Humble THQ Bundle Purchased Nearly 400,000 Times in One Day

[Dyan]

THQ is just totally awesome for doing this.

For desperately trying to save their own bacon?

And what exactly is so bad about that? THQ has published and made tons of awesome games. I think It will be a very sad day when they eventually kick the bucket. Still, here's hoping they don't die any time soon.

 

[Something Amyss]

I really just considered this a "save our Company of Heroes, Metro and Dawn of War" fund.

You're joking, right?

At current rates, even if they got ALL the money from this, they'd be doing about 3 million better. A company that has lost millions upon millions, lost consumer AND shareholder faith is going to be turned around by a couple million dollars? Isn't that kind of naive?

They'll probably LOSE that much during the time the sale operates, from normal operations alone.

I know part of the coolness of the "Humble Bundle" is the "I am helping!" Sensation. I get it, too. But pragmatism needs to hit at some point.

Don't forget Darksiders, scrub

Darksiders and Saints Row are the two franchises in the least danger. They're not the ones that need a fund to protect them because when THQ cuts weight, they will not be on the chopping block.

 

[Something Amyss]

And what exactly is so bad about that?

Nothing. But that's not awesome. It's desperation. It's rats and a ship.

 

[deathbydeath]

Don't forget Darksiders, scrub

Darksiders and Saints Row are the two franchises in the least danger. They're not the ones that need a fund to protect them because when THQ cuts weight, they will not be on the chopping block.

That's probably true.

 

[Kyr Knightbane]

I bought it and as soon as i got it, linked it to all my mates. They all bought it too. I think we each donated 10 or 20 bucks (I re-bought for 20 shortly after and sent the games to a buddy on League of Legends)

I love THQ and hope they can stay afloat in these dangerous murky waters.

Plus they are doing South Park: Stick of Truth and the subject matter alone should be enough to help them. If not we always have Metro: Last Light and Darksiders 3: Darksidiest of the Dark.

 

[Dyan]

And what exactly is so bad about that?

Nothing. But that's not awesome. It's desperation. It's rats and a ship.

I can see your point and I even agree to some degree. However I think we should at least try to keep them afloat.

 

[jollybarracuda]

Were people really upset about the games not being indie? They realize the real title is just The Humble Bundle, right? And then they just throw in the adjective or something in the middle of it to describe what the bundle is? Humble Indie Bundle, Humble THQ Bundle, Humble Android Bundle, there was even a Humble Music Bundle, at one point.

Anyways, I dont see how any single person can have a problem with these really impressive titles being practically given away. THQ is in rough times and if anything, we should be impressed to see such a high-profile company actually adapting to new ways to bring in income. If THQ survives this, we might see them adopting new strategies to help bring in that extra profit, which could be rather interesting to see.

 

[Grey_Focks]

Don't forget Darksiders, scrub

I didn't mention Darksiders since that just had a sequel come out, and as far as I know, it doesn't have another game in danger of being cancelled. But yea, that game was fun, too.

You're joking, right?

At current rates, even if they got ALL the money from this, they'd be doing about 3 million better. A company that has lost millions upon millions, lost consumer AND shareholder faith is going to be turned around by a couple million dollars? Isn't that kind of naive?

They'll probably LOSE that much during the time the sale operates, from normal operations alone.

I know part of the coolness of the "Humble Bundle" is the "I am helping!" Sensation. I get it, too. But pragmatism needs to hit at some point.

Nope, not joking. The humble bundle IS doing more than just putting a couple mil in their pockets, it's also getting word out on the games in the bundle, two of which have sequels coming out in the near(ish) future, and I'd assume that Darksiders 2 will see at least a mild increase in sales from this, not to mention they'll probably get more DLC sales from Saints Row 3. This is a bit harder to measure, but this has certainly restored some consumer faith, if not shareholder, and since their stocks have increased in value since the sale started, admittedly not by a huge amount, it probably has helped that a bit, too.

I'm not saying this is the big thing to turn it all around for THQ, but I wouldn't deny the significance this can have for them. If nothing else, it's not the worst marketing strategy I've heard of. That honor goes to the uDraw.

 

[Dryk]

I feel like the direction CoH2 is going with microtransactions and exp is going to kill it, and THQ really doesn't need that

 

[Griffolion]

A good move by THQ overall. Good PR, some cash they otherwise wouldn't have got and the ability to get people into Metro and CoH in time for the up coming sequels.

Unsure why people are saying that this will destroy THQ's branding. THQ are in massive trouble, cheapening their branding is a sacrifice to be made if it means they can go in to work tomorrow.

 

[Denamic]

Not sure what's so risky about this move.
Every humble bundle to date has been an overwhelming success, and this was practically a guaranteed success as well. They only had to swallow their pride to do it, and it has paid off.

Well, now I am even more inclined to not buy CoH2 for 60USD and I now truly have no reason to get the premium edition that came with the original CoH games. They DID need to generate interest for that game though.

I hope CoH2 does sell since I want to see DoW3. There are so few strategy games out now.

They're aware that giving away their game for pennies won't exactly make their full priced copies fly off their shelves. This will however sell a metric shitfuckton more copies, even to people who would never even consider buying CoH2 otherwise. This is a trade-off, not a risk.

 

[siebje]

Great offer. Really enjoying Saints Row.
Really like the pay-what-you-can-afford scheme. Used to be broke, now I can give back

 

[Denamic]

They're aware that giving away their game for pennies won't exactly make their full priced copies fly off their shelves. This will however sell a metric shitfuckton more copies, even to people who would never even consider buying CoH2 otherwise. This is a trade-off, not a risk.

This is all assuming that people decide to give a significant share to THQ. I, myself gave an even split, others may not have done this. Regrettably, HB does not provide those numbers.

The vast majority uses the default split, so yeah, it's safe to assume people do give THQ a significant share.
Individual discrepancies aren't statistically significant.

 

[Something Amyss]

I can see your point and I even agree to some degree. However I think we should at least try to keep them afloat.

You can try, just understand it's mathematically unlikely. With over 20 million in losses last year and a further projection of more to come, with a damaged consumer base and investors shaken, it's not likely to help the company. They'd need ten times what the Bundle had brought in as of yesterday to offset the losses alone, and that assumes they got every penny. They would still have to restore consumer confidence and shareholder confidence, which cannot be readily fixed with money. Or, rather, not by getting it from a Humble Bundle.

They are desperate, and if you want to buy their games and support them, Godspeed. Personally, I'm ambivalent. If THQ fails, they'll sell off their assets and their franchises will likely rise in other locales. This might even make Saints Row 4 worth buying for me, but even if EA got it and screwed it up, it's already ruined for me, so I don't really lose either way.