Is it me or are all these "Indie Bundles" starting to fizzle out?

Update: Here are HIB figures from day one and as suggested it looks like I'm not alone here. There is a pretty steep decline in revenue with the last two bundles. We'll just have to see how Humble Botanicula Debut does........

HIB- 1.27

HIB 2- 1.8

Frozenbyte- 0.9

HIB 3- 2.16

Frozen Synapse- 1.11

Voxatron- 0.9

Introversion- 0.77

HIB 4- 2.37

Android 1- 0.93

Mojam- 0.45

Android 2- 0.68

12 years ago*

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No it's not just you, they are.

12 years ago
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All of them? Really? BeMine 2 was insanely good.

12 years ago
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Have to agree with this, but most bundles aren't as good as they used to be. To be honest, though, a lot of games have already been put into indie bundles, meaning they could have some great new ones but they may contain a lot of repeats, which I'd rather avoid, having purchased most bundles already.

12 years ago
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There are still plenty of amazing indie titles that haven't been put into bundles yet. I think this HIB is just a themed one and therefore it doesn't grab everyone's interest. And as for the other bundles, they've never really been that good to begin with.

12 years ago
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Now that a bunch of people are trying to cash in on the indie bundle sales, quality is drastically going down

12 years ago
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Perhaps we should tell them the profit margin for a bundle is very, very low. You'd make better profits selling apples from your neighbour's tree down the street for one hour.

12 years ago
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IMO, the way to "tell them" is to not buy from them. Only possible way.

12 years ago
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Some days ago I finally decided to not buy any indie bundle anymore, unless it has games I really want. These bundles are just getting worse and I don't want to pay 5 bucks for them 3-4 times in a month. And I have more than enough games in my library, no need to buy more until I played them.

12 years ago
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^this

12 years ago
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+1

12 years ago
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+1

12 years ago
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+1

12 years ago
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Can't sleep now mom, im too busy breaking combos

12 years ago
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+1

12 years ago
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I don't know what people expected. There isn't an infinite supply of high demand indie games waiting to be bundled and it takes time for (most) newer games to make it to the bundles. I think the bundles are still good for people who actually like indie games, and not so much for people who are mostly fans of mainstream games that just like the more popular indie games on the side.

12 years ago
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+1

12 years ago
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Are good for hipsters

12 years ago
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I agree with over 9000

12 years ago
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The truth is strong with this one.

12 years ago
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Very much so, indeed. On the other hand, though, the Humble Indie Bundle (with its popularity) should be able to attract popular indie games. Making the bundles less niche and more for the mainstream public can't have a negative impact on the sales figures, I would assume.

12 years ago
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+infinity

12 years ago
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Some of them are okay... Like Indie Royale's Alpha Bundle was cool, the Android ones were cool mostly because my phone needed more games. Aside from that, Be Mine 1+2 and Indie Gala have been meh.

12 years ago
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I missed the Alpha Bundle, it looked neat. On the other hand, I found the Android ones to be a letdown, maybe because I don't own a smartphone, and absolutely loved Be Mine 1 and 2, although I agree on the Indie Gala, as they tend to feature lots of games to compensate for their overall low quality. At least the latest one had a couple of decent-looking co-op games, so my brother and I ended up getting it.

12 years ago
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Be Mine 1 was amazing in terms of selection. It would've outsold HiB 4 by a long shot if they didn't have so many issues with downage and the keys.

12 years ago
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Hib 4 was the peak i think and the occasional indie royale :/

12 years ago
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You're not alone brother.

Seems the same here.

12 years ago
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Yeah, Im really disappointed with the new HiB 4

12 years ago
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it's HIB 7

12 years ago
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Machinarium is so awesome though! If it wasn't for the fact I already had it and Samorost I'd of bought this bundle.

12 years ago
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That's why it sucks. Half of the games in this bundle were already bundled with earlier bundles, and one of the remaining two games requires you to pay more than $8 to get. Not to mention the minimum for steam keys is now $5. And this is all ignoring the fact that, unless you are absolutely crazy about adventure games, the quality of this bundle is well below some of the earlier bundles that were available for low prices without trying to strong-arm you into paying more. It just seems like they lost the whole spirit of what the Humble Bundles were supposed to be about and now it's all about trying to get as much money out of a bundle without being too obvious in forcing the customer to spend money they don't want to spend. I still regret that I missed out on the first Humble Bundle, I would have gladly spent $15 for Lugaru, Aquaria, and Penumbra alone. This bundle, though? There are plenty of free flash adventure games out there to fill my needs.

12 years ago
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Can't really blame them though, it's the d-bags that tried to take advantage of these bundles that caused them to implement minimums and such. It's still a shame though.

12 years ago
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True, but I think $5 is just a bit too dramatic of a change. Maybe $2 would have been a better minimum change.

12 years ago
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+1

12 years ago
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I thinks that's the problem. For the fans of Amanita Design (or Humble Bundle) who own some or most of the games we could always throw a couple bucks and join in. As it stands I own Samrost 2 and Machinarium and would be spending $8+ for Botanicula and windosill on steam.

12 years ago
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I'm not disappointed with the latest humble bundle at all, looks like great games.

12 years ago
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I agree with you! All the games are really good.

12 years ago
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Be mine 2 is pretty good now except why only so expensive?
For the rest even HiB disappoints me now

12 years ago
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Be mine is 4 bucks only.

12 years ago
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But 10 if you want the bonus ^^

12 years ago
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$10 is only if you want the 5 meals bonuses. Apart from that, you still get the rest of the milestone bonuses.

12 years ago
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Worse, but more expensive

12 years ago
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With the increasing prices and mass recycling of games, the HiB is fast becoming a joke. The same can be said for Be Mine (for the same reasons along with the misleading charity figures and the fishes.)

Indie Gala has always been laughable (mostly sub-par games and punishing early buyers who don't want multiple copies with happy hours) - but at least they still have unique games and a reasonable minimum price.

Indie Royale is sill pretty much the same as always in terms of the games (reasonable to great), and the individual keys is a massive improvement over the HiB. However, they do keep pushing up the price every couple of bundles.

12 years ago
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Indie Gala #2 was awesome, if only for Roboblitz.

12 years ago
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Greed Corp (which I already owned) and Critical Mass were also pretty good.

12 years ago
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Be Mine is great, though. They may have raised the price for the second bundle, but at least I actually want those games, unlike this current Humble Bundle. As far as game quality goes, Indie Royale and Be Mine are the best, although Indie Royale for me loses out since they seem to be just using it as a platform to promote Desura, and I've noticed a pretty significant loss of quality since the Launch Bundle (which was fantastic). It still beats Humble Bundle by a large margin, though.

12 years ago
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Hmm. If I look at just the games in the Be Mine 2 bundle it would be pretty good - if I didn't already own Beat Hazard. (Even after ignoring Plain Sight because it's multiplayer-only.)

12 years ago
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They also have a lame "pay $XX and receive [GAME]" model, but since it's $10 for Killing Floor in addition to the other games, it's actually worth paying extra imo. I already had Killing Floor so I gifted it and the other two games I already owned to a friend. It's also worth noting that you get the DLCs and another game once so many purchases are made, so even if you have Beat Hazard you can give the key to a friend and get the DLC for it very soon.

12 years ago
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For Humble Bundle to make $30,000 in the first hour, it can't be that bad.

12 years ago
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With the $5 steam minimum and especially with guys like @ExpiredPopsicle who pay 256+ in the first second (surprising?), it can only start at a high price for everyone. People should think twice before blindly buying.

12 years ago
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Humble Bundle supports charities though, while Indie Royale is from Desura and supports the devs only. In HIB's defense, Machinarium is an amazing game, even though it does kind of suck that it has already been in ~2 previous bundles. It's honestly my favourite point-and-click adventure game, and you are not giving them enough credit if you think they are bad games. The animation quality alone is incredible. Even if you paid $10, it's completely original, with tons of work put into, unlike a lot of the major annual releases (like Call of Duty, and EA sports games) that people throw their money into.

I just don't get how people are complaining about the fact that they aren't giving out Steam keys. What the hell were they expected to do, just give out countless keys for people paying $0.01? I'm sure they end up paying more to get those keys to you. A DRM-free version is infinitely better and that's the default option (that you still get). These packs aren't supposed to just be cheap ways for you to get more games; they're either to support charities or to support indie devs. If you're complaining about having to pay $5 for a Steam key then you are simply scum and ruin the good impression that generous gamers set. Shame on you.

12 years ago
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I very rarely say "+1", but what the heck. +1

12 years ago
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I always say +1, but what the heck. +1

12 years ago
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Machinarium really is worth a lot more than the average for this bundle!!!

12 years ago
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Absolutely agree, the only people complaining are the ones who buy them for a penny. +1

12 years ago
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That's a rather low way of marginalizing people who disagree with you.

Are there people who just want almost-free games? Yeah (I'd argue that nearly anyone on STEAM GIFTS could be fairly called that) but that doesn't mean anyone who complains about the rising prices (objective fact) and falling quality (subjective opinion, but a fairly common one) is just cheap.

12 years ago
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Right, we're all living in America so we can throw away as many dollars they want us to... grow up and move your head out of your ass.

12 years ago
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Why do people keep insisting that "these bundles aren't supposed to be ways for you to get cheap games"? They totally are. Why else do you think they draw so much attention to their low prices?

12 years ago
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It's so easy to stick your fingers in your ears and write off anyone who complains as being entitled. The complaint is that the quality of this bundle is much lower than other bundles since two of the games were already included in previous bundles and only one new game is actually in the main bundle. Meanwhile, the price for steam keys and the beat the average is higher. Regardless of how you feel about Machinarium, a lot of people aren't that into these kinds of games, so a lot of people aren't going to be as excited about paying $10 for it as you are.

The beauty of past humble bundles is that you would often buy a bundle simply because it was an unbelievable deal and you would end up discovering something great, but here you're missing out on the entire package unless you have almost $9 to spare. If you're not that interested in the game in the first place, then it's unlikely you'll pay that much. Opportunity missed.

And the minimum price for steam keys should be an incentive rather than a deterrent, and in the case of this bundle it'll be the latter for many people who just don't have $5 to spare for one new game that they're only mildly interested in. Believe it or not, $5 can be a lot to some people who are in tough financial situations. Yes, it's not necessary to get keys, but if you're going to pay one cent, the inclusion of keys at $1 is actually a good incentive to at least pay that much. $5, not so much.

If this were their first bundle, we'd probably all be pretty pleased with how good of a deal it is. But since we've all seen how amazing earlier bundles were, it's hard to not be disappointed with this bundle. Hopefully it doesn't represent a trend of including more and more previously bundled games in future bundles, which is what most people are upset over. Yes it's still a good deal if you're really into point 'n clicks, but otherwise it's just completely underwhelming compared to past bundles.

12 years ago
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Well said. I've stumbled upon many unexpected joys just for being bundled with games that more immediately caught my interest. But I'm not spending almost $9 on "well, I MIGHT enjoy one game here!" Not when $9 will buy you a year-old AAA title in a Steam sale.

As I said in another thread, when the price rises, it has to compete with different things. I bought Borderlands for $5, and I just cannot seriously claim that this latest bundle would entertain me even half as much as that game has.

12 years ago
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I think you, like others forget this is a DEBUT bundle. This isn't HIB 5. Like all debut bundles it's targeted to a very specific audience (since most debut bundles contain games by the same developer, which usually means they are going to be similar in genre and style). You're trying to compare apple to oranges. Don't. This is no different then the Frozenbye or Frozen Synapse bundle (the latter of which had only 2 games and 1 BTA bonus).

What you need to know about the debut bundle, is as the name suggest that the game Botanicular is brand new. So what if you gave steam keys to every person who bought it for $1, when the game has just been released and is retailing for $10. The devs are going to lose out so much (as stated by other people in this thread already).

And I do think it's fair to say it's entitled. They are doing this for charity and to support developers. They aren't trying to please every single gamer out there, nor are they responsible for bringing every indie smash hit to gamers libraries for dirt at a going rate of 20 cents a game. It's one thing to say you aren't going to get the bundle because you don't like point-and-click games or because it's just not your thing (that's totally cool, I have no problem with those posts). I just have flak with people who complain and whine like a five year old who can't have every single thing they want. Those are the people that we are talking about when we yell entitlement.

12 years ago
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Monu... you always say exactly what I feel in my heart and mind places.

Why you so awesome!

(I feel like I'm turning into your personal cheerleader, and I'm kind of okay with that)

12 years ago
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I just came off of buying three awesome indie bundles, so I have no idea what you're talking about.

The latest humble is not the greatest, but pay what you want for Avadon alone in the last one was amazing

12 years ago
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People have been saying this forever now. Can you stop whining and just stop buying the damn things already?

12 years ago
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It is you, actually

12 years ago
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Well put

12 years ago
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I just want Aquaria to be back in another bundle. That game needs more love.

12 years ago
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If only it wasn't so God damn boring for the first 30 minutes or so, I believe it would be highly regarded.

12 years ago
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It's not the bundles. We are just getting more and more spoiled.

12 years ago
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The WAAAmbulance seems to be having a lot of calls.

If you don't like it because you think it sucks don't buy it. Simple as that. No one is holding a gun to your head for you to buy it.

12 years ago
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And any negative comment about such a decision is automatically WAAAmbulance. This makes perfect sense and is in no way undeservedly aggressive and rude.

I didn't buy the last HIB or Royale bundles because they didn't have games I wanted - but that doesn't mean I somehow don't have a right to say that online or that saying that somehow deserves asshat comments telling us to shut up.

12 years ago
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I posted what I posted because most people who post negative comments don't even give a reason on why is that their opinion. Just look at the OP. He didn't even give a reason why he thinks the indie bundles are 'fizzling' out considering that different people have different preference in gaming.

12 years ago
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Then an appropriate comment would be:

"Gee, OP, I'm curious about the reasoning behind your opinions. Perhaps you could share why you feel this way? I for one think the latest bundles have done a great job!"
not
"Call the WAAAmbulance! Nobody's holding a gun to your head!"

All the original post is asking is if anyone else feels as he does. And the fact that people have different preferences in gaming is entirely irrelevant.

12 years ago
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It is relevant considering that the OP was wondering if it was just him or if others share the same sentiment that the current indie bundles have less than desirable games.

I'm not interested in asking him about his opinion when I posted when he didn't even bother to give out his own opinion initially.

12 years ago
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12 years ago
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^

12 years ago
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I have to admit, I'm pleasantly surprised with them - their price is worth it just for Beat Hazard and Sol Survivor.

12 years ago
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I agree. Be Mine bundles have been the best value for money so far. Some of the Humblebundles have come close.

12 years ago
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What's more, with $10 per bundle, Killing Floor!

12 years ago
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Nope. Still great, for such low price.

12 years ago
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talking about disappointing indie bundle? check out the ne HiB!........

12 years ago
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It was a fade. Like all fades they are done to death until people are sick of them and then they disappear mostly entirely. I only hope Ponies goes sooner then later. Also Jersey shore.

12 years ago
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I think that you mean 'fad' not 'fade'.

12 years ago
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Are you seriously trying to correct the writing of an AvidWriter? What do you think gives you the RIGHT to do that?

(just teasing :P)

12 years ago
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and jersey shore is awesome. you not liking it doesn't make it a fad.

12 years ago
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Brain fart TV.

12 years ago
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Yeah people selling games in a bundle is a fad!

Soon no games will ever be bundled together!

Wait... what?!

12 years ago
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Closed 12 years ago by JackTripper.