From Humble Bundles to Indie Royales, discounts on indie games are all the rage, but you have not seen a sale like this. Initiated by Ron Carmel, developers from far and wide have banded together to support the message of Because We May by selling their games at rock-bottom prices on Steam, Android, iOS, and other platforms. There are well over 300 games on sale (I lost count), which begs the important question: what is the message?
“We believe that developers should have the freedom to price their games how they like, without interference from the online stores that sell the games. Why? Because it allows us to promote our games more freely, as we are doing here!”
At this point, you are probably thinking that this is another marketing stunt to drum up additional sales, and that is precisely the point. By pushing sales numbers through the roof, Because We May is out to prove that developers with full control over prices can sell their games more effectively. It’s a triple-win situation for the developers, distributors, and consumers.
The main concern of many people though, myself included, is that sales such as these make people less inclined to purchase indie games at full cost. Why pay full price when you know that it will likely be on sale in the future? Well, I say, buy now and let the developers learn that lesson for themselves. A small sample of the games up for grabs that caught my eye include Shadowgun, Canabalt HD, Capsized, Vessel, Jamestown, Superbrothers: Sword & Sorcery EP, and Avadon: The Black Fortress. The Because We May sale runs through June 1.
(Because We May started May 24. Sorry for the delayed news, but some family matters came first.)
Funny thing is, Steam sales can go even lower. And Humble Bundles can throw in a number of 10 dollar games for the price of 5 whole dollars. So if anything, I’m gonna wait even more for some of these. Too bad I already own the Double Fine games, cuz those I like the most.
Some very great deals.
Dungeon Defenders is an absolute blast to play co-op and works wonderfully.
Dungeons of Dredmor is one of the best rogue likes I have played, great sense of humor too.