I guess there’s no way of knowing, but I really would like to find out how much of the $US5,098,093.79 raised by the Humble THQ Bundle went to charity, and how much went to the embattled publisher, which may qualify as a charitable cause depending on how you feel about its situation and the games it makes.
When it rolled out two weeks ago, comments from some pro-THQ gamers suggested that even though the spirit of the Humble Bundle is to give a slice to charity (and to offer titles DRM free, which these weren’t), it’d be quite alright to give all of one’s purchase price to THQ, and I don’t really have a problem with that. They’re hurting. People like their games. I really have no idea what THQ is going to do, long-term. Sure, they’re a capitalist company, but if they want to hold a bake sale to stay afloat, willing buyer, willing seller and all that.
THQ’s president, Jason Rubin, tossed $US11,050 into the pot, giving all but $US500 of that to charity. (He began with a $US1050 purchase, then put in a $US10,000 buy at the end, I suppose so as not to appear to artificially boost the average purchase price). Two were listed — the American Red Cross (presumably for Hurricane Sandy relief) and Child’s Play, the go-to gamer’s charity. He gave the $US500 left over to Humble Bundle itself as a goodwill gesture.
The firm’s stock price was $US1.18 on November 29, right before the bundle was announced. Yesterday it closed at $US1.33, though it had gone above $US1.50 in between. I guess it was a success, then.
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