like a whole lot of developers are screaming from the rooftops about how well their Apple TV games are doing, but perhaps a cheap-enough box that can play Minecraft could help sell some Apple TVs and make a nice profit for Mojang/Microsoft as well, even if they really didn’t need to do so. But still, undercutting a game’s price hurts other developers who can’t charge more, so perhaps it’s good that Minecraft is going for the same price as it does on other consoles.
