What pulled me back into Minecraft was logic circuits. I found Minecraft to be an incredible teaching tool to help impart the absolute basics of circuit design to others. From the first step of turning on a bulb (or, in Minecraft terms, opening a door) with a circuit, to building memory and discovering new ways of state persistence, all the way to building entire machines for the express purpose of computation, Minecraft manages to turn the learning process into enough of a game to leave people associating "logic" with "fun."
I think it's probably only half a decade before we start seeing people in universities who were inspired to be electrical engineers by Minecraft.
While I think a $1 billion valuation is probably presumes far too much about the repeatability of Minecraft-like success, I think it's obvious that Mojang's success with Minecraft is attributable to more than just effective marketing. I also don't think it's unreasonable to think that Mojang's highly innovative game design will bring them more success in the future.
When kids grow up, they watch TV and they take the liking of characters like Barney, Thomas the Tank Engine, Spongebob etc and the companies behind those characters become ultimately huge!. The same is the case with Minecraft.
If Minecraft is crap than TV is crap and all these characters who are on it. Tell that to the growing kids on their face, just don't gossip about the degrading culture, the morality of capitalism etc.
You feel like some washed up older guy pissed off that his idea didn't make it, content to sit and pooh-pooh anything else that comes by. "My idea was so great, but no, stupid little blocks is what idiots around the world want" is the vibe I get from you.
"Crappy game" "bullshit stats" "spam it"
You're jealous and content to sit there and throw your sour grapes at anyone who dares actually like Minecraft.
Honestly, you're an insult to the spirit of this site and the people who come here. To shit all over a start up that is wildly successful for no other reason than you dislike it -- Shame on you.