While I personally will not boycott later Bundles that fit my terms (DRM free, cross-platform), I agree 100% with the point you are making Kristian. This weakens the movement the Bundles contributed so much too, and places them on weaker grounds when negotiating with other developers. One thing that stings me about this is that it is also very unfair to past developers who have put so much effort into making their games fit the Humble Bundle rules. It is like I said back during the LIMBO/CrossOver controversy, it just seems so fundamentally unfair to the other game developers that put the effort into releasing fully native ports of their games for some developers to be able to cheat/dodge their way into the benefits that the Bundles offer. This is even worse, as they did not even decouple the games from Steam, let alone port to Mac or Linux. It is not just us who have been hurt and betrayed by this, they have been to, only they have a much better case to complain. I wonder if any of them realize it.

Well hey now they have the option of doing THQ bundle number 2 *now cross platform* and gain even more money!

This bundle is already one of if not already the fastest selling bundle.

Still waiting on Cheeseness to chime in. He should have an interesting perspective...

I fear we have seen the last DRM free cross-platform game released.

Quoting: "Kristian, post: 6851, member: 390"I fear we have seen the last DRM free cross-platform game released.

That I do not agree with. They will always be those. It might just be a little harder to get a hold of them for awhile. Remember, it is not just users that dislike DRM, many developers do as well.

I wouldn't worry too much about them not releasing DRM-free, or cross-platform, bundles anymore.
They will. And it will sell.

What "worries" me is this: no one in his right mind would think the customers they got right now with this Pretentious AAA Bundle (tm) are the same as the usual ones. A quick look at Twitter, IGM, or pretty much any and all indie- or GNU/Linux-centered tells you everyone thinks it's an affront, except for those people who don't give a fuck: Windows-centric/centered users, who don't give a damn about Steam. Or indie gaming. Or the difference between publisher and developer. Or why giving a single cent for this is a spit in the face of all the developers who've been laid off. People who sometimes won't even know that THQ has a hard time.

Way to open up new perspectives: screw all your loyal customers, bring in some new blood who doesnt give a fuck about you, only in for the quick grab of cheap well-known titles.
Stats don't lie: >150.000 bundles sold, closing in to $1M. Average price: $5.50 (rounded down). This didn't have an ice cube chance in hell of happening with a normal bundle: Mac and GNU/Linux would have driven the price higher.
I'd very much like to see
1) How many people gave ALL the money to charity. Even dualbooters I know did it so as to NOT give money to THQ or HIB for this crap. Wrong move, but at least - dare I say - their heart is at the right place
2) How many people used the default setting - typical behaviour of new customers from what I've witnessed.

Kristian raised an interesting point though: much as I winced when GOG announced they'd support Mac and not GNU/Linux, it's not that big a deal: innoextract, make a .sh, and off you go. But THIS could actually hurt everyone. It sets an ugly precedent.

I'm not boycotting them, but I won't support these bundles in any way. Why should I? I'm already not buying any game with DRM, GNU/Linux support being already a must.

Their thinking seems to be that indie developers must follow the HB rules, but big companies don't. Maybe they're just trying to save THQ, the reason is unknown to me.

This might be the fastest selling bundle, but look at it closely. The average paid for 7 AAA titles valued at 190$ is around 5$ even when they've put a 1$ minimum price tag. They're already at 1M, maybe they get to 2 or 3, but will that save THQ? I think this will be a failure.

I am feeling very negative and yet I am giving out the most likes I have ever done. Interesting that. ;)

A good article from ars technica on the subject:
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/11/humble-thq-bundle-threatens-to-ruin-the-brands-reputation/

Also: http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/the-humble-thq-bundle-loses-indie-games-adds-drm-and-is-a-step-backward-for

The comments reflect why I do not usually like Penny Arcade though...

Quoting: "Hamish, post: 6855, member: 6"I am feeling very negative and yet I am giving out the most likes I have ever done. Interesting that. ;)

Not strange, there are equally negative feelings in a lot of comments. :-)