A Humble Bundundrum: are indie bundles losing their way?

Also worth keeping an eye on are the markets that seem to be spinning off the bundle system as we know it. A few months ago, Indie Gala launched their Gala Store, which offers deals on a wide variety of games, both from previous bundles and stand-alone, which usually come at a discount and can see further price lowering using the Gala Points earned from buying Indie Gala bundles. Additionally, they have mini-bundle deals going on pretty much constantly, usually featuring two or three games at a super-low price for as many days. Another site offering similar, small-bundle deals is Indiebundle.org, which evolved from the short-lived Indie Underdog Pack and offers three-game bundles of mostly unknown games for five dollars a pop. Given the quality of the obscure goods they served up in the IUP bundles, I'd say they're worth investigating. Thirdly, Indie Game Stand has taken the pay-what-you-want model of bundles and applied it to individual games, doling out a new game for whatever you can pay every four days, but offering bonus content to anyone who beats the suggested price, which is usually ten dollars.

In a world where Steam sales seem to dominate gamers' wallets, and grow to be a more and more regular occasion each year, it's nice to see an alternative in these bundles giving non-Steam titles a push and a chance at expanding their audiences. Even with some bumps in the road and the possible beginnings of drift from their original, altruistic intent, the bundle ecosystem is still a healthy and growing alternative to established means of distribution, and we can only hope it continues to thrive. If anything, with increased popularity and further patronage will come greater scrutiny, helping to quell less honest bundles and keep the good ones thriving.

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