Suddenly, as of yesterday, Humble Bundle is doing a weekly thing, and this week's iteration includes only a single game. I very much doubt this is the end of the bundles we all know and love, unless they're planning on changing their name and web address, so try not to panic. Just think of it this way: Those awkward pauses in between bundles — during which the Humble Bundle site became a little more than a shrine to a sale no longer being offered — are no more. They're claiming a different game will be offered every week, starting now with Bastion, so as long as they can keep finding new games without resorting to repeats too often, the fun will never end.
Honestly, though, skepticism is in my nature and I'm not sure what I think of this. It's a neat idea, and I've already made it known that I regretted missing Bastion in Humble Indie Bundle V, but I'm not exactly pooping my pants with excitement over the whole concept. If I give in to temptation and buy Bastion tomorrow, it doesn't mean I'll be picking up indie games from Humble Bundle on a weekly basis (and with a full time job, I doubt I can even play through them at such a pace.)
As always, you can still name your own price. A penny gets you the game, a dollar gets you a Steam copy, and paying above the average gets you the soundtrack, as well as some other goodies we haven't seen before: some art, some sheet music, and some ringtones. And here's where things get interesting: A purchase of $25 or more gets you some actual (physical) merchandise: a bandana, the soundtrack on a CD, and a couple of postcards.
The highest-tier purchase, obviously, is for those who truly want to support the developers, so the monetary value of that merchandise is pretty much irrelevant. Customers who aim to buy goods, not to donate money, will at best exceed the average contribution by one cent in order to get the soundtrack and the artwork. People who just want the game are unlikely to pay more than the bare minimum unless their guilty consciences push them to open their wallets a little wider. In the best case scenario, these frugal contributors value Steam keys enough that their definition of "bare minimum" is raised from one cent to one dollar.
That is, by the way, a big improvement. And while I don't advocate paying the absolute bare minimum of a penny, I do think that paying a dollar is fine. The people running the Humble Bundle seem to think so too, since they've decided to dangle that first carrot — those Steam keys and (in some cases) soundtracks — at the one-dollar mark.
For these one-dollar contributors, the new weekly sales have no added perks, and are likely to seem underwhelming in comparison to the less frequent, full-fledged Humble Bundle events. A video game for a dollar is a great deal, but it's considerably less than what people were getting for a dollar two weeks ago. In the good old bundles like the one that ended earlier this month, a dollar can get you several games, plus their soundtracks, plus Steam keys, plus any extra games added to the bundle after your purchase. (All you miss by paying below the average, in a typical bundle, is an additional game or two, as well as any late additions if you're a slowpoke who didn't pay early enough to get them automatically.)
On the other hand, I could be completely wrong about all of this, and these weekly sales could end up being even more successful than the bundles because there's always something on sale. Some might even prefer buying their games one-at-a-time instead of grabbing entire bundles of games and only playing one of them. It's really too early to say how this will turn out in the long run, but I'll be keeping an eye on it.
Update (April 16, 2013):
Humble Bundle is already taking a break from its weekly sales, so I guess it was an incorrect to say that those awkward pauses in between events are no more. Still, I trust the weekly sales will come more often than the full-sized bundles. (Otherwise, what's the point?)
