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[deWiTTERS]

Thank you Dewitters for a fact-based and well-researched response!   

Thanks! That's the great thing about internet, you can go back in time and see what actually happened at the beginning.

I also have a theory about the 'word of mouth' that everybody talks about. Unfortunately this one isn't well-researched, so take it with a grain of salt.

In my opinion, people didn't say "Hey, take a look at this awesome game called Minecraft!". They said "Hey, look at this awesome thing I made (in Minecraft)". People tend to say "look at me" more than they say "look at him" (when it's any good).

[ryansumo]

Great comments in this thread, lots of stuff to be learned!

Just wanted to commment on Zach Barth.  While he probably did pass up a goldmine on Infiniminer, there's no way of knowing if the timing was right for Infiniminer itself.  Zach went on to have some success with Spacechem (full disclosure, I did the art for that game) , enough to quit his job at Microsoft and start a small indie studio.

Zach's history of game making might also be of interest.  He made a series of free games (including Infinimer) and built up a small but loyal fanbase while at the same time honing his game making skills.  By the time he released Spacechem, he already had a core group that would buy it and help spread the word.  Luckily that word spread to Valve, and the the rest is history.

[joe_eyemobi]

Oh I didn't realise he did Space Chem too!  I remember that was featured for a while on Steam some time ago.

Re: word of mouth yeah that's an interesting one - it would be cool to look into virality, social media etc.. and be able to use that somehow