I agree. . . if his product isn’t good, it just won’t sell. If he sells a few copies, more power to him. Personally though, I think if he’s going to go small-time he should just take the in-game advertising route though. He might actually make more money in the long run, because people are more willing to try a free low-budget game than pay for one. Because paying = risk.
Learning how to sell something is very important, regardless of the product. Even if he doesn’t sell a single copy, it’ll be a valuable experience for the next attempt. How many people here have the balls to sell their work? Giving everything away for free is ‘nice’, but if you’re an aspiring indie, it’ll have to pay the bills one day.