[NewsPoster]

Welcome to the Game Replay, the twice-weekly look at the wider world of gaming by the staff of MacNN and Electronista. In today's edition, Microsoft is bringing Minecraft to Windows 10, Club Nintendo ends in North America, Sales are halted and refunds offered for Final Fantasy XIV for Mac, and the revelation that Destiny could have been a funnier game.

Minecraft heading to Windows 10 from operating system's launch day

Microsoft will be bringing a version of Minecraft to its next operating system. Dubbed Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta, it will become available to download on July 29, the same day as Microsoft is due to launch Windows 10 itself.

In a blog post, it is revealed the Windows 10 edition will "evolve over time" following feedback from players, and just as with other versions, future updates will continue to be free to all players. The version will include online and local multiplayer with up to seven friends, Xbox Live support, the ability to play with Pocket Edition players, support for multiple peripherals, and Game DVR sharing.

It will be available to download from the Windows 10 Store at no charge to current owners of the PC version, with others able to pay $10 to enter the beta.

Club Nintendo closes in North America

The fan loyalty program Club Nintendo has been shut down in North America. The program, which allowed owners of Nintendo products to earn rewards including games, toys, and other physical items, is now unavailable on the continent, with the last time for players to acquire gifts passing at the end of June.

The Club Nintendo page offers its "heartfelt thanks" to its members for their support while the program was in operation, reports Kotaku, with information on a new loyalty program also being promised. Nintendo advises that all download codes redeemed from Club Nintendo need to be used before July 31, otherwise they will expire, while the last physical rewards will ship by the end of September 2015.

While the US version of Club Nintendo is now closed, the similar programs in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan will also close later this year, with the last time players in those countries able to redeem their earned currency landing on September 30.

Final Fantasy XIV Mac sales pulled over performance issues

Sales of Final Fantasy XIV for Mac have been halted, with Square-Enix producer and director Naoki Yoshida apologising for performance issues with the game. A variety of issues with the client itself, as well as misinformation being offered before its launch has prompted the company to not only stop any further sales of the game for Mac users, but also to offer refunds to existing players.

In a forum post, Yoshida claims to have received a "great deal of feedback" about the client's performance, reports PC Mag. "For these issues, we apologize," writes Yoshida.

Yoshida advises that there are two main problems at play. First, there was "insufficient communication of system requirements" before its release, caused through creating multiple versions of hardware requirements late in the port's development, with the company publishing the wrong set and claiming that it could be played on lower-specification macs than is actually possible. There was also a planned maintenance due to finish by June 23, but the Mac client was released before this period ended, causing some players to download a pre-release build that wouldn't function properly.

While refunds are being offered to affected players, along with more development being put into the port before it goes back on sale, players happy with their game can continue to play it, as the online service will continue to function normally.

Humor written for Destiny failed to make it into final script

Two comedy writers were employed by Bungie to create jokes for Destiny, but they were never used, one of the people involved claims. David Cross, known as Tobias from Arrested Development, as well as comedian Brian Posehn were both hired to provide jokes for the game's Ghost character, but none of the lines made it into the final game at all.

In an interview with IGN, Cross claims "We were flown up to Bellevue, Washington to do a punch-up on the Ghost character in Destiny about a year ago. We were both very excited about it. They did not use a single, solitary thing that we wrote."

When comparing the final character, Cross believes it to be a "shame" as "when you're at an hour 20 or that thing, it's like the Ghost is kind of monotone," issuing basic commands and statements. "I speak for myself and Brian, and I know thousands if not millions of other gamers would be like 'It would be nice to have a joke or something in there."

As for what gamers missed in Destiny, Cross admits that some of the dialogue was "self-reverential" and other lines "winking to gamers," with it mostly made up of "one-liners."