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[SirNiko]

The fact that so few games get in the bundle and that the bundles are spaced apart pretty generously means it is not likely to postpone purchases.

Now Steam sales, those are things I wait for.

[Tuba]

it's certainly good for the indies who get in it, but i imagine it might train some people into thinking 'oh, this is an indie game? i'll wait until it's in the humble indie bundle and then i'll buy it' just like when a game appears on steam many people (including me) tend to wait for it to be on sale for like 75%+ off before buying it, and how some people don't buy a game unless it's on steam

And how some people don't buy a mobile game unless it's 99 cents and now think that 3DS and Vita games should all cost that. And how some people complain about 2D platform games like DKC Returns being at retail price.

The fact that so few games get in the bundle and that the bundles are spaced apart pretty generously means it is not likely to postpone purchases.

I think hey should be even more spaced apart, this is the second one this year already and I'm sure they'll have another one on Christmas like last year. Make it one per year and instead of including the last bundle just make it bigger. Like Paul Eres said making this too frequent will train people to buy indie games only when they are on a HIB.


About Steam Sales: Not sure if you're allowed to answer this but, when a game is on sale, does Valve bite the bullet for you and you still get the same amount of profit?

[forwardresent]

It's for charity and helps out indie devs, I support it as much as I can, even if I have half the games in the bundles already.

I'd have one every six months, like a Christmas and Summer bundle, but there are a lot of Christmas and Summer sales already, then maybe a bundle like the Frozenbyte one every now and again.

That being said I'm waiting for the 4th one and the 3rd just finished.

[dEnamed]

Gnarr, it quite rubs me the wrong way to see people argue about the so called "charity" aspect of the Bundle. Charity is bullshit. You can help the Indie Devs, fair enough and of course you can help people, but if you'd want to do that, you'd really do that. Charity ain't helping. So called Charity is the good old letter of indulgence reborn.
And in most cases that charity makes things worse.

[moi]

it's certainly good for the indies who get in it, but i imagine it might train some people into thinking 'oh, this is an indie game? i'll wait until it's in the humble indie bundle and then i'll buy it' just like when a game appears on steam many people (including me) tend to wait for it to be on sale for like 75%+ off before buying it, and how some people don't buy a game unless it's on steam

And how some people don't buy a mobile game unless it's 99 cents and now think that 3DS and Vita games should all cost that. And how some people complain about 2D platform games like DKC Returns being at retail price.

Soon people won't even have to buy mobile games anymore.
For example, for android they can just connect to the amazone appstore and wait until the game they want is put on the free weekly list. they get the game for nothing, without ads. And the develloper gets nothing. It's the future.

[Noyb]

Gnarr, it quite rubs me the wrong way to see people argue about the so called "charity" aspect of the Bundle. Charity is bullshit. You can help the Indie Devs, fair enough and of course you can help people, but if you'd want to do that, you'd really do that. Charity ain't helping. So called Charity is the good old letter of indulgence reborn.
And in most cases that charity makes things worse.

You are aware that of the two charities involved one lobbies to protect freedom of speech and privacy online, and the other provides money and entertainment for sick children?

[allen]

Gnarr, it quite rubs me the wrong way to see people argue about the so called "charity" aspect of the Bundle. Charity is bullshit. You can help the Indie Devs, fair enough and of course you can help people, but if you'd want to do that, you'd really do that. Charity ain't helping. So called Charity is the good old letter of indulgence reborn.
And in most cases that charity makes things worse.

How does giving to charity make things worse? Unless I'm reading what you're saying wrong.

Most people don't donate to charity. It's not really on most people's to-do list. Certainly not on mine,  but I donate to the local fire houses when they give me a call and I buy those cans of food at the grocery store that get donated, because they are up in my face. I think of the Humble Bundle in a similar way. It's like the tin can at the store, put a couple bucks in it or some change and buy your shit and get out. Hard to see how anyone could think that's a problem.

[Tuba]

it's certainly good for the indies who get in it, but i imagine it might train some people into thinking 'oh, this is an indie game? i'll wait until it's in the humble indie bundle and then i'll buy it' just like when a game appears on steam many people (including me) tend to wait for it to be on sale for like 75%+ off before buying it, and how some people don't buy a game unless it's on steam

And how some people don't buy a mobile game unless it's 99 cents and now think that 3DS and Vita games should all cost that. And how some people complain about 2D platform games like DKC Returns being at retail price.

Soon people won't even have to buy mobile games anymore.
For example, for android they can just connect to the amazone appstore and wait until the game they want is put on the free weekly list. they get the game for nothing, without ads. And the develloper gets nothing. It's the future.

The developer gets nothing!? Really? That doesn't make sense 

[Ardbob]

The developer gets nothing!? Really? That doesn't make sense 

Yeah, on Amazon App Store, if they agree to have their app put on the "free app of the day" thing, then it's free and they don't get any money from Amazon for it, despite Amazon claiming they pay the developers a portion of the original selling price. I agree that this is kinda messed up, but developers do have to agree to it, so it's their choice to take the messed up deal.

[Jasmine]

Programmers are two a penny, and the world isn't short of games.

Supply and demand.

Gaming isn't a lucrative industry. In the commercial sector, only 10% of games turn a profit for a company, with 90% of them incurring a net loss when employee pay and company overheads are subtracted from sales revenue.

So unless your game has sufficient hype, either through aggressive advertising, through force of company reputation, or you're lucky to be the latest internet phenomenon, then it's unlikely to reap you huge profits for the time you invest.

Producing games should be a reward in itself. 

[_Madk]

How they handle the finances does not change whether the games they offer are indie or not.

[Tuba]

Wasn't because of stuff like that that the 83 Crash happened?

[Jasmine]

Wasn't because of stuff like that that the 83 Crash happened?

Saturation of the market. Pretty much all who wanted a computer had one. The industry grew too quickly, and was unable to sustain it's growth, creating a vacuum, that caused investors to sell their stock.

Games were being churned out thick and fast that there was so little money to be made in games either. A lot of games of that era were made by hobbyists, who approached publishers with their creations, and were paid something like £200 ($300) per game.

Then the the first few big software houses were born, like USGold, Gremlin, and Psygnosis.

[dEnamed]

I felt free to outsource the charity discussion into this thread:
http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=21079.0

If you're interested, discuss. If you think I shouldn't have posted that, do tell me in a PM and I'll remove it.

[moi]

yeah we are back in the situatio of the '83 game crash