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DRM Windows Games

New Humble Bundle Is Windows Only, DRM Games 553

Posted by samzenpus from the what-the... dept.
jbernardo writes "After all the indie, multi-platform (including 4 for android) and DRM free releases, the latest Humble Bundle release is a polarizing one. It features non-indie games, it is Windows only, and the games are saddled with DRM. There is already a very vocal discussion on the Humble Bundle Google+ thread, but it seems it is selling well."
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New Humble Bundle Is Windows Only, DRM Games More

New Humble Bundle Is Windows Only, DRM Games

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  • No Good (Score:5, Interesting)

    by AvitarX ( 172628 ) <me@@@brandywinehundred...org> on Thursday November 29, 2012 @08:27PM (#42137343) Journal

    I have a Windows computer, and value wise this may be the best bundle yet, but I feel it is against the spirit of the bundle and am not chipping in, if they don't do another one before xmas, my big donation one is going strait towards a charity.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AvitarX ( 172628 )

      I should add, it looks like it could be their most productive (money wise) bundle ever.

    • Re:No Good (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 29, 2012 @08:45PM (#42137519)

      You could just buy it, change the slider to all charity, and you and the charity win and you show your dislike towards THQ and Humble Bundle.

      Games + Charity + Sticking it to the man = You can sleep at night.

      As for me, I think it's a great deal and I appreciate Humble Bundle and THQ setting this up for charity.

      • That's exactly what I did... only the minimum amount (to get the extra game) too, especially since the EFF didn't participate this time.

        I think I'm also going to allocate zero to the "Humble Tip" in at least the next few future bundles because of this.

        • I haven't played all of the games, but I will say that SR3 was the only game (*ever*) that I enjoyed enough to actually buy the DLC. More than that, I didn't feel gypped when I bought it, because it added several hours of gameplay. I especially liked the Genki Bowl missions, but the Weird Science series is hilarious. I'd say that game alone is worth more than the average price at the moment for the bundle.

          It's a matter of personal preference, as always, but I don't find the DRM on Steam to be all that onero

        • Re:No Good (Score:4, Insightful)

          by ifiwereasculptor ( 1870574 ) on Friday November 30, 2012 @12:32AM (#42138913)

          That's exactly what I did... only the minimum amount (to get the extra game) too, especially since the EFF didn't participate this time.

          I think I'm also going to allocate zero to the "Humble Tip" in at least the next few future bundles because of this.

          Don't do it - reward good behavior whenever it's displayed. With businesses, like with dogs, grudge-based punishment only confuses your message.

        • Re:No Good (Score:5, Insightful)

          by Jaysyn ( 203771 ) on Friday November 30, 2012 @08:23AM (#42140655) Homepage Journal

          I think I'm also going to allocate zero to the "Humble Tip" in at least the next few future bundles because of this.

          That is an awful thing for you to do. THQ is basically giving their games away for Child's Play & the Red Cross & you're going to punish the vehicle they happened to use? They didn't mislead you in any way & word of mouth from this bundle will help bring attention to future *indie* bundles which can only be a good thing for those developers.

          Don't be a shitty human being.

    • Re:No Good (Score:5, Funny)

      by NemosomeN ( 670035 ) on Thursday November 29, 2012 @09:03PM (#42137675) Journal
      I think the reasoning behind this is that THQ has been reduced to a level that they could be considered either a charity or an indie-level company, with their current financial situation. They are really in a tough spot, and desperately need cash.

    • Re:No Good (Score:5, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 29, 2012 @09:34PM (#42137909)

      At least they don't call it "THQ Indie Bundle" like some other big publisher named their Steam bundle a while ago (I'm not going to name that publisher... OK, it was EA)

      THQ is one of the most fair and square publishers out there. They're not scared of new ideas and new IPs, and they don't seem to bind the developers with unfair contracts (not to my knowledge at least). They support their games for ages and a new DLC doesn't mean a 'tiny map-pack for $20'. Keeping them in the game means more competition to the likes of Activision-666-Blizzard and EA (Evil Antichrist) and this is a good enough reason for me to pay them a fair share for their games.

      And to answer the three major concerns everyone seems to have:
      Yes - it's DRM locked, just like practically every single AAA title in the world. I don't understand why would anyone expect anything different this time around.
      No - it's not multi-platform, because they'd probably spend more money porting those old titles to linux/mac, than they'd ever make from this sale.
      No - it's not indie, but does it have to be? You have the option to give all your money to the charity if you don't like the idea of supporting a big publisher, so what's the problem? The spirit of the bundle is to encourage gamers to support charities by offering them games in return - to me all the boxes are ticked here, and even more so considering the class of the games in question.

      So don't worry, be happy, buy games, support charities. Happy holidays!

    • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Friday November 30, 2012 @02:34AM (#42139257)
      Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Linux users are mad (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 29, 2012 @08:30PM (#42137375)

    Because the humble bundle finally has good games.

  • I'm +Eric Hopper [google.com] over on Google+.

    I'm angry for several reasons. But the biggest reason is that I gave the Humble Bundle brand name a lot of free advertising and word of mouth because I expected them to always be DRM-free and cross-platform. Them choosing not to be feels like a betrayal and a cheat because they're taking all that good will I helped them create to sell something that is at cross-purposes to the reason I helped them create this good will.

    I'm also angry because I spent a bunch of money, always above the average, often significantly so. I spent it not just because I thought the games were worth it. I spent it because I believed in Humble Bundle and what I thought they were trying to accomplish. It was another way for me to invest in the brand.

    If they had done something like this under a different name I wouldn't be angry at all. Create another brand "Pay What You Can" bundles or whatever and market your stuff under that brand if it doesn't fit the Humble Bundle image. Then I wouldn't feel like all the work and money I put into supporting the Humble Bundle brand was a waste.

    • Re:I'm one of the people who's pretty angry... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by pregister ( 443318 ) on Thursday November 29, 2012 @08:52PM (#42137583)

      For an alternative viewpoint, Hey! A bundle with more games I want to play than usual. Delivered on a platform I like with DRM I've decided I can live with. Bought this bundle...haven't bought them all.

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Vanderhoth ( 1582661 )
      I'm in the same boat. This is BS I spent a lot of money supporting them and time toting HB and the DRM-free Linux compatible games and now they're going to pull this. They won't be getting any more money out of me and can kiss my usual $50 donation goodbye. As well, I'm planing to actively protest them now by making sure to post everywhere I can what a bunch of sell outs they are.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by deek ( 22697 )

      Your anger is somewhat justifiable. This sets a precedent. Now, other game publishers, who may want to use Humble Bundle, will not feel the need to put in an effort to make their games cross-platform.

      Having said that, I'm grateful to Humble Bundle for pushing their cross-platform philosophy as much as they did. It's efforts like that which provide the initial step in generating a flood of games supporting Linux. I'll keep on supporting them, in future bundles, when they once more release cross platform

    • Re:I'm one of the people who's pretty angry... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by interkin3tic ( 1469267 ) on Friday November 30, 2012 @12:16AM (#42138847)

      I gave the Humble Bundle brand name a lot of free advertising and word of mouth because I expected them to always be DRM-free and cross-platform....I helped them create this good will.

      Are you suggesting that your celebrity endorsement of them counts as "a lot of free advertising" and "helping them create this good will?" I think you overestimate your celebrity status. You have 525 people following you on google plus. Not that you would have a right to feel betrayed even if you had 11k people following you, but... well... check your ego. They don't owe you for saying nice things about them to a handful of people.

    • Re:I'm one of the people who's pretty angry... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by moronoxyd ( 1000371 ) on Friday November 30, 2012 @05:29AM (#42139875)

      If they had done something like this under a different name I wouldn't be angry at all.

      You mean something like 'Humle THQ Bundle' instead of 'Humble Indie Bundle'?
      Yeah, if only they had done so...

  • If you have an urge to walk down a crowded street and whack people with a giant purple penis, you're in luck -- Saints Row 3 is included.

  • Why is this bad? (Score:5, Informative)

    by artor3 ( 1344997 ) on Thursday November 29, 2012 @08:34PM (#42137407)

    THQ has been struggling, so they're trying something new. That's a good thing. If you don't want to buy it, don't. I did, as did many of my friends, and I'm quite happy with it.

    • Because someone like THQ has no business putting games out under the Humble Bundle?

    • Well yea, a lot of their games are crappy, completely mainstream titles.
      I am not surprised or sympathetic.

    • Re:Why is this bad? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by wierd_w ( 1375923 ) on Thursday November 29, 2012 @08:46PM (#42137531)

      "Humble bundle" is more or less in the same mental category as I would place "brand names".

      It is a specific brand of name your price software offering, estalished on a set of core ideals.

      It was those core ideals that made Humbe Bundle stand out from other name your price offerings.

      This is not an offering true to the humble bundle ideals. It should not be labeled as being a humble bundle offering, unless they strip off the DRM, and FOSS the game afterwards, like the previous closed source games in the past did.

      Unless they do BOTH of those things, this is an unacceptable offering, akin to opening a box of heineken and finding that it had been instead filled with old milwuakee.

      People support the humble bundle brand for a reason. Throwing away that foundation to placate AAA studio developers is a betrayal of the user base, and a slap in the face to prior bundle participant developers.

      No developer should get preferential treatment by the bundle. Ever.

      • Re:Why is this bad? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by artor3 ( 1344997 ) on Thursday November 29, 2012 @09:00PM (#42137645)

        It is a specific brand of name your price software offering, estalished on a set of core ideals.

        Maybe that was true for the first few bundles. But they've since branched out into releasing music and books. They sold Crayon Physics Deluxe without source code, and probably other games too.

        People support the humble bundle brand for a reason.

        But not always the same reason. I've supported the Humble Bundles from the beginning, always paying several times the average, and keeping all my keys neatly sorted in KeePass. I've never played half the games, but I support it anyway. Not because I care about DRM (so long as its inobtrusive, I don't) or open source, but because I support the pay-what-you-want-and-give-some-to-charity model.

        This happens. Little communities expand, and become more ideologically diverse. You shouldn't be so angry towards your fellow supporters. We give just as much as you do.

        • When you become too ideological diverse you have no ideology at all. All the music and books sold were DRM free, thus following the same set of rules established by the brand. This is the first time they deviated from it, and betrayed all the loyal supporters they acquired. Many won't go back there to buy again, rest assured, and will stop recommending it. The end result is still to be seen, but I hope they sink.

      • Re:Why is this bad? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by gman003 ( 1693318 ) on Thursday November 29, 2012 @09:24PM (#42137847)

        The response from the Humble Bundle co-founder John Graham is this [arstechnica.com]:
        They're experimenting. They're trying to see if they can make the HIB system work for bigger games. But this is in no way a guaranteed change in how it will work in the future - they fully plan to continue the DRM-free, cross-platform indie game bundles, possibly even another one this year.

        My own addendum:
        If the experiment is a success, they'll likely be able to push harder in the future to force their partners to remove the DRM and/or port to Mac/Linux. But since this was the first one, they had to compromise a bit. And even then they could only get a publisher that's nearly dead and is desperate for PR and sales. Given how much backlash that's brought them from some sectors*, they almost definitely won't do the next one just like this. At least, not under the Humble Bundle name.

        * I say "some sectors" because the gaming world is actually pretty excited about this one. They don't really care about the lack of Mac/Linux support or the DRM. It's rather clear that this bundle was aimed at them, not at anti-DRM crusaders or Mac/Linux fans.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by Bogtha ( 906264 )

          If the experiment is a success, they'll likely be able to push harder in the future to force their partners to remove the DRM and/or port to Mac/Linux.

          I think you have that backwards. The reception to the previous bundles, which were cross-platform and without DRM, was great. Now it can go one of two ways:

          • The reception to this bundle is also great. This would show that the cross-platform and DRM issues aren't important to their customers and can be ignored.
          • The reception to this bundle is not good.

      • Re:Why is this bad? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by radish ( 98371 ) on Thursday November 29, 2012 @09:47PM (#42138007) Homepage

        Bullshit. There have been several Humble Bundles which didn't even include games (e.g. Music & eBooks), and most of the games in previous bundles haven't been FOSS. They've also done publisher/developer specific bundles in the past (e.g. Frozenbyte, Introversion).

        I honestly have no clue what your problem with this is, as none of the things you talk about have been true for previous bundles. The only real difference is that in the past many of the items were DRM free, but even that's not been 100%, and many of us (myself included) just used the steam keys anyway so that wasn't really significant.

        This is raising money for charity and/or THQ - I have no problem with that. If you don't like it, don't buy it. End of story.

        • Re:Why is this bad? (Score:5, Insightful)

          by alexgieg ( 948359 ) <alexgieg@gmail.com> on Friday November 30, 2012 @06:49AM (#42140243) Homepage

          There have been several Humble Bundles which didn't even include games (e.g. Music & eBooks)

          And in addition, the eBooks one (which I purchased) had some pretty not-in-any-imaginable-way-humble-category-level authors. Neil Gaiman and John Scalzi, to name but two. The genres in which they publish aren't what passes for literary mainstream, but within those genres they both are most definitely major AAA-authors.

          I really don't see the reason for the hate on this THQ bundle. THQ is almost bankrupt. Helping a struggling company to maybe, with luck, not disappear (or, worse, become part of EA), isn't evil by any means.

      • Re:Why is this bad? (Score:4, Informative)

        by HarrySquatter ( 1698416 ) on Thursday November 29, 2012 @10:01PM (#42138107)

        and FOSS the game afterwards, like the previous closed source games in the past did.

        Only a couple of games went FOSS after the bundle and that was only at the beginning. The vast majority of the bundle games are never open sourced.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Osgeld ( 1900440 )

      its bad cause THQ still exists

    • THQ has been struggling, so they're trying something new. That's a good thing. If you don't want to buy it, don't. I did, as did many of my friends, and I'm quite happy with it.

      Exactly. If this helps save THQ, it helps maintain the diversity of the marketplace, similar to how helping indie developers find success makes it possible to enjoy games we'd never experience otherwise.

      Personally, I like the Saints Row series and wouldn't want someone like EA buying THQ and taking it over. This bundle is a great deal and money well-spent IMO.

  • What problem, donate to chairty (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 29, 2012 @08:42PM (#42137489)

    I fail to see a problem here, if you have an issue with this just send everything to charity. Personally the way I view it is this way, the more money they raise for charity the better, it's to help the less fortunate after all. This time around it is for Child's Play and America Red Cross both respectable organizations which I would be proud to donate to.

    So yes if you have a "Screw You" type of mentality towards DRM and refuse to give them money for it, go right ahead. You can still buy said games and just donate everything to charity and deny the company who produced said games money.

  • With the THQ hate... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 29, 2012 @08:54PM (#42137593)

    This company is near bankrupt. We can all hate because we're from a subculture that supports individualism and new startups for games. However, this company is offering us games for basically CHARITY. Also, they're a company that needs these funds to continue on after doing bad in the market. Games like Saints Row and Company of Heroes are great games, DRM or no DRM, If you're really idealistic, you would be opposed to other humble bundles which they use Steam WHICH IS DRM. Grow up guys and support THQ for their work.

  • Steam (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Hsien-Ko ( 1090623 ) on Thursday November 29, 2012 @09:00PM (#42137643)
    It's fine with me. Best DRM ever.

    Your loss, lol. The real problem is if there's ever a UPlay-exclusive Humble Bundle

  • An Analogy. (Score:4, Funny)

    by Cyno01 ( 573917 ) <Cyno01@hotmail.com> on Thursday November 29, 2012 @09:20PM (#42137829) Homepage

    Whole Foods has Oscar Mayer bologna on sale this week.

  • A Good Thing!!!! (Score:3)

    by SirAstral ( 1349985 ) on Thursday November 29, 2012 @10:01PM (#42138109)

    Listen up guys! This is not a bad thing, this is the time to send the other publishers a message that giving gamers options and good deals is beneficial to business. While I understand the disagreement some of you have with these games being DRM, I for one will not get angry unless HumbleBundle stops offering DRM free and Indie titles in favor of these. I am happy with them offering both and if we can encourage more, it will help generate some solid numbers that can help break the illusion of whether or not DRM is providing the businesses an advantage when they see DRM free indie games generating respectable or hopefully more income than DRM'd games.

    We should applaud a company for taking a step in the right direction not lambasting them, even though it seems suspect. Companies follow the money and if they can make more money by dressing their CEO's in clown suits instead of a suit and tie then that is what is going to happen. We have the chance to show the other companies how much of a success using services like GOG.com, KickStarter.com, and HumbleBundle.com can be to their revenue stream and they will be paying attention to that more than anything! They only include DRM because they think it actually protects them, but in cases like this, it might be in our best interests to offer a little breathing room!

  • Who cares? (Score:3)

    by Stone316 ( 629009 ) on Thursday November 29, 2012 @10:04PM (#42138131) Journal

    I can understand how some of the idealists are upset.. But frankly I could care less.. I've bought a few humble bundles now and the main reason is because a portion of the proceeds (or all if you wish) goes to charity. I also like this pay what you can type model. Quite honestly I haven't played many of the games but if they look semi interesting i'll by them on the off chance I will.

    This deal seems to be the best value yet, so I paid more than I normally would.

  • Not good (Score:3, Insightful)

    by markdavis ( 642305 ) on Thursday November 29, 2012 @11:03PM (#42138533)

    How exactly does this fit with "Humble Bundle?". DRM, non-indie, and single platform? There is plenty of that main-stream. This is not a good sign.

    • Re:Not good (Score:4, Interesting)

      by markdavis ( 642305 ) on Thursday November 29, 2012 @11:23PM (#42138639)

      Reply to self....

      Rather than complain here. I sent them an Email:

      "I have purchased several Humble Bundles over the years and also promoted it to others. I bought some where I never even
      played most of the games. Why? Because I believed in what you were doing. But I think you have betrayed your mission with this THQ stuff:

      * It is not multi-platform, leaving Linux and Mac users out in the cold.
      * It is not direct download, eaving non-Steam users out in the cold.
      * It is not from indie developers.
      * It is not DRM-free.

      I am very disappointed in what you did, and, to me, it severely taints your name and brand. I think you should be ashamed and hopefully you will get back on track."

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Spad ( 470073 )

        I can hear them sobbing from here.

      • Reply to self....

        Rather than complain here. I sent them an Email:

        "I have purchased several Humble Bundles over the years and also promoted it to others. I bought some where I never even
        played most of the games. Why? Because I believed in what you were doing. But I think you have betrayed your mission with this THQ stuff:

        * It is not multi-platform, leaving Linux and Mac users out in the cold.
        * It is not direct download, eaving non-Steam users out in the cold.
        * It is not from indie developers.
        * It is not DRM-free.

        I am very disappointed in what you did, and, to me, it severely taints your name and brand. I think you should be ashamed and hopefully you will get back on track."

        Not to nit-pick, but you may come off as slightly dismissive in that e-mail.

        Did you consider the cost and manpower it would take to port those games to Mac/Linux? Did you take into account the infrastructure, cost and services necessary if Humble Bundle provided direct downloads for all of those games? Did you include in your estimations the fact that THQ is on the verge of bankruptcy? What do you consider an indie developer, because you don't really make that clear, either.

        Why are you against Steam as a

  • Smart marketing choice (Score:4, Interesting)

    by mwvdlee ( 775178 ) on Friday November 30, 2012 @03:30AM (#42139455) Homepage

    I've bought all the Android bundles and the first two PC bundles, because I generally like indie games (and these bundles have included quite a few gems). This bundle, however, is filled with games I feel no desire to play.

    But they ARE games many other people, including most of my friends, would like to play. So I forwarded the newsletter to those friends. Chances are some will buy it (even if the ~$6 to include the extra game is too steep, $1 for the rest is damn cheap) and some will subscribe to the newsletter. Next time these hard core gamers get an offer to buy a bunch of indie games for cheap (especially for mobile), I'm sure some of them will buy it too.

    This THQ deal basically gives HB lots of "free" marketing, which will likely end up benefitting future Indie bundles.

  • Just an Update: (Score:4, Informative)

    by cynop ( 2023642 ) on Friday November 30, 2012 @09:17AM (#42140979)

    From ArsTechnica:

    UPDATE

    In a response to Ars, Humble Bundle co-founder John Graham assured users the company will "never stop creating Humble Indie Bundles... and the other bundle types we've successfully launched this year. But we’re also eager to see if our pay-what-you-want plus charity model meshes with critically acclaimed AAA content as well."

    Graham said the new THQ bundle did not represent a permanent departure from the company's indie roots, and that the company may even release a third indie bundle this year. "This year has also been a year of many experiments for us that fall outside the traditional Humble Indie Bundle framework," Graham told us. "We’re very excited to be able to offer the gaming community a massive sale with blockbuster content and raise money for charity at the same time. We will of course continue to support indies content as a core of our business."

    Regarding the lack of Mac and Linux ports this time around, Graham said plainly that, "in the case of this promotion, it would not have been possible for us to deliver this blockbuster content via other means." But Graham also promised the Humble Bundle "will not cease in our quest to bring awesome content to Mac and Linux and Android," and pointed out that the Humble eBook Bundle contained the first digital publication of Neil Gaiman's graphic novel Signal to Noise.

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