Whether you think the organisers of the Humble Bundle were right to host a Windows only, Steam only bundle of great games (and Red Faction: Armageddon), it's been a pretty good move for THQ. Since the pay-what-you-want sale went live, not only has the site raised almost $3.3 million, but it's had a positive effect on the company's share price too.
Moments after the bundle's launch, THQ's stock rose 37.96% to $1.61 per share, at which point previous investors took the opportunity to jump ship, quickly knocking the share price down to around the $1.40 mark. Stocks are weird.
It's a definite improvement on THQ's pre-bundle price tag of $1.07. Although, to put those figures in perspective, the troubled Zynga has a share price of $2.33, while EA and Activision are laughing their way to the invisible bank of fake money that doesn't exist at $14.65 and $11.36 respectively.
What we don't know is how much of the raised money is heading directly to THQ, with the distribution between them, the Humble organisers and charity not available. What is known is that THQ CEO Brian Farrell's donation of $1,650 went entirely to charity. He stresses that this "should not be interpreted as a recommendation to others on their split."
I'm now going to stop watching a constantly updating graph of share prices before it turns me into a crazy person.
Thanks, GI.biz .
