Minecraft annual events

MineCon (initially referred to as MinecraftCon) is an annual Minecraft convention held by Mojang AB. The first one was held in 2010 in Washington State. The 2011 one was on November 18, 2011 in Las Vegas and celebrated the release of Minecraft 1.0. MineCon 2012 was held in Disneyland Paris from November 24 - 25th. MineCon 2013 was held in Orlando, Florida from November 2–3. The official MineCon website is available at http://minecon.mojang.com/. The website currently shows the 2013 Tumblr (http://mineconorlando.tumblr.com/)

2010


MinecraftCon 2010 was a spontaneous gathering of Minecraft fans on August 31, 2010 in Bellevue, Washington. It was conceived by Notch after expressing in a blog post several requests for a meet-up by players and had called on the community to organize one with no specific choice of venue. While Notch had labeled it "Minecraftcon 2010", it is a bit of a misnomer as it implies a formal convention not unlike that of a typical gaming or anime convention. This thread on the Minecraft Forums was an unofficial organization point for the Convention, complete with YouTube videos and pictures afterwards.

More than fifty people had turned up at the gathering, including one in a full body creeper costume, in which Notch took a cautious interest.

MineCon 2010


MineCon 2010 was a gathering of Minecraft fans on a Minecraft Classic server. This thread on the Minecraft Forums was an unofficial organization point for the Con. There was a spleef tournament, a building competition, and an obstacle course race. (There was also initially going to be a griefing competition, but it was cancelled.) There was also a signature wall that 167 people signed, including Notch. Notch also confirmed Herobrine would be in the game, probably in a Seecret Friday update. But that has never happened and has decided against it ever since.

2011


MineCon 2011 was held at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada on November 18, 2011, coinciding with the official release of the game.

MineCon featured many exciting events, including the official release of Minecraft, keynote speeches from members of the Minecraft community (including one from Notch), building contests, breakout classes with different Minecraft topics, costume contests, exhibits, meeting worldwide Minecraft personalities and commemorative merchandise.

There were 4,500 attendees at MineCon 2011, aging from new borns to 105 year olds and coming from 24 countries. Events included the Kickoff party, which everybody was invited to, and the Into the Nether party, featuring Deadmau5, where only attendees 21 years and over were allowed into.

Tickets
Tickets went on sale on the 11th of August 2011, 99 days before the start of the conference on 18 November. The early-bird price was $99, which ran until September 30. After that, the price (including the price at the gate) became $139. However, as of October 28, the tickets were all sold out. The price did not include hotel rooms, flights or any other costs involved apart from entry to MineCon.

The first 500 ticket purchasers were entered into the drawing to receive "The Ultimate Fan Experience". The winner won a paid-for hotel room at Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, VIP seating to keynotes and presentations, and a meal with the Mojang team. The draw was won by a player named Joseph.

Cape
Notch announced that those attending MineCon 2011 would receive an exclusive MineCon 2011 cape. He quickly removed the announcement and said it was supposed to be a secret. On September 27, a new photo of the official cape was released along more information on who would be attending the convention. The cape was given to all attendees on October 10–11.

Videos
The MineCon 2011 Trailer. MineCon 2011 Keynote

2012


MineCon 2012 was held in Disneyland, Paris from November 24 - 25th. The convention was attended by 4,500 people - approximately the same amount as the previous year. The Redstone Update was announced by the core Minecraft development team in a keynote held there. The entirety of the convention was officially live streamed by GameSpot, who later uploaded some of the content to their YouTube channel. Official Tumblr http://mineconparis.tumblr.com/.

The song that was embedded in the 2012 site.

Announcement
On April 9, 2012, Lydia Winters confirmed that MineCon 2012 would occur in Europe. She also announced that details would become clear in the coming weeks. On July 18, 2012 she posted on the Mojang website that in the following week a video would go up saying where MineCon 2012 would be. On August 2, 2012, Mojang officially announced through a promotional video on YouTube that MineCon 2012 would be held in Disneyland Paris from November 24 - 25th. On August 23, 2012 the official MineCon site was updated to reflect 2012's convention. Ticket sales and hotel registration opened on September 14, 2012 with tickets quickly being sold out soon after release.

Cape
As with the previous year, attendees of MineCon 2012 received an exclusive cape. On October 8, 2012, it was confirmed by Junkboy that the cape design for MineCon 2012 was finished and they were taking about 2 weeks to implement a button to turn it on and off. On November 1, Mollstam tweeted that the cape will be available when they finish the cape selection system. As such, minecraft.net now offers the ability for users who attended both conventions to switch between their 2011 and 2012 capes.

On November 16, it was confirmed by Mollstam that the MineCon 2012 cape would be distributed when the convention began. He said that "they are pretty and blue". When the convention began, the cape was revealed to be one of the unused capes from MineCon 2011 that users could have voted for.

In-game
2012 was also the start for Minecon Server Edition, the most notable of several other virtual events such as Virtual Minecon.

Videos
Announcement video A trailer documenting most of the changes from 1.0 to 1.4 were documented in this video, first shown at the start of the Minecon 2012 Opening Ceremony. Trailer made by Hat Films, who have made update trailers for Mojang in the past. The Minecon 2012 Opening Ceremony filmed by GameSpot.

2013
MineCon 2013 was held in Orlando, Florida from November 2–3. Official Tumblr http://mineconorlando.tumblr.com/. The song "One" from C418's soundtrack from the Story of Mojang documentary was the song embedded in the 2013 site.

Announcement
Mojang revealed on June 27 that MineCon 2013 will be held in Orlando, Florida from November 2–3. It was also said that tickets/hotel deals would later be available for sale later in July.

After a lot of mystery, it was officially confirmed by Mojang that MineCon 2013 would be hosted in the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC). At one point, it was listed on the OCCC's calendar of scheduled events. Due to popularity directed toward OCCC's website, MineCon was taken off the list for upcoming events. Some time after all the tickets where sold, Minecon was added to the OCCC Exhibitor On-line Services calendar and the Show Banner Orders calendar. Also a page for exhibiters to get electrical, lighting and other booth utilities was created. There is a page on the OCCC website labeled "Untitled Document" that appears to be the info page of Minecon 2013 on the OCCC website, trying to go to the page will redirect you to the 404ed page.

Location
Orlando, Florida Location of Orange County Convention Center: 9990 International Drive, Orlando, FL. Location within the OCCC for MineCon 2013 is the West Building, WA3- WB1

Age restriction
Mojang originally intended the age restriction to be without an adult to be 17 years old, (16 and under with an adult) but after further research and consideration, they lowered it to 14 years of age (13 and under with an adult). They offered a refund for this reason, and tickets refunded will be put back on sale if accepted.

Tickets
Early on July 31, Mojang confirmed that tickets would start going on sale later that day. These tickets were said to be released in batches of 3, each selling 2,500 tickets and at $150 a piece. (7,500 tickets in total) This system is to give people who may have school, or a job a chance to get tickets. As of the current moment, Mojang has announced that 7,500 tickets is the total number, no more, they will not be selling at-door tickets, and they are not giving away tickets to the press for free.

Batches:

One: July 31, 4:00 PM PDT and 7:00 EDT. (Sold out within 1 minute)

Two: August 2, 7:00 AM PDT and 10:00 EDT. Three: August 3, 12:00 PM PDT and 3:00 EDT.

Hotel Reservations

Cape
On September 5, Mojang posted that attendees who go to MineCon will receive a 2013 MineCon cape. Further details regarding the capes were stated to be "released at a later date."

On October 29, Mojang stated that capes will be sent as a redemption URL to the email address registered when the ticket was purchased. The capes were sent out through email with the message: "A popular part of going to MINECON is that you receive an in-game cape for your character to show everyone online that you were there." "This year's edition comes in jade green with a handsome piston fitted on the center back. Follow the link below and log in to minecraft.net (with your usual credentials) and it will automatically get added to your character." - Lydia Winters

Controversy
Mojang and their respective ticket sales group, Eventbrite, received controversy for the system of purchasing tickets this year. The three batches were swiftly sold out (the first within three seconds), and while they were purchased, the text "Pending" showed while the website didn't handle well (Eventbrite). Because of this, many tweets of controversy appeared, mostly under the hashtag "Minecon", and a Change.org petition was made.

Video
Announcement video Opening Video Stream day 1 Twitch Interview with Notch Minecon Montage Stream day 2 Twitch