Opinion Humble Monthly survey

[Nyarlathotep]

I just got one of these, and the majority of the questions were about how I'd feel and how much I'd be prepared to pay for a list of games that I can then choose a number of titles from.

I know similar surveys have gone out before, and I know I'm not the only one who's stayed paused for awhile because the monthlies just haven't been that good lately.
What do you guys think? Would having to select titles from a list be better?
The examples they gave weren't particularly exciting, so it seems to me that if they made this change it would be so that they can pad out the available games with reruns of titles they've offered before.

There weren't any options for fewer games, but all of a higher price, or theming monthly better towards one type of game or genre, or ensuring a variety of titles each month (all of which would change humble monthly) it was all about numbers per month.

 

[Wildebeet]

I'd maybe go for having to select titles to better avoid stuff that I already have. Maybe I'd have a better chance at getting games I wanted and be less disappointed when it's all Sniper Elite or online games that I don't care about. But I'm not giving up my pause button if the choices are bad. I'm not paying for nothing.

I perma-paused for about six months straight because I felt like I was just key collecting and not getting anything I really cared about. I finally unpaused for Hellblade and Moonlighter.

 

[NarohDethan]

IMO it would be the same. It wouldnt last 2 months before people start noticing the 'never leave the list' games.

 

[Guilty of Being]

IMO it would be the same. It wouldnt last 2 months before people start noticing the 'never leave the list' games.

Yeah, this pretty much.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

I mean, my personal thoughts on the Humble monthly, almost none of which the survey seemed to want to hear are:
- since IGN bought them they've seemed to try and get one 'big name' title per month, which is obviously where the lions shares of proceeds go, then pad with a bunch of ehhh stuff that would be better in its own
- the trove is... nice I suppose? but not much of an incentive, and even with the regular addition and removals you can pretty much scoop it all up in a single months sub. Also a bunch of titles are super fucking barebones in terms of installs and you just have a zipfile to figure shit out for yourself (amazing machine bundle I'm looking at you)
- the store discount is whatever
- the charity donation is whatever

I guess I'd rather a selection of midtier stuff I might otherwise have missed, or am on the fence enough to wait for sale, than a 'big name' at the point after full price release but before it hits big discounts that if I was really interested I'd already own, then a bunch of filler to make up the numbers.
It also skews pretty heavily to 'titles console owners have heard of', when it could be doing more to push stuff that never got much visibility in the first place.

 

[Phoenix RISING]

I've been buying Humble Monthly for all but its first month because I didn't understand what it was the first month.

MOST of the time, I already own or am not interested in the games that come with it. However, there's always at least one game that I wanted that makes the $12 worth it. For example, Moonlighter was recently included.

Only one month during that timespan was I discouraged by the lack of what I consider to be a quality release. I think it's fine the way it is.

 

[Deleted member 113]

Weird, I never get these surveys from Humble.

 

[C-Dub]

I’d probably get these surveys if I paused more, but Humble Monthly has been so categorically bad this year that I just cancelled my annual plan and will redeem every month until I no longer have it.

I don’t expect Humble Monthly to be around this time next year - and my faith in their refund policy is nonexistent - so I’m just getting my months out of the way so I at least derive some value from the subscription.

 

[NarohDethan]

So, IGN made everything worse?

 

[Deleted member 113]

I’d probably get these surveys if I paused more, but Humble Monthly has been so categorically bad this year that I just cancelled my annual plan and will redeem every month until I no longer have it.

I don’t expect Humble Monthly to be around this time next year - and my faith in their refund policy is nonexistent - so I’m just getting my months out of the way so I at least derive some value from the subscription.

How does that cancel subscription option work?
I have 3 months left on a yearly subscription, and no desire to renew it. When I go to cancel it, it tells me I'll lose the 10%, access to the humble trove, (...).
Do you really lose the discount and other benefits right away? I thought these would remain active until my subscription ran out.

 

[C-Dub]

How does that cancel subscription option work?
I have 3 months left on a yearly subscription, and no desire to renew it. When I go to cancel it, it tells me I'll lose the 10%, access to the humble trove, (...).
Do you really lose the discount and other benefits right away? I thought these would remain active until my subscription ran out.

So long as you’re active for that month, the bonuses remain. If you pause you lose access.

The wording of the unsubscribe option is pretty deceptive.

 

[Flips]

Weird, I never get these surveys from Humble.

Same. And I also never get offers for Humble Monthly like 1 month for $9. Even though I used to be a yearly subscriber.

 

[Deleted member 113]

So long as you’re active for that month, the bonuses remain. If you pause you lose access.

The wording of the unsubscribe option is pretty deceptive.

Thanks.

Cancelled it, in case I forget to cancel it in a few months.

This bundle clearly is no longer for me. Instead of getting, for example, a brand new indie game that was just launching each month, like we used to get, I now get a Call of Duty game on Battle.net (which I have no desire to play; and, unlike a year or two ago, I can't sell the keys either, since there's so many people getting rid of their keys, it's pointless). Oh, and 5 year old games like Sniper Elite 3.

Up to a certain point, I was happy with the bundle, and every month I would get at least 3 new games or so, which would make the bundle worth it for me.
But now, I'm lucky if there's one game I don't own. I mean, look at the upcoming unlockables. I already own both games, and since the rest of the bundle will surely be 3-5 year old games, probably previously bundled, and that I already own, it's one more month that is not worth it for me.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

So, IGN made everything worse?

I don't know about worse per se, but its noticably different.

For example, theres some fucking self-help / learn2something book bundle seemingly every fucking week nowadays

 

[Deleted member 113]

I don't know about worse per se, but its noticably different.

For example, theres some fucking self-help / learn2something book bundle seemingly every fucking week nowadays

In terms of the monthly bundle, for me they made things worse.
The original point of the bundle was to showcase quality indie games. And, every month, you would get a brand new game (that would launch on Steam on the day the bundle was up), so in the worse case scenario, there was always one game that you 100% didn't own every month, and that pretty much covered most, if not all, the price of the bundle.

But now, instead of a curated assortment of recent indie games, they spend most of the budget on AAA games (frequently multiplayer games), and they fill the rest of the bundle with 3-5 year old indie games, games that were already heavily discounted, and frequently already part of other bundles.
And, I basically own all the indie titles they feature.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

In terms of the monthly bundle, for me they made things worse.
The original point of the bundle was to showcase quality indie games. And, every month, you would get a brand new game (that would launch on Steam on the day the bundle was up), so in the worse case scenario, there was always one game that you 100% didn't own every month, and that pretty much covered most, if not all, the price of the bundle.

But now, instead of a curated assortment of recent indie games, they spend most of the budget on AAA games (frequently multiplayer games), and they fill the rest of the bundle with 3-5 year old indie games, games that were already heavily discounted, and frequently already part of other bundles.
And, I basically own all the indie titles they feature.

Yeah, I agree, but its tough to say thats objectively worse... if they feel the need for a 'big name' ticket to try and get more subscribers who aren't just treating it like a Criterion Video selection of indie games or whatever, thats a different approach, not necessarily a worse one.

I mean, I personally would much prefer they lean in harder with their "Humble Publishing Presents" deal with their actual humble monthly, because getting shit like Slay The Spire or Void Bastards in a monthly is far more appealing to me than fucking COD, Assassins Creed or Overwatch is, and for both of those titles building early word of mouth via early access is only going to help them when they hit full release (and noticably has).

I kind of wonder where EGS fits into this, because a lot of the EGS freebies seem like titles that would otherwise have been Humble bound.

 

[hankenta]

How does that cancel subscription option work?
I have 3 months left on a yearly subscription, and no desire to renew it. When I go to cancel it, it tells me I'll lose the 10%, access to the humble trove, (...).
Do you really lose the discount and other benefits right away? I thought these would remain active until my subscription ran out.

So long as you’re active for that month, the bonuses remain. If you pause you lose access.

The wording of the unsubscribe option is pretty deceptive.

When you go to end the sub you have to go through several screens where they keep changing the wording in confusing ways and swapping the confirm/cancel buttons. It's the most deceptive subscription service I've ever had.

More on topic: I'm curious to see how HB will deal with competition from Game Pass. Both the headliners from this month is included in game pass, and if the rest of the games are as well it's not looking good for Humble. I know it's a different service (own vs. rental), but they'll still be rivals.

 

[Deleted member 113]

Yeah, I agree, but its tough to say thats objectively worse... if they feel the need for a 'big name' ticket to try and get more subscribers who aren't just treating it like a Criterion Video selection of indie games or whatever, thats a different approach, not necessarily a worse one.

That's why I said "for me", as in my interests.

I'm interested in a curated selection of recent indie games.
I'm not particularly interested in things like Overwatch, Call of Duty (never bought a single game in the series), or loot boxes (Overwatch loot boxes) and DLC items for online games (those Bethesda cosmetics we got some months ago).

By featuring Overwatch, or Call of Duty, they certainly attract a different audience than the one that originally subscribed to the bundle.
But, they also lose some people in the process, and I'm one of them. 3+ years wasn't a bad run.

 

[Guilty of Being]

I’m paused to an almost canceled forever. I feel it’s just become worse and worse and EGS Month is coming, I’m sure. I typically own what they release, or I’m just not into the big first game reveal. I was basically paying $12 a month to do giveaways here.

snapfingersandmoveneck.gif

 

[C-Dub]

I’m paused to an almost canceled forever. I feel it’s just become worse and worse and EGS Month is coming, I’m sure. I typically own what they release, or I’m just not into the big first game reveal. I was basically paying $12 a month to do giveaways here.

snapfingersandmoveneck.gif

Even though I've got 9 months and I'm trying to run them down, even EGS month would make me pause. I'd rather have no games than give Epic any money.

 

[Guilty of Being]

Even though I've got 9 months and I'm trying to run them down, even EGS month would make me pause. I'd rather have no games than give Epic any money.

I actually almost bought a year during that winter discount.

 

[C-Dub]

I bought a year last December, having been an irregular subscriber before that, and as soon as I do the games on offer get increasingly more unappealing.

 

[Guilty of Being]

I bought a year last December, having been an irregular subscriber before that, and as soon as I do the games on offer get increasingly more unappealing.

It'll be over before you know it. Hang in there, friend.

 

[C-Dub]

It'll be over before you know it. Hang in there, friend.

Nine... more... months...

I paused a few times this year, before it dawned on me that it wasn't going to get better. I asked Humble for a pro-rated refund and they kindly told me to fuck off, so here I am redeeming games I don't want.

 

[Wibblewozzer]

Even though I buy tons of games I always find the monthlies worth it with two or three titles I end up redeeming (and usually were on my large wishlist). And I like giving out all the other keys to others so that's nice, too.

One thing in the survey that nobody has brought up is all the different options mentioned a 20% discount. That's a big deal for me as long as their discount would continue to work on top of sale prices. I buy a lot directly from Humble because the current 10% off on top of sale prices often makes the price match the lowest or goes below other stores. And I do like a portion goes to charity (instead of taking 5% back into my wallet).

 

[Guilty of Being]

Even though I buy tons of games I always find the monthlies worth it with two or three titles I end up redeeming (and usually were on my large wishlist). And I like giving out all the other keys to others so that's nice, too.

One thing in the survey that nobody has brought up is all the different options mentioned a 20% discount. That's a big deal for me as long as their discount would continue to work on top of sale prices. I buy a lot directly from Humble because the current 10% off on top of sale prices often makes the price match the lowest or goes below other stores. And I do like a portion goes to charity (instead of taking 5% back into my wallet).

The ONLY reason I enjoy it because it's the closest thing to the Lottery that I play.

I i have it or don't want it, I can gift it to friends here.

However, I don't know if I'm un-pausing.