There’s been some discussion recently over whether or not superdeals like the Humble Indie Bundle and IndieRoyale are beneficial or detrimental to the industry at large — particularly the independent developers whose work is featured in the packages.
For consumers, it’s pretty much an unquestionable win. To be able to pick up substantial packages of games for a fraction of their normal cost (the latest Humble Bundle offers 7 titles, a value of approximately $100) is brilliant, and in both cases, those who want to pay more can if they desire. Likewise, those on a budget can pay the minimum without guilt. The Humble Bundle also has the added karmic bonus of an optional charity donation, too, so you can justify filling your Steam library with stuff you might not get around to for a few months on the grounds of it being “for the children”.
For developers, though, you can see how it might be something of a mixed blessing. On the one hand, these bundles often take on a higher public profile than the individual component games themselves. This exposes a variety of quality, unknown titles to the world, encouraging consumers to step out of the comfort zone of triple-A titles to explore the wider world of gaming. Sick of hearing about Call of Duty all the time? Don’t play it — check out the rapidly-expanding indie market and you’ll never need to even think about Activision ever again.
On the other hand, all the time these bundles are selling games for a fraction of their normal price, developers are losing out on those sweet, sweet monies. And unlike publishing behemoths like EA and Activision, these developers are often counting on the income from their creations to ensure their continued existence as studios. In the case of some developers, your buying their game might even be helping to put food on their table.
You might be feeling a bit guilty for putting in that bare minimum donation now. However, you probably shouldn’t — many developers, including Robert Boyd of Cthulhu Saves the World developer Zeboyd Games, report that strong sales actually continue for some time after a Steam sale or bundle deal — and the cheapest sale isn’t necessarily the one where a title will sell the most. It’s all about visibility — during Steam’s Halloween sale, during which Zeboyd’s titles were 33% off, the developer sold more copies than during the larger Thanksgiving sale, where they were 66% off. The difference? The Halloween sale was small enough that customers could see all of the titles on offer, while the Thanksgiving offering was a traditionally huge Steam sale, with a huge variety of content on offer for a fraction of its usual price.
Valve have often reported that sales of titles like Team Fortress 2 (before it went free to play, obviously) and Left 4 Dead took an upward turn after a sale in which they had been reduced by a considerable margin. The most likely explanation for this is related to the “visibility” issue that Boyd mentioned — once a sale is over and done with, players are going to be trying out all these weird and wonderful games that they took a chance on, and Steam being an inherently social platform, their friends are going to see what they’re up to. Cue a number of conversations about “what on earth is that you’re playing?” coupled with enthusiastic gibbering about how awesome Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale is and you can see how this “word of mouth” effect could have a powerful impact on sales, even after special offers are long gone.
So in summary, no, I don’t think these indie bundles are bad for the industry. I’m happy they exist because they’ve certainly introduced me to a variety of wonderful games over the years — and proven that even if you find the way the triple-A sector does business to be somewhat distasteful, there’s always something to play.
So if you haven’t already, go pick up a copy of the latest Humble and IndieRoyale bundles now — links at the top of this post.
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