Really? This kooky theory finds it way to HN from Reddit. Wow. Who would have thought? I’m very disappointed.
The language he uses in a blog post is not relevant. What’s relevant is whether a court would think that “future versions” from the license also includes different games using in some respects the same mechanic, that share some resources but not code. That’s very, very unlikely.
Your first sentence is justified, the second is speculation masked as a factual statement.
(This also reeks of entitlement. Even if Mojang made a mistake when writing their license, asking for all ports to be free is behavior I’m unable to comprehend.)
I'm surprised too. Anybody who thinks they should get MPE for free just because they bought MC is delusional. I have a hard time modifying my world view so that this is justifiable behaviour.
How many people really thought along these lines when buying MC alpha? I'm pretty darn sure that when people read "all future versions for free", it meant "Alpha, and everything up to and including RTM for free", and not "Everything MC related, forever".
Heck, I think Notch threw in expansion packs for alpha purchasers. They should consider themselves lucky that he did.
Heck, I think Notch threw in expansion packs for alpha purchasers. They should consider themselves lucky that he did.
Thats the difference between aplha and beta purchases. People, like me, who purchased the beta version get all version up until release and bug fixes after release. People who bought the alpha version get that plus any expansions and add ons.
Pocket Edition is, as far as I'm concerned, not part of the Minecraft version timeline, not an addon and not an expansion, therefore should be exempt from the for free clause.
Then again, since I purchased the beta version, I don't get the extra free stuff, so I'm not exactly invested in arguing that MPE should be free, so...
What makes you consider minecraft pocket edition to be a different game? It looks to me like a straightforward port of the same graphics and mechanics, but I admit I haven't seen any gameplay videos yet.
I don't feel particularly entitled to it but it certainly seems like a version of minecraft.
In some contexts "version" only applies to release numbers like that, but this is a more general sense of the word. It explicitly includes add-ons and expansions. I think it's reasonable to expect it to apply to everything minecraft, though I personally accept it if their wording was a mistake and only intended to apply to the pc version(s).
MPE is not an add-on or an expansion. In PC gaming both of those words have specific meanings; both imply the addition of additional content to the original game. This Android installment of the game does not even interact with the PC installment. (The installment which you purchased at heavy discount, I might add.)
Additionally, the PC game is only a few weeks away from getting one of the largest updates in its history. It is unreasonable to state that you aren't getting your money's worth.
That image reeks of stupidity. The mobile version (SEE, I said it) is a different game on a different platform. Like most words in any natural language 'version' is ambiguous. The original promise meant that you would get every update to the game for free, not that you would somehow be entitled to every derivative game released later on.
Hence you should get this for free if you bought it in Alpha—this image[1] explains it nicely.
[1] http://i.imgur.com/ccckk.png