Are the days of demos numbered?

Game demos are about whetting the appetite, some say. If that's true, then Just Cause 2's was an all-you-can-eat buffet. You got to gorge on 35 square miles of the Lautan Lama Desert for a joyous 30 minutes at time. Over two million copies of the demo were downloaded, resulting in 2.5 million headshots and a million drivers kicked from vehicles, according to the developer's stats. Someone even made a mod for the demo.

[AnthonyAccinell]

Playstation Plus just released with full game demo's for every game. This is ridiculous.

[wicko]

This is a pretty big departure from the standard demo though. And its probably a much better idea. Costs less for the developer (all thats required is a time limit), players don't waste their time as they can continue where they left off if they bought the game, as opposed to 0 progress using a standard demo. But I wouldn't say demos are dying out, just evolving.

[TheTeam06]

Definitely. It would seem much easier for developers. It's something Sony should pitch to them. Having trophies locked until you buy the game is a good move, too. It'll tempt the biggest Trophy whores into buying it if they make a lot of progress in a game.

[NecrumSlavery]

Demos need creativity. A gig worth of the game's code isn't a demo. Let it be something different. I like how GOW 3 and Arkham's demos were custom pieced together to give you an idea, but not blowing any secrets. Those actual parts of the game are very different.

I personally think all demos should be prologues. Something seperate that pulls you into the story. The games can have that in them too. But I'd like uniqueness like that over a
Set pulled from the game.

[WildArmed]

I would prefer demos.
I've spend ALOT more than 1 hour (the time limit for Infamous Full game trial) in the Uncharted Drake's fortune alone. So I'd prefer to have a small section, I can try again and again then to be limited to a one hour test drive and decide on that.

I'm not saying Full Game Trials are bad, I think they are a great addition to PSN. Too bad I already had inFAMOUS otherwise I'd be all over the Full Game Trial..
So i have no hands on with Full Game Trials atm.. didn't feel like downloading 6gb for a game I already own. But from what I understand, after 1 hour, you buy or delete it. It may or may not be enough for me to establish a concrete judgment about the game (to buy or not to buy). Esp. if the game is story/cutscene intensive, I don't know how much gameplay I could squeeze out of the game without losing an integral part of the gaming (the plot).

[Darkstorn]

I have to agree. The first hour of a game is usually not indicative of the full experience. Short, sectional demos can offer the exact experience that the developer wants to market.

That being said, I want to see the Playstation Plus route practiced further, as it is an interesting approach.

[ReservoirDog316]

Yeah, like the first hour or so of Uncharted 1 is very very very slow paced. Fun because of the exploring but slow paced. After the first few chapters though, it speeds up significantly.

That one hour demo would be pretty bad (in terms of sheer excitement) for Uncharted 1.

[MariaHelFutura]

Demos are a fairly new thing in gaming.

[Darkstorn]

Not necessarily. I remember getting demo discs for games back in the early 90s. Hardly a 'new thing in gaming.'

[MariaHelFutura]

I meant in the way we get them and the ammount we get. It use to be demo discs and stuff like that. It was way different.

[WildArmed]

Yeah demo distribution has changed ALOT.
Before you used to get a demo disc when you buy a PlayStation. Now you can just download the 100s of demos available on Live or PSN or WiiWare.

Before demo's used to barely reach most of the gamers, but now they are widely accessible, like never before.
I remember I used to send those PS info cards to get new demo discs for my PS1 about 14 years ago xD Or stay at a gaming store for hours and hours to play a full game for free! (they used to have full games up back then! Since not all retailers had a demo disc).

MP demo's have become more and more dominant now... followed by a strict time limit for the servers being live xD (Burnout Paradise, LoTR.. etc etc)
I'm surprised Fat Princess Demo is still live :D

[ReservoirDog316]

I used to get a bunch of demos from pizza hut I think. That's where I got my MGS1 and Medievil demos.

[NastyLeftHook]

maybe......................... ............................... .........

[ULTIMATE_REVENGE]

No demo, no buy.

It's as simple as that.

[Darkstorn]

I wouldn't go that far. I bought Uncharted 2 and Brutal Legend without playing the demos and had an amazing time with both games.

[WildArmed]

While it is not as extreme to me,
demo plays a huge factor in determining to get the game.
I played Uncharted Drake's Fortune Demo over 100 times then I just HAD to pick up the game lol
Same goes for inFAMOUS and resident evil 5..

On the other hand, it some games totally lost my interest due to the lack of a good demo. See: Dark Void or the first bad company.

[Blaine]

for new IP, almost certainly. For games I'm on the fence about buying, definitely.

Most games: no demo, no buy. Agreed. Some games are sure things though (mostly sequels, or games from established devs and directors).

[Blaine]

Sets out to answer a question, never does, and goes off its own topic.

AvP demo didn't get hated on because it was mp only, it got hate because IT DIDN'T FUCKING WORK. Took 30 minutes to connect to a game, then you got disconnected before the match was over.

The article also quotes Pachter as saying that sequels don't need demos, new IPs do (fair enough, I agree), and then in the next chapter they quote another source saying the best selling games of 2008 didn't have demos. WERE THEY SEQUELS? I THINK SO.

The article goes nowhere. Basically says "demos are here to stay, make your demo post-game release to ensure best quality." There, saved you a read.

[John Kratos]

I sure hope not because I just bought DeathSpank like ten minutes ago from just playing the demo. I do agree with that guys idea of releasing a demo after a game has came out. Because usually the only time I download a demo is for low profile games like Just Cause that I don't buy day one or week one. It wouldn't bother me to get demos for those type of games at a later time. Now big games like God of War or Halo I get day one most of the time so I don't really need a demo for them.

[DelbertGrady]

Trial demos for XBLA games are awesome. I'm going to pick it up when it's released over here tonight.

[hazelamy]

the demo for just cause 2 was pretty much unique, most devs don't spend that much on a demo, most of the time they just take a level out of the game and let you play part of that, an altogether simpler way to create a demo.

[steve30x]

Without a demo you are wondering if the game is worth it through videos , hype and reviews. I tend not to believe reviews because its the opinion of one person that has different tastes in games to me.

[LoLZoRz]

JC2 demo made me buy the whole game so yea it pay off