You might think that it would be a great idea for a company like Electronic Arts to offer PC gamers a great deal on six downloadable games made by small independent developers. However, that's not how Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson sees it. In some Twitter posts today, he had some very brutal things to say about EA and its PC game sale.
First, the facts: EA is offering a "Indie Bundle" of six previously released PC games on Valve's Steam service. They include the two Shank games from developer Klei Entertainment, the two Deathspank games from Hothead Games, Warp from Trapdoor and Gatling Gears from Vanguard Games. From now until May 9th, Steam is selling all six games together for just $20.98 compared to their normal price together of $69.94, a 70 percent savings.
Sounds good, right? Not according to Persson. He stated today, "EA releases an 'indie bundle'? That's not how that works, EA. Stop attempting to ruin everything, you bunch of cynical bastards." In another post he said, "Indies are saving gaming. EA is methodically destroying it."
Later he tried to clarify his statements, saying, "The games in the bundle are good, I'm not questioning them. I'm questioning EA." He also claims that he doesn't consider the game developer he founded to create Minecraft, Mojang, to be indie anymore. Indeed, Minecraft for the PC has now sold over 5.7 million copies and continues to sell at a rate of between 8,000 and 10,000 copies every day.
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