kodeen: I think what you're trying to do with this post is demonstrate that people don't actively prefer Steam. Whether or not that's true, that's not the point.
What all of this demonstrates is that Steam really is good for indies because they provide events and incentives for people to purchase and play your game. Gamersgate etc... have done nothing like this to promote indie sales. They might have some offers, that's it.
So Steam is beneficial to indie games. Not sure why there's such a need to discredit that fact.
Not really. My point is two-fold.
Firstly: The majority of people who prefer Steam do so for mainstream games. With a few notable exceptions, very few indie games actually have any users (and by deduction, therefore any buyers) outside of offer periods.
Secondly: It's a solid indication that Steam's dumping policy is a core reason for its success. However, such a policy is inevitably damaging to the industry in the long term because it fosters the idea that indie games should not be more than $2.49.
I think the fact that 1,800 people bought it directly DRM-free from the developer, even though it was $5 more expensive, is a very telling thing.
So while it certainly sold by the bucketload when it was sold at rock bottom prices, it's also deprived the developer of long-term revenue and that IP is worth zilch.
jefequeso: I can kinda understand this. I haven't played the game. I haven't downloaded the game. I think I own it in one of my Humble Bundles... that's it. But the instant I see "tower defense," I basically lose interest. Not because I think that tower defense games are bad, but because there are SO MANY OF THEM. I probably wouldn't ever give this game a second glance, regardless of how polished it looked or how many people told me it was great, simply because there are (probably literally) thousands of other equally-good-looking tower defense games that I could get instead--or that I already own through other Humble Bundles.
And, I find tower defense to be somewhat boring anyway :P
But yes, you have a very good point, regardless.
EDIT: Perhaps I spoke too soon... now that I'm looking at the Steam page, it seems that there's a lot more going on here than just the usual tower defense formula. And plus, "You can absolutely blow up everything." I'm an absolute sucker for games that let me blow up everything.
Yah, AZS is a fucking awesome game, and to be honest I play it quite often, but it's the DRM free version from the HIB, so I'm not part of the blip after the HIB :-)
As for genre and originality, I looked at the graph for Nuclear Dawn, and that came up with similar blips. I'm not going to bother reinstalling it to see if there is anyone online now, but the only activity seems to be around the release, the Gift Pile achievement and its Indie Royale release. Dino D-Day, Recettear and has the same blips.
Compare that with The Binding of Isaac, which has been actively publicised all over the web, and has a much more stable graph (obviously there were peaks around the HIB and Christmas), but it's been more stable on the whole.
Sinizine: Though I'd honestly question how accurate the thing is. AZS was part of a steam weekend deal or midweek madness in may or June of last year in a bundle with games like ARES and Swords and Soldiers HD. That's when I got it, and when I played it. I'd imagine there'd be at least a small entry on that chart around those months. But there's nothing.
There is a valid point in this. The graphs actually show average data for a period represented by a pixel. Because each pixel represents around a day, individual users won't flag up unless they were actually playing the game for 24 hours straight. I bought that bundle too, but if I'm honest, the only games I really played were ARES and AZS.
Basically, assuming that the average playtime of a person is one hour, nothing will show up on that graph unless around 30-40 people were playing concurrently (a rough guess). I guess you and me were in a minority or people bought it without even playing it. Bundles like that usually otherwise do well.
AndrewC: Another point of view from which to look at sales (be they Steam or Humble Indie Bundle or whatever) is the one of the developer providing support for their game.
This was brought up really nicely by the lead developer of Puppy Games (guys who did Revenge of the Titans), and even though he's a bit pissed in that thread (and with good reason), the points he brings forth are valid and well thought of:
Getting fed up with trolling, the issues facing support in the current climate That doesn't surprise me, and reading Cas' other stuff on the forum, I find his frankness incredible and his natural instinct to NOT kiss the arse of the community praiseworthy. I think his reaction is a typical sign of how many self-entitled arseholes there are in the Steam community.
Actually, Puppy Games got my support when they released Revenge of the Titans DRM free in retail with an included Steam key. Even though I had it off the HIB already, I really enjoyed the game, and wanted to support the idea, so I bought it for €15 and it is still shrink-wrapped on my shelf.
