So who was dumb enough to fall for a marketing campaign that forced you to play indie games so you can release Portal 2 early?
Yes, in hindsight they may be great games. But how many people would have actually bought those games if there was no Potato Sack scheme? Very few would. Valve made some nice money off the campaign. All they had to do was release Portal 2 a few hours earlier. Even after that, the indie games got a nice publicity boost so people will continue to buy those games.