How did we reach this point? From the original pack of indie greats, through a temporary alliance with a crumbling THQ, to the point where EA are happy to open up their back catalogue to be bundled and sold off for a pittance. But though the Humble Bundle may have lost its middle name, there is a strong measure of humility here: EA are donating all of their profits to charity.
The move – not to mention the back catalogue – has clearly resonated with players, who’ve made this bundle the fastest selling in Humble Bundle history.
The Humble Origin Bundle went live yesterday evening, UK time. 660,772 bundles have been sold at time of writing, to the tune of $3,133,186. And now I’ve finished that sentence, it’s 661,643 to the tune of another $4000. You really have to go and visit the site and watch the climb yourself to get a sense for the pace of this thing.
For contrast, look at the original Humble Indie Bundle, which mustered $1 million in sales from approximately 116,000 donations over the course of a week in May 2010. After an extension, profits totalled $1,270,000. Who knows how many $1,270,000s will fit inside the Humble Origin Bundle’s total by this time next week.
May 2012’s Humble Bundle V held the previous record for the fastest-selling bundle to date – making more than $1.8 million through more than 244,000 purchases in its first 15 hours.
Origin’s bundle allows buyers to pay just a dollar for Dead Space, Crysis 2, Burnout Paradise, Medal of Honor and Mirror’s Edge, and to pay over the average – currently less than five dollars – to add Battlefield 3 and The Sims 3 to the pile.
EA are donating their share of the proceeds to five charities: the Human Rights Campaign, Watsi, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, the American Red Cross and the American Cancer Society. Buyers can determine what proportion of their money goes to what organisation.
Have you bought into EA’s bag of humility yet? If so, which game for?