Verified this from a couple of news sites since this, at first, seemed like a far fetched news item.

Microsoft and Mojang are in final talks for for a deal that could value Mojang for more than $2 billion. The deal has been in the works for the past few months when Notch reached out to Microsoft about the sell.

This is a big turn around for Notch, who has advocated against large companies including Microsoft. In the past he has made negative comments about MS’s release of Windows 8, and the buyout of the Oculus Rift by Facebook.

According to Bloomberg the buyout could happen later this week, so we will have to wait and see if it falls through or not.

What will this mean for Minecraft? No telling with buyouts like this. It has been said that Notch will stay with the company during the process, but may leave shortly after. The current development team may not go anywhere. All of this we will have to wait and see when the companies make a statement later on. As of right now the talks are not open to the public.

Couple of sources:

New York Times
Bloomberg
Ars Technica

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The Sims 4 – Release Date September 2nd

Myself, along with many others, have been looking forward to the release of Sims 4. At least until some of the information that started circulating around about features that will not be making it into the game. So will I be buying the game this weekend? We shall see. If I do end up getting the game I will be trying my hand at a video review of the game and will post it to my YouTube. At the least, if I get it I will post a more detailed review on this site.

As many know there are a lot of features that will not be making its way into the game, and may not even make it through DLC’s as well.

First off, some of the good things that are supposed to be in the new game.

Sims 4 has changed the Sim Building method, you no longer use sliders for changing aspects of your Sim. Now you just grab a part with your cursor and pull. In many ways this is a more interesting way of building your sim, but I have found that in some cases having a slider as well would have been nice. Oh, and dont worry, there are still presets as well that you can choose from

Building your home is supposed to be easier, with the ability to add and move whole rooms. The system is supposed to be more intelligent when it comes to how you can expand your rooms and your home.

The third on my list is that sims are supposed to have more detailed emotions when dealing with their environment and the sims around them. they are supposed to have more moods and feelings. These moods and feelings are supposed to shape the sim and their behavior more than it has in previous games.

And of course the last on my list (At least until I buy it and try it) is graphics. The Sims 4 will have a higher level of detail gfx wise. Don’t really have to go into too much detail on this, just take a look at the screenshots or video to see this.

Now the bad, and there does seem to be a lot I am afraid. Many features that have been in the game from the beginning will be missing from the game. The top of my list is Pools. That’s right, no pools or swimming. Well, lets just move on to list form, a lot easier to follow that way.

• No normal careers (Law enforcement, medical, business, etc)
• No open world (Tradeoff I suppose for the higher detail)
• No Pools
• No Terrain Tools
• No Family Trees (Funny they did this since it was such a big part of Sims 3)
• No toddlers (babies are objects that will skip to kid stage at a certain point)
• All buildings on the lot have the same foundation
• No basements (Not fond of this one, no more secret lairs from my crazy sims)
• Smaller lots 50×50 down from 64×64 (no idea why)
• Floors are limited to 3 levels
• Teens are the same height as adults and elders (seems like lazy work here)
• No aliens or ghosts
• Pretty much no death of any kind as far as I can tell (kiddy gloves, got to love them)
• No NPC’s for hire bartender, nanny, gardener, repairman, fire fighters, etc
• No cleaning skill, and I am assuming no repair skill since hiring a repairman is now out
• No environmental needs, fears, dreams, or comfort
• No restaurants, bookstores, or clothing shopping
• No garage doors (Cars might just be for decor)
• No Bikes, hot tubs, pool tables, dishwashers, or trash compactors.

This is not even the full list of features or items that will not be in the Sims 4. This is just a list of many points I found more troublesome.

For a more detailed and up to date list, visit: http://ts4truth.tumblr.com/

I do not usually bash a game before launch, but if this list is half right I fear The Sims 4 could go the way of the last release of Sim City

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