Humble Bundle PC & Android 8 Launches

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Humble Bundle PC & Android 8 Launches

The latest Humble Indie Bundle is now available, this time known as Humble Bundle PC and Android 8...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTU0NjU

[ssokolow]

Maybe they'd have had a stronger opening day if they didn't put up a weak offering around the same time other sites like GOG.com are also trying to suck peoples' wallets dry.

(Little Inferno was already in a previous bundle and, aside from that, the only ones I've even heard of are Gemini Rue and Anomaly 2... and as much as I like point-and-click adventures like Gemini Rue, I know they aren't everyone's cup of tea.)

[DebianLinuxero]

Good to see a bundle for Linux that doesn't require Steam.

[Larian]

Maybe they'd have had a stronger opening day if they didn't put up a weak offering around the same time other sites like GOG.com are also trying to suck peoples' wallets dry.

(Little Inferno was already in a previous bundle and, aside from that, the only ones I've even heard of are Gemini Rue and Anomaly 2... and as much as I like point-and-click adventures like Gemini Rue, I know they aren't everyone's cup of tea.)

Was this a "weak bundle"? I'm rather thankful that all of the games have Linux support this time around, which has been lacking (when it was present at all) in the last few deals they've offered. By that metric, and the refusal of GOG to support Linux at all, I'd say this bundle was the best they've had in weeks.

[Hamish Wilson]

Was this a "weak bundle"? I'm rather thankful that all of the games have Linux support this time around, which has been lacking (when it was present at all) in the last few deals they've offered. By that metric, and the refusal of GOG to support Linux at all, I'd say this bundle was the best they've had in weeks.

Assuming one forgets/forgives the fact that was once the norm, alongside DRM free.

Yes, I am still upset about that.

[ssokolow]

Was this a "weak bundle"? I'm rather thankful that all of the games have Linux support this time around, which has been lacking (when it was present at all) in the last few deals they've offered. By that metric, and the refusal of GOG to support Linux at all, I'd say this bundle was the best they've had in weeks.

That's another complaint of mine but keep in mind that they're not actually making their bundles worse as far as Steam and Linux support goes... they're just diluting their brand to hell and back by adding new "product lines" with confusing names.

Their very first bundle was a Humble Indie Bundle and they've had 9 so far. They are always DRM-free and cross-platform.

Later, they added Humble Android Bundles. They've had 8 so far (1-4 were "for Android", 5-7 were "with Android", and 8 is "PC and Android") and that's what the current one is. They are basically the same as Humble Indie Bundles 99% of the time (once, there was a mobile-only game) but with an added requirement of also having an Android version.

To make things more confusing, they've also had three Humble Mobile Bundles. These are DRM-free but, unlike the Humble Android bundles, don't offer PC versions.

They've had one Humble Music Bundle, two Humble eBook Bundles, and one Humble Comedy bundle. Those are DRM-free but, obviously, "cross-platform" doesn't have meaning for DRM-free audio/video/eBook files.

Mixed in among all those, they've had a bunch of promo bundles, specific to a vendor, game, or event, each with its own rules. Initially, they were from Indie vendors, so the Frozenbyte, Frozen Synapse, Voxatron, Introversion, Botanicula, and DoubleFine bundles have all followed Indie Bundle rules and been cross-platform and DRM-free.

However, they've never required that prototypes or tech demos be ported (eg. the Introversion tech demos) and, since they were made completely from those, the Mojam 1 & 2 had poor Linux support and the Amnesia Fortnight promo was Windows only.

Finally, we come to the elephant in the room: The vendor bundles from AAA vendors. The Humble THQ, Origin, Deep Silver, WB, and Jumbo bundles... which aren't really very humble at all since they're just "pay what you want, send some to Charity" Steam sales. Those are the ones you're complaining about (specifically, the release of the WB and Jumbo bundles in close succession) and those are the ones I really think should be relegated to the Humble Weekly Sales tab alongside other similar offerings I don't even get e-mail notifications for. (I used to get excited at just the subject line. Now I'm sceptical until almost the point where I click the PayPal button.)

The existing product lines have actually gotten better over time. For example, in the beginning, they didn't have a strong soundtrack requirement so, for the longest time, I had to listen to "Fear The Dark" (the exclusive from the Aquaria soundtrack) on YouTube while I waited for Aquaria to appear again in a newer bundle where soundtracks were required.