Nintendo of America promotes its indie devs with a Humble Bundle

Newsbrief: The folks behind Humble Bundle have partnered with Nintendo of America to sell a pack of 3DS and Wii U games from indie teams like Choice Provisions and Drinkbox Studios at pay-what-you-like prices.

The partnership is notable because it suggests Nintendo is moving to more aggressively promote the work of indie developers on its platforms -- Humble Bundles that include prominent titles/developers tend to sell well, and last year the company claimed developers had earned over $100 million through Humble Bundle sales since the business began in 2010.

It's also interesting that this is the first time we've seen a console manufacturer promote games on its platform via Humble Bundle. This indie-focused sale (which is limited to North America) falls in line with promises eShop marketing director David Wharton made in conversation with Gamasutra last year to "create a whole bunch of promotional opportunities" for indie developers, a meaningful shift in tone for a company that failed to adequately promote the work of its third-party developers and refused to let its indie guy speak about the issue earlier the same year.