Seeing Notch at E3 was a bit of a surreal experience, something that may have had a lot to do with the multitude of fans that were swarming him relentlessly. It was something right out of Hollywood, a red carpet moment transplanted into the Xperia Play booth at E3. Like clockwork, cameras would flash and people would declare their undying adulation. The only thing that could have made the illusion complete would have probably been Notch in a Calvin Klein suit and a matching sneer. Fortunately, the Swedish developer retained both his hat and his unassuming demeanor. Either way, this was less a surprise than it could have been. After all, Minecraft isn't so much a game these days as it is a global phenomenon. It's everywhere and last night, I had the chance to see how well it does on the mobile platform in person.

At first glance, Minecraft: Pocket Edition looks and feels almost exactly like its progenitor and for the most part, it is. According to Business Developer Daniel Kaplan, only a few concessions and changes have been made, all of which seem tied largely to the playing style of mobile users and processor limitations. Exclusive to the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play for the time being, Minecraft: Pocket Edition will apparently feature shorter day circles. "Sometimes, you just want to play for five minutes and we want to accommodate that." Kaplan explained. Digging, amongst other things, have been made faster to allow for a more immediate experience.

Though currently only for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, Kaplan hinted that the team is looking to expanding to other devices as well once they have both ascertained the public's response and passed the window of exclusivity. "We're looking somewhere towards the third quarter. Maybe. we're not making any promises yet." Kaplan revealed. Ambiguous as the answer might be, I'm going to maintain an optimistic stance as development began right after GDC earlier this year.

When I first saw it at the Expo, I put out an open call for questions about the game on twitter but unfortunately, most of them are going to go unanswered thanks to the fact that the demo is still somewhat bare-bone. Yes, there's multiplayer and it might connect to the PC version, according to a volunteer at a both. Yes, it's due before the Xbox version should all go as planned. No, there's no survival yet but they're still months away from release so it's all up in the air. Nonetheless, before you all despair, I did get a chance to address one important question: how well does the Minecraft: Portable Edition play?

Short answer? Mileage probably will vary. I don't own an Xperia Play. In fact, I don't even own the latest iPhone. As such, my familiarity with mobile gaming is somewhat lacking. Like a few others at the booth, I spent my first five minutes with the game frantically pressing at every button on both the screen and the game pad in a vain attempt to either place blocks or dig. It wasn't until it was pointed out to me that I realized the phone had buttons on the back.

That said, once I figured out the controls, the experience wasn't too bad. It definitely could have been better, something that I attribute to my issues with the inventory system. As it stands, you can manipulate your inventory using both the touchscreen and the game pad. The square and the circle buttons are dedicated to scrolling through the inventory while the triangle button is used to access the full repertoire On screen, you can pretty much do the same. I can understand how this might assist accessibility but I can't help but wonder if they should have stuck to just the touch screen, leaving the buttons free for both building and digging. To be fair, however, it could just be me and my inexperience with the Xperia Play. Nonetheless, there was one thing that I was unsatisfied with and that was the limited space available for adjusting your viewpoint. When I'm busy crafting a masterpiece, I'd like to be able to view it with a single sweeping motion and not have to do it in increments.

Still, it's not game-breaking. I can see people getting used to it, but I'm personally inclined towards sticking with the PC version and the majesty of a gigantic monitor. Either way, as more information gets released, expect to hear more from us in return.