Summer of Arcade is a great way for a small publisher to get recognized or it can be used as a well to sell A LOT of copies of a very unique game, which happened with From Dust. The first day it launched with impressive sales, though Ubisoft did not specify exactly how many units were sold they did mention that this is the most successful launch of any XBLA title they have released.
To me, this is quite indicative of how important it is to be a part of the Summer of Arcade promotion, as the other titles Ubisoft released were far from flops ( Beyond Good & Evil HD, Prince of Persia Classic, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game, and Outland). From Dust is quite unique though, and that may have also been the reason behind it’s success as gamers are likely getting bored of the standard affair of shooters, fighting games and RPGs and their various sequels.
The PC version of this God-like, environment-manipulator will be available later this month, August 17, as it was delayed form it’s original July 27 release, which is good news for those that don’t enjoy console gaming, or don’t have an Xbox.