Blimey. Has anything so humble ever grown so large? Nothing Humble with a capital H, that’s for sure: yesterday EA’s eight-game charity bonanza became the fastest-selling Humble Bundle in forever. Today – its second day on this Earth – it becomes a million-seller.
Nearly all of the $5 million-plus payments – bar a small but customisable Humble tip – have been split between five charities: the Human Rights Campaign, Watsi, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, the American Red Cross and the American Cancer Society.
Origin’s bundle isn’t quite pay-what-you-want. Any price will grab you soundtracks to The Sims 3 and Battlefield 3. But you’ll need to give up a whole dollar for Dead Space, Crysis 2, Burnout Paradise, Medal of Honor and Mirror’s Edge, and pay over the average for Battlefield 3 and The Sims 3.
The average donation has been $4.80, but the majority of the top ten contributors parted with at least $1000 each.
Let’s not pretend that EA get nothing but goodwill out of this: that’s a potential million suddenly interested in buying Mirror’s Edge 2 and Battlefield 4, and probably hundreds and thousands of new Origin installs. That said, it’s a phenomenal gesture that would have seemed inconceivable for any major publisher just a few years ago – let alone the anointed Worst Company in America.
Are you one of those million or so buyers? If so, which game’s risen to the top of your to-install pile?