Last month, when the first expansion for Kerbal Space Program (Making History) was released, they had a number of sales. The cheapest I could find was on Indiegala for $14.79. I know its way cheaper on certain grey market sites, but I refuse to use them.

As a person who lives in constant fear of bundles i.e. afraid of buying a game only for it to be bundled the next day, I decided to email KSP support and ask them directly, and I quote:

“I'm extremely interested in purchasing KSP in the current sales, but I'm also a humble monthly subscriber. I wondered if you're able to tell me whether you have any plans to feature KSP as an early unlock or reveal in an upcoming bundle? Thank you in advance.”

That was my email from March 15. I’m not actually a subscriber but I will definitely buy a monthly if the early unlock is something I want. Their reply the following day was as follows:

“I'd have to say, from what I know, we have no plans to appear in a bundle in the near future.
KSP Support”

Now, I know that it was naive of me to think that a member of their support department would have any knowledge of if/when the game would be bundled (or that they would be honest), but I took them at their word and assumed that meant the game would not be bundled the following month! If anything, I was hoping that they wouldn’t reply or refuse to answer, because then I would assume that was their plan and I would wait for the bundle. So I went ahead and purchased the game on Indiegala (for $14.79), looking forward to hours of enjoyment. Unfortunately, a couple of days after buying the game I developed an RSI (repetitive strain injury) in my mouse wrist and haven’t been able to play mouse and keyboard games since.

So, you can imagine my disappointment when KSP was announced as 1 of 3 early unlocks for the May monthly bundle. And I know it’s a silly thing to get upset about but since the reveal, I’ve been really down and really regret buying the game in March. The RSI which is preventing me from playing the game is definitely not helping. I’m just afraid that when I am able to play it, all I’ll be thinking is “Damn, I could have got this for $12 with 8 bonus games!”

Anyone else been burned in the past? Comments from anyone that can put a positive spin on this are very welcome :)

TLDR; I bought KSP in the last sales and now I live in regret since it was announced as one of the early unlocks for the May monthly bundle.


Now join me in my misery:

This is for anyone who regrets not grabbing this game when it was given away for free.
Someone will probably regret winning this.
You might regret not getting this one in a bundle.
Some poor souls might have paid full price for this game in the past. Now I’m giving it away for free!

View attached image.
6 years ago

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Your thoughts?

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This is why I don’t trust game developers (or their support department)!
This is why I only buy games in bundles!
This is why I hate bundles! They make me regret past game purchases.

It's not games, but had this happened with hardwares. About a month or so after I bought it.
I get a little upset "I should've waited!" but when I think about it, it's not a really big deal / huge savings and I get to use it now (though it's not urgent).Of course, this might be just post-purchase rationalization (lol). Live and learn.

Just think of it as supporting the dev and if you don't plan on playing the games you bought within a month, I think that's a problem.
Feels like buying for the sake of buying / collecting.

6 years ago
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I've probably overpaid for hardware and electronics myself but generally if there is a better price soon after I wouldn't know anything about it, since I stop looking :)

I definitely only buy games that intend to play, so I agree with you there.

6 years ago
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The current influx of bundles absolutely conditioned me to think twice before just purchasing a game. I don't buy a game that isn't 80% off or only costs around 10€ due to my fear of it getting bundled and the height of my backlog. The one and only game I bought recently with 20% off was "What became of Edith Finch" and I really can't see that appear in a bundle anytime soon.

6 years ago
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Sounds like we have the same fear of bundles ;) I hate that I have to be so cautious, even when I really want the game!

6 years ago
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Would you have ever bought those 8 bonus games at full price? Probably not. You may not even want them at all, when you see what they are, so what does that give you? Cards? Giveaway fodder? In other words, you're possibly fretting over having lost $2.79 and some freebies. If that still bothers you, find a way to save three bucks somewhere in the coming month and you'll have recouped your losses. Or, if you're getting the monthly anyway, imagine it didn't have KSP. 8 games for $12 isn't a bad deal, but you also happen to be getting a bonus copy of KSP to make someone happy with.

Regret isn't logical; it's a primitive mechanism in your brain to entice you to learn from your mistakes, but without offering you any guidance on how. When you haven't actually made a mistake (because you were not actually in control of the outcome, lacking information you couldn't have possibly had) it isn't helpful, and you should find a way to outsmart it. Fortunately it's not that hard because your limbic system sucks at logic. Just promise it ice cream and it'll shut up.

6 years ago
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Thank you for laying things out in such a practical manner :) I'm not planning to get the bundle now so I'll keep your comment in mind. And if there are a couple of wishlist games in there, I'll just have to try and win them ;)

I try to be a logical person so I appreciate that explanation. Not sure I've ever heard it so well put :D

6 years ago
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I wouldn't be angry about it. You wanted the game, so you paid a reasonable price for it. Many games end up in bundles sooner or later. Doesn't mean they suddenly aren't worth the regular price anymore. You supported a good game, be happy about it. :)

6 years ago
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Look at this point: You're bought it today for 30$. Two weeks later you can buy it for 5$ because game has been bundled.
So - if you know, that if you wait.....

6 years ago
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Well, I had this exact situation quite a few times. Bought a game for full price or in a steam sale, then one or two weeks it was in the latest humble bundle. I can understand why people get angry. I just never got angry myself, and I feel the games I bought were worth the money. So even if I "lost" some money, at least I supported the games I like. Which helps to get more of these games in the long run. So I am fine with it.

6 years ago
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Fair point, thank you :) I'm sure I'll be happy when I can play the game!

6 years ago
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KSP is a great game. I hope you get better soon and can enjoy it fully.

6 years ago
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What is great in it, or what is the "game" in it? I know generally what the game is about, but I don't know the gameplay... I'm studying in the engineering fields, and the game sounds like just more of the calculation-heavy planning projects that happen to be in my studies. Am I thinking wrong, or really that the game is? (Not like it makes the game objectively worse, but I definitely don't want such a thing in my life :D )

6 years ago
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It can be calculation-heavy or more trial and error depending on how you play. It's quite a difficult game either way but it gets really fun if you're into space or exploring. The "game" in it is mostly building the rocket and trying out new things. You can also launch rockets which is of course lots of fun.

6 years ago
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Thank you! Me too :)

6 years ago
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so?
i got frustated too, and not just a few games
that's why i dont buy games except bundles now

6 years ago
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I'm considering taking that approach from now on!

6 years ago
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Ahah, right in the feels !

Well, maybe it wasn't a lie, support\devs\publishers\etc... have different roles and it's possible that a support guy doesn't know about a particular bug, a dev doesn't know about the selling plan, etc...

6 years ago
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Yeah, you might be right. I'm trying to give them the benefit of the doubt.

6 years ago
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Bump !

6 years ago
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bought outlast2 a month before HB bundling and was not even good

6 years ago
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Double the disappointment. Sorry about that.

6 years ago
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It happened to me with Tomb Raider.

I got my purchase refunded, and entered the monthly's Tomb Raider key in my steam account.

This way, I got my money back and was able to purchase an other game :-)

6 years ago
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If I could refund it, I definitely would. Unfortunately it was too long ago and I already activated it. Glad you were lucky though :)

6 years ago
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And I know it’s a silly thing to get upset about but since the reveal, I’ve been really down and really regret buying the game in March.

If this is one of the worst things that's happening in your life atm things would seem to be going rather well. Happy days.

6 years ago
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Good point! I have other things going on, like everyone but generally I'm happy. This was just a disappointment in the gaming part of my life :)

6 years ago
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Why there's no "i don't really care because i actually play and enjoy my games regardless of where i purchased it" option?

6 years ago
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That would have been a good option! Sorry :)

6 years ago
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Bump

6 years ago
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I think it will have happened to all of us. In my case, I buy a game and it ends up free after a few months. I have many in that situation. It's not that I have fun, but I do not take it too badly, sometimes those gifts are in my favor. The problem that I see, and why I refuse to buy everything that interests me, is that they give away and I have not even installed them out of sheer laziness.

Basically my thought is: you spend X in a game, you do not install it. They end up giving away. You have lost X

Obviously, it's my fault.

Hey, I hope you recover from your injury.

6 years ago
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Thank you PerroFlaco! This is a big part of why I feel bad, because I haven't been able to play it. Not my fault though, I guess.

6 years ago
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6 years ago
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See what you're saying, but some people have a limited budget for games and don't agree with pirating. So saving money by getting a wishlist game in a bundle is pretty important.

6 years ago
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6 years ago
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I wouldn't say that anything I've said could be called "bitching" and I know no-one forced me to buy the game. I certainly wanted the game when I bought it, but haven't been able to play it because of the RSI I developed. I was just disappointed.

6 years ago
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i've mostly avoided the problem by only buying games outside bundles if i'm going to play them right away. the last one that happened with was deus ex mankind divided. bought that on sale last fall (goty edition or whatever they call the game with all dlc) and played all of it before it was included in i think last month's humble monthly. i still felt a little cheated even though i played it like 6 months earlier than i would have if i waited for the bundle and i got dlc missions that weren't included in the bundle.

6 years ago
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Yeah, it's weird. I got The Long Dark about half a year before it was announced as an early unlock. I loved every minute of the time I spent with the game, but I was still a little annoyed about it. I guess it's just the feeling that you didn't get the best deal possible :)

6 years ago
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You'll probably be able to trade it in SteamTrades for a pretty decent game, so it's not that bad. Those freebies hurt the most.

6 years ago
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Probably not gonna get the bundle now, so I'll just have to try and win any wishlist games :)

6 years ago
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By now buying games at their price is a way to show special support, kind of a Patreon thing. Otherwise you know that sitting on the river shore you'll see them 75% off and eventually bundled (with no obvious exceptions, looking at the last few Humble Monthly). This said, let's say KSP doesn't really need more money, so it burns a bit more the way I see it.

6 years ago
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Yeah, I think they've probably made enough money, so I doubt I was keeping them afloat with my contribution ;) I pretty much assumed it would be bundled at some point but from what they said I wasn't expecting it to be the following month :)

6 years ago
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Yeah, their statement about not being in a bundle soon was really lame. In this case a "no comment" would have been much preferrable, whether they knew or not.

6 years ago
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Yeah, agreed :)

6 years ago
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And their not paying employees that they used for slave labor wasn't enough to deter you from buying the game? Like most people you only get upset when you're directly affected but not when others are. Serves you right.

6 years ago
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I wasn't aware of any so called "slave labor" so it didn't really affect my decision. Thanks for the support though.

6 years ago
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Humble Monthly is not that disappointing. I bought a game in a sales and couple of months later, that game appeared in indiegala bundles.

6 years ago
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True, it would have been worse if it was an Indiegala bundle or Humble tier 1 :)

6 years ago
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6 years ago
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I'm skipping this month, so my plan is to win any reveals that I want ;)

6 years ago
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