THQ games (metro 2033, red faction etc) in a humble bundle!

[R33D3M33R]

Ok, so it's indeed a true. What's next. Humble EA Bundle?
I sure hope most of the money goes to charity ...

[Mr. Hibba]

...

In any event, I do agree: I don't think people here are so much concerned that the bundle isn't indie, it's that the HIB guys are stopping Linux support and that's obviously an issue most of us here feel strongly about.

...

I think that it may be a little early to say that they are stopping Linux support (atleast, in the long run). Maybe HB just wanted to do a bundle of non-Linux games this round (for whatever reason) and maybe next time will return to its usual cross-platform bundles.

Mr. Hibba

[Famicommander]

It doesn't necessarily bother me that these games aren't cross-platform. It sucks, but I understand it. These games aren't available for Linux and THQ is in dire financial straits (and thus in no position to spend resources porting). If the Humble Bundle guys want to take this opportunity to make some money and give to charity I do not blame them.

Nor does it bother me that these games aren't independent, as I would personally love to see other major publishers doing pay-what-you-want bundles with some proceeds going to charity.

What does bother me, though, is the DRM and also THQ specifically. I have never made a DRM-laden digital purchase in my life and I do not plan to. When I buy media it's either a physical copy or completely without DRM. I use Steam as a service (activating retail/Indie Bundle games, FTP games, social features, etc) but I don't support their online store.

No modern game publisher is perfect by a long shot (not being the sort who believes in intellectual property admittedly skews my perspective) but I place them among the worst (along with the likes of EA, Ubisoft, Warner, Activision, Take Two, Capcom, Zenimax, Microsoft, Sony Computer Entertainment). They were the one of the first third party publishers to institute the Online Pass system, whereby portions of a game (usually but not always online mulitplayer) are tied to a one-time use code distributed with new copies of games, forcing purchasers of used copies to pay extra to unlock them. They have also spoken in favor of banning the sale of used games and are generally among the worst offenders with PC DRM and downloadable content nickel-and-diming.

So yeah, lots of respect has been lost for the Humble Bundle guys. They'll get my money again if the ditch the mandatory DRM.

[abelthorne]

I think that it may be a little early to say that they are stopping Linux support (atleast, in the long run). Maybe HB just wanted to do a bundle of non-Linux games this round (for whatever reason) and maybe next time will return to its usual cross-platform bundles.

Oh, they will. They even tease for a HIB 7 that will, I guess, be there for Christmas. But a breach has been opened in their values and they already replied to Rock Paper Shotgun that HIB are still a big part of their offer. A part. No more the core or main offer. I guess you can expect to see more and more Windows-only / DRM-only / non-indie bundles and less HIB in the long term until in one or two years where they drop them completely.

What pisses me off is not even that this is a bundle of AAA DRM Windows games. I do play on Windows, I do buy games on Steam, I buy other bundles (indie or not) that do not include Linux games. The problem is that they turned on their values. The HIB is the worst place in the world where such a bundle could have happened. They betrayed the community and the trust they built for two and a half years. And they don't even understand that or just don't care.

As for THQ they're in trouble and couldn't make multi-platforms no-DRM games for this bundle? Well, the bundle shouldn't have been done, it's not a big deal if THQ disappears tomorrow. They will anyway. Even if the bundle is a success, they'll raise a few million bucks that'll let them pay some debts and their shareholders. The devs that are in trouble won't see a dime of it.