The 7th Annual Independent Games Festival has just announced a retail compilation of past IGF entrants, including games like Gish and Strange Adventures in Infinite Space.

Buy IG: Independent Games at Amazon.

This is a logical development for the burgeoning indie games movement. Just today I was reading an article about Robert Redford and how Sundance got going, and how early on nobody came to the festival. It wasn’t until there was some commercial success to come out of indie film that the festival became a must-do on the Hollywood circuit.

Many IGF games have had commercial success via digital distribution, but it does seem that a box and a retail presence are still required for legitimacy in the eyes of most of the industry (seen many digital downloads reviewed in the gaming mags lately?).

So go buy the compilation. It’s $29 or something. And it supports innovation in games.