# Humble Bundle Discussion Thread (PC Game sales) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 30, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934 "2013-07-30T19:00:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/21 "2013-08-15T03:13:09Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I just can’t help but wonder what those reasons are. Plenty of reasons, but the biggest one is that they get PR for “giving away” digital copies of games that have been out for several years and certainly aren’t making much money for them. And what’s this? Several of them have quite a few DLC packages that people _have_ been spending money on? And what’s this? You have to have Origin in order to play several of the games? I also wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some kind of huge tax loophole in here somewhere for EA. “Oh yes, we gave away 500,000 Humble Bundle packages in a charity drive. Didn’t get a dime. Of course, each of those packages retails at 215 bucks, so we’ll call that a $100 million donation, shall we?” ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/22 "2013-08-15T03:13:30Z")
For the record, I was merely asking, since I am not sure I wanted every game in the bundle. I have a few games sitting in my Steam list from other bundles and so forth and I have thought about gifting them. That’s all. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/23 "2013-08-15T03:15:38Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > For the record, I was merely asking, since I am not sure I wanted every game in the bundle. For the record I see zero problems, ethically or otherwise, with giving away any copies of the game that you don’t want. ---
**Author:** ![JayRx1981](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71e660/32.png) [@JayRx1981](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JayRx1981)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/24 "2013-08-15T03:57:38Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > But if everything (besides the Humble Games cut) goes to charity, that system doesn’t work. If all the games were only on Origin, I’d think that was the reason–to get people to use Origin. But they aren’t. I also don’t think they are going the Deep Silver route and using it to prove that their games still have value. So all that’s left, from a business perspective at least, is trying to get good PR, which is a good idea for a company like EA that has a lot of bad experiences. > > I’d love to believe they were doing this out of the goodness of their hearts, but experience has shown me otherwise in pretty much every example I can find. Businesses just don’t suddenly turn a new leaf, and EA is not known for being that charitable. They are known for going ahead with things that cause problems and gamers don’t want just because it is predicted to improve their bottom line. > > Whatever the reason, I am glad they are doing it. Doing good things for the wrong reasons is still doing good. I just can’t help but wonder what those reasons are. While some of the games come with both Steam and Origin codes, the exclusives for donating more than the average are both Origin-only, as is Dead Space 3. I wouldn’t be surprised to see further Origin-only games added later in the next week for those donating above the average. Further, EA is generally considered to have a really bad reputation. They’ve beaten out companies such as Bank of America, Comcast, and Walmart for two straight years as [The Consumerist Worst Company in America](http://consumerist.com/2013/04/09/ea-makes-worst-company-in-america-history-wins-title-for-second-year-in-a-row/), for goodness sake. So the positive PR they get from doing this is probably worth the cost in lost sales. Finally, I do think they’ll get something else out of this–a charitable tax write-off if nothing else. Whether for the actual amount (~$2.6 million ignoring Humble Bundle’s tip cut for the moment, and we’ve still got 13.5 days to go) or Johnny Bravo’s tax loophole amount or something in between, they’re getting some monetary value out of this deal. I do find it funny, though, that Origin has a message upon logging in at the moment stating that code redemptions and store purchases are currently down. All of the Steam codes have worked without a hiccup, but we can’t activate the Origin-only games yet or even buy other games from their store. Way to make your biggest digital competitor look even better, EA! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/25 "2013-08-15T04:04:19Z")
> [@JayRx1981](#): > > All of the Steam codes have worked without a hiccup, but we can’t activate the Origin-only games yet or even buy other games from their store. Way to make your biggest digital competitor look even better, EA! :smack: _Shrug_ Steam managed to crash without fail every single day of their last Summer sale. Sometimes demand exceeds the available load. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/26 "2013-08-15T16:20:23Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Whatever the reason, I am glad they are doing it. Doing good things for the wrong reasons is still doing good. I just can’t help but wonder what those reasons are. Battlefield 4 and Mirror’s Edge 2 are due to come out pretty soon, not sure if there are others in the pack with sequels coming. Putting out the current versions for cheap will help to hook more players for the next version–particularly for games like Battlefield that are effectively online-multiplayer-only. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/27 "2013-08-15T22:35:07Z")
Edited thread title to open for wider discussion. - Gukumatz ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/28 "2013-08-18T09:46:01Z")
> [@JayRx1981](#): > > I do find it funny, though, that Origin has a message upon logging in at the moment stating that code redemptions and store purchases are currently down. All of the Steam codes have worked without a hiccup, but we can’t activate the Origin-only games yet or even buy other games from their store. Way to make your biggest digital competitor look even better, EA! :smack: Since you mention this, I have a quick question. I’ve never used Oracle before. Is it like Steam in that you have to have some program running in order to launch the game? Or is it more like other DRM solutions that just make you perform a single online registration? And is it different for games that are “Origin enabled”? It gets kinda annoying with Steam, especially since I have two computers, and thus can’t just leave Steam running in online mode. One of them has to either be logged out or in offline mode. It makes cloud saving not as useful as it could be. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/29 "2013-08-18T18:35:21Z")
Whenever I log into steam on a different computer, it logs out the other active computer. I have never had to remember to log out. Are you trying to have to accounts active at the same time, so you can play on one while downloading on another or for LAN gaming? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/30 "2013-08-29T23:00:55Z")
[Humble Weekly](https://www.humblebundle.com/weekly) is a collection of Paradox games. Base Tier Europa Univeralis III Complete War of the Roses: Kingmaker Warlock: Master of the Arcane Leviathan: Warships Dungeonland The Showdown Effect Beat the Average (currently $5.80) Crusader Kings II Magicka It’s worth noting that none of the games except EU3 include DLC and some of the titles have a LOT of DLC (lookin’ at you, CK2 and Magicka…) There’s also a deal for 48 Paradox games for $125 which is kind of silly. Anyone who likes Paradox titles enough to want 48 of them probably owns many/most of them already and anyone who doesn’t own most of them probably has no inclination to drop $125 on a giant bundle. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/31 "2013-09-01T13:48:34Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Whenever I log into steam on a different computer, it logs out the other active computer. I have never had to remember to log out. Are you trying to have to accounts active at the same time, so you can play on one while downloading on another or for LAN gaming? Sure, it will log the other account out, but only if I enter my password, and the entire point of saving my password is so that that doesn’t have to happen. For accounts like Steam, which use money, I use very complicated passwords that are not easy to type and are easy to fumble. It’s actually easier to always put the account in Offline mode than to have to type that password every time I start my computer or want to play a game. All I wish they’d do is let you still be logged into both. Don’t let me play the same game at the same time. Heck, don’t let me play any two games at once. But at least let me use my saved password in two different locations at once. They even have the same (external) IP address, for goodness sake. And, yes, it is incredibly stupid that I can’t download something at the same time I play something. It’s not as if most games need you to actually be online, let alone involve significant enough bandwidth that it justifies stopping all downloads. And I don’t even mean on separate computers. You literally can’t play one Steam game while you are waiting for another to finish downloading. Great way to encourage impulse purchases, guys. The whole thing is about enough to make me go ahead and illegally download the games I own just to avoid these pointless restrictions. The only reason I haven’t is that I’m pretty sure I’ll be sorely tempted to stop buying games again once I realize how much more convenient that method is. Thank goodness for [GOG.com](http://GOG.com) and Humble Games. And thank goodness that I mostly like indies, which often have DRM-free digital downloads. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/32 "2013-09-01T13:50:52Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > [Humble Weekly](https://www.humblebundle.com/weekly) is a collection of Paradox games. > > Base Tier > Europa Univeralis III Complete > War of the Roses: Kingmaker > Warlock: Master of the Arcane > Leviathan: Warships > Dungeonland > The Showdown Effect > > Beat the Average (currently $5.80) > Crusader Kings II > Magicka > > It’s worth noting that none of the games except EU3 include DLC and some of the titles have a LOT of DLC (lookin’ at you, CK2 and Magicka…) > > There’s also a deal for 48 Paradox games for $125 which is kind of silly. Anyone who likes Paradox titles enough to want 48 of them probably owns many/most of them already and anyone who doesn’t own most of them probably has no inclination to drop $125 on a giant bundle. Since these are all Steam-only downloads, any of them actually really good, for someone who doesn’t really like old school CRPGs? In other words, they need something novel to get my attention. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/33 "2013-09-05T13:26:33Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And, yes, it is incredibly stupid that I can’t download something at the same time I play something. It’s not as if most games need you to actually be online, let alone involve significant enough bandwidth that it justifies stopping all downloads. And I don’t even mean on separate computers. You literally can’t play one Steam game while you are waiting for another to finish downloading. Great way to encourage impulse purchases, guys. They pause downloading in case your internet connection sucks and you end up having a bad multiplayer experience while downloading something, but you can bypass it. Just alt tab after the game is launched and hit resume download. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/34 "2013-09-12T01:43:33Z")
[New Humble Bundle](https://www.humblebundle.com/). Pay What You Want Trine 2: The Complete Story Mark of the Ninja Eets Munchies Beta Brutal Legend Beat the Average FTL: Faster Than Light Fez I’m not a big fan of beta in Humble Bundles but Trine 2, Mark of the Ninja and FTL are all great games. Fez has a lot of good reviews but the developer managed to piss a lot of people off as well. Please note that you can set contributions to developers on a game by game basis by clicking the little arrow next to “Developers” in the payment field. I’m not advocating stiffing anyone but a number of people swore not to give the guy a penny and if you’re one of those people, at least you won’t stiff ALL the developers. I see they’ve changed the “bonus game” thing to require you to beat the average to get the “upcoming” games. You used to get them if you paid anything before they were revealed. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/35 "2013-09-12T13:55:09Z")
I would be excited for this bundle (for once. Most of them just don’t contain games I want at all.) except for the fact that I already own all the games I want from it. Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/36 "2013-09-16T20:16:13Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > They pause downloading in case your internet connection sucks and you end up having a bad multiplayer experience while downloading something, but you can bypass it. Just alt tab after the game is launched and hit resume download. Thank you! That’s at least one headache down. I’m also working on a little helper program that will automatically enter in my password whenever the password screen pops up. Maybe I could also have it automatically resume downloads, too. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/37 "2013-09-18T22:22:17Z")
They have added Bastion, LIMBO, A Virus Named Tom, and Rocketbirds to the bundle for above average price(you get them if you already paid, too). LIMBO is great and worth a couple bucks. Bastion, I did not enjoy, but was hugely popular. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/38 "2013-10-10T19:44:03Z")
[Humble Focus Bundle](https://www.humblebundle.com/weekly) this week. This is a “weekly sale” and so has quasi-set pricing; you’re always allowed to give extra but the upper tier is a set price instead of a “beat the average”. **$1 Tier** Cities XL Platinum Bowl Bowl: Legendary Edition Divinity II: Director’s Cut RAW: Realms of Ancient War Game of Thrones: Role-Playing Game Confrontation **$6 Tier** Wargame: European Escalation The Testament of Sherlock Holmes I haven’t played many of these but Divinity II makes it worth it all by itself. Fun 3rd person perspective Action-RPG. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/39 "2013-10-16T00:29:14Z")
[Humble Bundle 7](https://www.humblebundle.com/) I have a question. I have already purchased it and given my money mainly to charity, so I don’t care. However, did this include Apple apps for Ipad? I thought I was getting the Ipad app for Ticket to Ride HD, but it looks like…it’s for an Apple computer? Can I get the app I just bought(plus the others if I want) for my Ipad? If so, how do I get it on there. I thought I’d get an Itunes gift code. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934/40 "2013-10-16T00:41:34Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > [Humble Bundle 7](https://www.humblebundle.com/) > > I have a question. I have already purchased it and given my money mainly to charity, so I don’t care. However, did this include Apple apps for Ipad? I thought I was getting the Ipad app for Ticket to Ride HD, but it looks like…it’s for an Apple computer? > > Can I get the app I just bought(plus the others if I want) for my Ipad? If so, how do I get it on there. I thought I’d get an Itunes gift code. Down the page after the video it says: “These games are DRM-free and work great on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humble-bundle-discussion-thread-pc-game-sales/664934.md?page=3)