EA Releases Indie Bundle On Steam

Written by: QuintLyn Bowers (@QuintLyn) | May 3, 2012 4:50 pm

57 Comments

News flash, guys. EA likes your money.

They like it a lot. And they’ve noticed you like this whole “indie bundle” thing.

Really, they’ve noticed that people like indie games in general. Several of the major game publishers have noticed it. It’s the reason they have indie divisions at their companies.

Let’s be honest, when it comes to what an indie game is, there’s less of a precise definition than a vague consensus. Gamers are often willing to overlook things like the game being picked up by a major publisher if the game fits the general feel of what an indie game should be.

There is a bit of a line, however. And it appears EA may have found and crossed it.

Currently there is an EA Indie Bundle available on Steam. It contains six pretty popular titles including Shank, Shank 2, Deathspank, Deathspank: Thongs of Virtue, Warp and Gatling Gears. The bundle is currently available for $20.98 or 70 percent off of the total price for the games.

Honestly, it’s a good deal and they’re solid games. But, if you’re debating “indie-ness”, throwing a big EA logo on the bundle name kind of detracts from that. Nothing says corporate more than naming something after a corporation.

It’s also a bit of a blow to the indie community when they see an indie bundle by a company many feel isposter child for what’s wrong with the industry.

One response to the bundle came from Marcus “Notch” Persson, creator of Minecraft.

In a series of tweets Notch berated EA for the bundle.

“EA releases an ‘indie bundle’? That’s not how it works, EA. Stop attempting to ruin everything, you bunch of cynical bastards,” was his initial response, “Indies are saving gaming. EA is methodically destroying it.”

He did point out that he personally does not consider Mojang indie any more. “Vlambeer is indie. Polytron is indie. Stephen, Ed, Terry, Derek, Tommy and Chris are indie.”

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2 comments

http://www.facebook.com/death.proxy Sam Hills

How is it a complicated argument? Indie is just short for independent – Major publishers do not fall under this category. The same disambiguation has happened with ‘indie music’ becoming a genre, that’s the only confusion. Just as the artists signed up to Sony aren’t indie bands any more neither are the studios working with EA. If Indie has to be a category it’s more of a subcategory rather than a game defining feature.
http://www.facebook.com/fredrik.gardsio Fredrik Fronken Gardsiö

Indie = Independent….

You CAN’T be Indie if you have a publisher, that’s the entire point of the word, it’s like saying you can Solo a boss with another person helping you…It doesn’t work that way!
- MMO_Doubter
  
  Correct.
  
  Notch is right, and EA is evil.
- Jado Cast
  
  EA = Extra Asinine
lostlune

whats up with bakas hair recently ? have you seen that shit ?
- iamthemikeb
  
  haha, I’m not even in this video..
  - lostlune
    
    its ok mike you are still my favorite person on the internet, i pretty much buy every thing you do a bff report about.
- Jado Cast
  
  He’s married now. :-) That’s what marriage does to a man. Just wait until he has kids. It’s all down hill from there bro. J/K
http://twitter.com/Vazzaroth Josh Hagood

The netflix spam is getting to be a little much, guys. It’s hard to recommend this site, people don’t want to sit through 35 seconds of hard-coded ads when they don’t know the content is awesome. Maybe set up a separate ad that only plays the first time you watch a video every day? I know it’s extra tech but it would go a long way towards making it easier to expand your audience.
- http://twitter.com/Thaguf Thaguf
  
  This is a free site, they gotta make money.
- http://www.facebook.com/fredrik.gardsio Fredrik Fronken Gardsiö
  
  35 Seconds is the longest one so far i’ve seen, so it’s not a very common length for their plug, it usually lasts about 5-10 seconds, which isnt bad for a free site.
- http://twitter.com/crusadernero Crusadernero
  
  I kinda agree with you. Still, gamebreaker just moved to a new, bigger and much better studio. I am sure that was not cheap for them and they got to make money..
  
  I have followed this site for quite some time and I have seen that at times the commercials might be a big heavy(including pre commercial and now netflix spam at start of each video), but sometimes I havent seen them at all.
  
  Maybe gamebreaker try to balance it? At times maybe a bit to much commercials, and sometimes few.
  
  Nevertheless, you should recommend this site to all of your friends. It’s a really nice site for your daily news about mmos and gaming in general.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Cameron-C-Fergie-Ferguson/1128368828 Cameron C Fergie Ferguson

Notch lolumad? Indie games don’t have to be incomplete a la Minecraft bro.
- ChristopherMitchell1
  
  Minecraft is only like 2 months old… and they are still giving people free updates/extra content. Just because people had access to it for like a year and a half before its launch while it was still being developed doesn’t mean it was ‘incomplete’
Derek_Sye

Notch is a blowhard. I can’t stand pretentious d-bags crying about the precious “indie” games.
- Mike Johnson
  
  Go to bed, EA
  - Derek_Sye
    
    I only care if a game is good or bad. I don’t a crap who published it. EA included.
    - ChristopherMitchell1
      
      Except that Indie games are rated/judge based on the fact that they are INDIE GAMES. If a game has a publisher (especially one as big as EA) it can not be rated or looked at as Indie, it needs to be held at a higher standard. Basically, an ‘Indie’ game developed with a giant publisher is just a quick cash grab where you will get crap tons of sales for very little effort when the game could have been way better.
      
      And if you don’t care about the publisher and are perfectly ok with supporting a company like EA then that’s your choice. Just keep in mind that you are doing yourself and the rest of the gaming community as a whole a disservice. Reasons for this should be obvious. If it isn’t then I feel sorry for your lack of being an educated consumer.
      - Derek_Sye
        
        Games should not be rated based on their publisher. That is a ridiculous notion. Games are entertainment products and should be judged on their own merits. If you want to support an “indie” developer, just sent them a check. However, I would suggest you send that money to a real charity instead… Maybe its just me but I think the Red Cross does more important work than the makers of Braid.
        
        Yes, I don’t care about the publisher and am perfectly okay with supporting a company like EA. You want to know why? Because I only buy games which I want to play, and that means that when I buy a game I am supporting a company who makes game that interests me. It makes no difference if that company happens to be EA or Activision or some guy in his mom’s basement.
      - ChristopherMitchell1
        
        Like I said, it is your decision to support what ever you want even if you choose to support a money grabbing, milk-the-consumer-for-all-that-they-have company like EA. You really don’t have to keep explaining what I already said, but thanks
      - Derek_Sye
        
        You realize that all for-profit companies want to take your money right? That is specifically what they were created to do. Even indie developers want your money.
      - ChristopherMitchell1
        
        hurrdurr, but consumer trust and treatment are almost even more important than the profit margins and companies who forget this and screw the consumer over (which EA has been doing) every chance they get deserves reconciliation. EA’s business practices in the last year have ruined consumer trust have gotten them voted as worse company for 2012 and they will pay dearly for this. Examples of companies that want my money but maintain consumer trust are actually quite long. I’ll use Coffee Stain Studios, the makers of Sanctum as an example. After they launched the game, the continued to improve upon it for people who bought it AND release completely free content. The DLC they came out with that you do pay for are also extremely cheap. Companies like this will get my money AND will get me to force my friends to get it as well. Hopefully, this puts it into perspective for you as to where myself and the majority of people like to see from a company who wants our money.
        
        Speaking of Sanctum, if you haven’t tried it I suggest you check it out on Steam because you can play it for free until Sunday and if you decide to buy it it will be 75% off till Monday as well as all the DLC they have come out with PLUS they came out even more FREE DLC they made in conjunction with the Yogscast. I’m pretty much going to buy four more copies and just throw them at people because I love this company… They deserve my money.
      - Derek_Sye
        
        Does EA make their games in sweatshops? If not I don’t really care about their business practices. Sure I would rather support a company which treats its customers better, but if they make an inferior product i’m not going to buy it. As long as EA keeps publishing games like ME3 and BF3 i’ll keep buying them. These games might have issues, but they are the games I have played the most over the last year so they must being doing something right.
      - ChristopherMitchell1
        
        So you would care if they used sweatshops but not if they try to screw you… what ever floats your boat. And like I said, you don’t have to keep repeating everything, it is your choice. That isn’t even what I’m arguing with you about >.>
      - Derek_Sye
        
        I have not felt screwed by EA in the slightest, but even if they had I would still be more upset about them using sweatshops…
        
        Since you keep saying that I am confused, why don’t you enlighten me about what you are “arguing.”
      - Guest
        
        Maybe you are trying to tell yourself something, since I have not said anything about you being confused in any of my comments… And we were talking about Indie games being Indie games and big ass companies like EA thinking they can make a game and call it “Indie” just to get instant money with no effort.
      - Guest
        
        Maybe you are trying to tell yourself something, since I have not said anything about you being confused in any of my comments… And we were talking about Indie games being Indie games and big ass companies like EA thinking they can make a game and call it “Indie” just to get instant money with no effort.
      - Guest
        
        Maybe you are trying to tell yourself something, since I have not said anything about you being confused in any of my comments… And we were talking about Indie games being Indie games and big ass companies like EA thinking they can make a game and call it “Indie” just to get instant money with no effort.
      - Guest
        
        Maybe you are trying to tell yourself something, since I have not said anything about you being confused in any of my comments… And we were talking about Indie games being Indie games and big ass companies like EA thinking they can make a game and call it “Indie” just to get instant money with no effort.
      - ChristopherMitchell1
        
        Maybe you are trying to tell yourself something, since I have not said anything about you being confused in any of my comments… And we were talking about Indie games being Indie games and big ass companies like EA thinking they can make a game and call it “Indie” just to get instant money with no effort.
      - Derek_Sye
        
        So you didn’t say “That isn’t even what I’m arguing with you about >.>” Because it certainly looks like you said that.
        
        Yeah using the term Indie is clearly just a marketing ploy. EA realizes there are plenty of people who will buy something just because it has Indie in the title because Indie is cool. Half these people don’t even know what Indie is short for.
      - ChristopherMitchell1
        
        Implying that you are moving the topic away from what we were originally talking about isn’t implying that you are confused. It may be implying that you are trying to bring up things that are irrelevant to the topic at hand to make yourself sound smarter, but does not imply that you are confused.
      - Derek_Sye
        
        Are you kidding me? I have only ever responded to YOUR comments. You are the one who went on a diatribe about consumer trust. How exactly does that have anything to do with my original comment that Notch is a blowhard? Get your facts straight.
      - ChristopherMitchell1
        
        Just because you are responding to my comments doesn’t mean you are leading the conversation astray… L2Internetz. Maybe I would have my facts straight if you did anything to back up anything you say like giving a reason as to why said Notch is a ‘blowhard’ besides of your jealousy of a fat man.
      - Derek_Sye
        
        It is an opinion. I think these comments are that of a blowhard. If you interpret them differently that is fine with me. You are the one who seems intent on changing my mind.
      - ChristopherMitchell1
        
        Wow dude, don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s always possible to improve yourself if you are unhappy with who you are
      - Derek_Sye
        
        That was a very clever way to try to insult me. Are you proud of yourself? Do you feel smart?
      - ChristopherMitchell1
        
        Oh yes, oh so proud for not insulting anyone. I would never stoop so low… unlike some people >.>
        
        (protip: L2Recognize when someone switches to Troll mode)
      - ChristopherMitchell1
        
        Oh yes, oh so proud for not insulting anyone. I would never stoop so low… unlike some people >.>
        
        (protip: L2Recognize when someone switches to Troll mode)
      - Guest
        
        Maybe you are trying to tell yourself something, since I have not said anything about you being confused in any of my comments… And we were talking about Indie games being Indie games and big ass companies like EA thinking they can make a game and call it “Indie” just to get instant money with no effort.
- http://www.facebook.com/fredrik.gardsio Fredrik Fronken Gardsiö
  
  You do realise that innovation more often than not comes from Indie games, and not from major publishers because of the whole risk-taking aspect of innovation, right?
  
  If anything it just sounds as if you don’t know what you are talking about calling Notch out for wanting Indie to stay Indie.
  - Derek_Sye
    
    How does innovation have anything to do with EA marketing games as being Indie? Will independent game makers suddenly be unable to make games… no. Notch is just crying because being “indie” isn’t cool anymore if the big publishers market games that way too.
http://twitter.com/Nerdoku Zach

EA =/= INDIE

Will not buy.
http://twitter.com/crocodilius ryan phillips

i guess this guy makes 1 lame game that alot of people bought, now his opinions matter?
- http://quintlyn.com/ QuintLyn Bowers
  
  Considering he has been a working member of the industry since at least 2005 and has made nine games — not including the ones he did for King.com, I’d say his opinion on the subject does matter.
  
  He and other individuals who have actually worked in the gaming industry can add a little more insight than we can as customers.
jayremy

When you say indie developers, you mean independently developed, all expenses to make the game are independent. All funds and assistance after completion pretty much doesn’t change a thing, it all depends on it a larger company came in to fund or provide resources or services prior to finishing the project.

Only exception is if the title has been bought out after by EA, though the game itself was still independently developed making strictly the game indie.
http://twitter.com/borded nathan law

hmm ea bundle of mediocre games for $21 or a may hurray bundle of great games for a minimum of around ~$5 that goes to charity…obvious choice is obvious?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_R35J5EUERGS3E6JRIQMBCDTRRY Nathan I

I suspect in less than a year EA will try to trademark the word “Indie”
BattleRealm

Independent video games (commonly referred to as indie games) are video games created by individuals or small teams without video game publisher financial support. Indie games often focus on innovation and rely on digital distribution. Indie gaming has seen a rise in the last few years, primarily due to new online distribution methods and development tools. EA is totally indie… /sarcasm
http://twitter.com/crusadernero Crusadernero

I WILL RUN TO YOU
http://www.facebook.com/people/You-Lilphucker/100003567602561 You Lilphucker

Why sub to netflix? All of the stuff there is ancient. Sub to The Pirate Bay instead.
http://twitter.com/EthernetCitizen Niklas

I basically agree for once with Notch
http://www.facebook.com/people/Bjørn-Friedrichsen/100001030867427 Bjørn Friedrichsen

indie = 2 people in the basement making thier own game
http://www.facebook.com/people/Joseph-McCarthy/510816820 Joseph McCarthy

So does this mean Bastion’s not an indie game?
- http://quintlyn.com/ QuintLyn Bowers
  
  That’s the question. It’s considered an indie game. It has everything you would expect from an indie game. But. It’s published by Warner Bros.
  
  I think it comes down to, indie fans will let that pass because in order to get on some platforms a developer is required to have an outside publisher. XBL Indie Games for one. But it’s when a HUGE publisher takes a bunch of games and goes. “Oh… look.. These are ours, let’s throw our logo on them and call them an indie bundle.” That people wince.
Bent Harley Lybech

So many people keep claiming that they are boycutting EA.

I would so wish that just half of them would be men/women, enough to actually stand by thier words. Do use thier disrespectfull behaviour as an excuse for pirating thier games. Just simply boycut them… let them know, that we don’t accept this.

I respect GB for saying things how they are, even if it is a bit suddle every now and then.

But I’m convinced that if people keep playing EAs games, they keep making money, and they will keep on pushing the limits. If we keep letting them push the limit of what is acceptable, but keep hyping thier games, just because they are good, we are helping to accept the abuse they are making.

And this comes from someone that is a huge fan of MassEffect, and haven’t played ME3, simply because I didn’t like they way EA is going… way before shutting how mobile apps and claim to “be” indie.

I don’t understand why we haven’t seen people/companies leave them in big numbers yet, but they are abusing gamers, and as long as we let them, they will keep doing it.
- Bent Harley Lybech
  
  Btw. Big cheers to GB for not promoting this so called indie bundle

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