Xbox 360 Edition



Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition is the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft developed by 4J Studios in conjunction with Mojang and Microsoft Studios. It was announced at the 2011 E3 conference by Notch and Microsoft, and was released alongside a free trial version on May 9, 2012 on Xbox Live Arcade. It is priced at $19.99.

Retail disc
On June 4, 2013 Microsoft released the first retail disc of Minecraft Xbox 360 edition with a free gold membership. It costs $19.99, the same price as the Xbox Arcade Version. The game otherwise is identical to the downloadable version. Features such as buying or downloading on Xbox Live are the same for both versions and they both update at the same time. It was released in regions or countries supported by Xbox Live.

Release
The game was showcased as a playable demo at MineCon 2011 and was deemed a 'work in progress'. 4J Studios confirmed that it had all the features of the PC version Beta 1.6.6 when released, and will later be updated. IGN also filmed a video at MineCon showing that the graphics look very similar to the PC edition.

Notch later announced the team developing the game would be 4J Studios. Daniel Kaplan tweeted about receiving an early copy of the Xbox 360 Edition on September 7, 2011.

In October 2011, Microsoft said the release was planned for Spring 2012. On March 22, the official release date was posted by Larry Hryb, the Director of Programming for Xbox Live, as May 9, and a few days before the game release, HatFilms released the official trailer for the Xbox 360 Edition.

The game was officially released on May 9, 2012, and set a new sales records on the Xbox Live Arcade, selling more copies in the first twenty four hours of launch than previous titles.

The retail disc version was released on June 4, 2013, being exactly the same as the arcade version, with the exception of internet requirement to play.

Skin Packs
4J Studios has produced Skin Packs as downloadable content. Each Skin Pack includes ~45 skins to choose from. The first Skin Pack, Skin Pack 1, was released July 16, 2012 at a cost of US$1.99. The Skin Pack contains characters from Xbox 360 games, such as Master Chief from Halo. The Skin Pack also include various original designs created by 4J Studios. On Minecraft Xbox 360's birthday you can download special skinpacks for free. There are many more skin packs added. One is a Christmas Themed Skin Pack. There is also a Marvel Skin Pack, a Spider-Man Skin Pack and Animal Skin Packs. In total there are more then 10 Skin Packs!

Controls
In default settings, the controls are always displayed on the HUD.


 * Gameplay
 * - Jump (double tap to fly while in Creative)
 * - Drop item
 * - Open crafting menu in Creative Mode or survival
 * - Open inventory
 * - Place block/use item
 * - Mine/use block or item
 * / - Change the selected block
 * - Move
 * (Moved forward twice in rapid succession) - Sprint
 * (pressed down) - Change camera angle.
 * - Look
 * (pressed down) - Sneak/walk, descend while flying in Creative mode.


 * Interface (Crafting/Smelting/Brewing/Inventory)
 * - Pickup/Drop item
 * - Exit interface
 * - Take half of the highlited stack/show information about the selected block or item
 * - Move selected stack to Chest/Brewing stand, move between inventory and hotbar.
 * / - Move pointer/change selected item.

Awards and unlockables

 * Steve Gamerpic - Mine redstone for the first time
 * Creeper Gamerpic - Kill 10 Creepers
 * Minecraft Exclusive (Wood) Theme - Share a picture on Facebook
 * A Minecraft Watch - Play through 100 day to night cycles
 * I Porkchop Minecraft T-Shirt - Make a cooked porkchop
 * Creeper Cap - Kill a Creeper with arrows

Trivia

 * Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition was added to the Xbox Arcade download section in November 2011, although it was only possible to download the "It's here!" trailer. Nonetheless, the entry held very high ratings.
 * There are also Minecraft-themed Xbox Live avatar items available. Among these are Minecraft shirts, pets, items, props, head wear, dashboard themes, and gamer pics, all of which range from $1/£0.69 to $2.99/£1.99 in price.