Game Demos: Needed or Not?

Nxs · 09-26-2008, 10:19 PM

I thought I would write about demos today due to some game/devs announcing that they will not have a demo for a game due to come out here directly. NFS: Undercover and Fallout 3 come to mind.

For me, demos are what determine if I buy a game or not. Not the marketing blitz beforehand or the pre/reviews. It always comes down to me getting my grubby little gamer hands on it to play and see if it is worth my money.

It used to be that demos came out for almost every game whether it be a PC game or a console game, you could be almost sure you would get some playtime before you went out and bought it. And that is a good thing! Between the internet and magazines with demo discs in them, you could spend hours just playing demos alone. Again, a good thing. I say it is a good thing because when it comes to the holiday season, there are tons of great titles vying for your money and demos let you decide, based on your demo experience, if that game is worth your money.

Now, it seems, that more and more devs/publishers are skipping demos all together, unless it is a new IP. For the most part, any new IP gets a demo. In the case of NFS: Undercover and Fallout 3, the devs/publishers say that they are skipping a demo to focus on the game or the game is open world and we can't make a demo. Really? Saints Row, Two Worlds, Crackdown, Tales of Vesperia, Infinite Undiscovery, and tons of others are open world and had demos. This is no excuse. The only reason I can see for not making a demo is that the game is bad and if gamers play a bad demo, they are not going to buy the game. I don't like this buy the game and hope I like it crap.

Demos are needed! Always! No matter if the game is a first timer or if the game has been around for years. If it really the case where the devs do not have time to make a demo, I have a suggestion. Cut a part out of an early build of the game, stick a splash screen on it saying 'does not represent the final version of the game', and give us a damn demo!

Here is another suggestion to devs about demos: Make the demo good! Make sure that when I play the demo, I will have seen at least some of the cool stuff that would make me want to go get the game. Saints Row and Crackdown are perfect examples of this. They let you do cool things in the demo that made you just want to get the game that day! At least for me anyway. I played the Pure demo on the 360 yesterday and it did not do anything for me. There just wasn't enough there to make me give a crap. Then I saw the commercials and some things on YouTube that made me change my mind.

Here are my suggestions to devs that will make your demo better. (this mainly applies to console demos)

I can not stress this enough, have a demo for the game! No amount of marketing can do what a demo can! Crap game or great game: MAKE A DEMO!

Never have a time limit! EVER! It is just a massive annoyance that no one wants to go through.

When the demo is over, DO NOT have it just quit and go back to the dashboard. This is one is just a kick in the balls. Seriously, there is no need for it. Just have it go back to the title screen.

Add things to the demo that will make gamers say 'wow! I want this'. At least one or two of the cool things that make your game great need to be included

If the game is due out for the PS3, 360, and PC, make a demo for all of them that comes out at the same time. If you can make the whole game for all three, you sure as hell can make a demo for all three.

These are just my opinions and they are not put together very well but, you get the idea! Feel free to share your thoughts.

AKADeadly · 09-27-2008, 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nxs

When the demo is over, DO NOT have it just quit and go back to the dashboard. This is one is just a kick in the balls. Seriously, there is no need for it. Just have it go back to the title screen.

So true lol!

I love me some demos, even more so if they come out before the game =/

KamisoriX · 09-27-2008, 02:00 AM

who needs demos if you can gewt the full game to test

paulX · 09-27-2008, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KamisoriX

who needs demos if you can gewt the full game to test

Yhea then tell me where can i get fallout 3 for 'testing' please

Akherousin · 09-27-2008, 11:44 AM

Man I love demos. I always try demos first if there are any. Lots of recent demos are pure garbage though.

KamisoriX · 09-27-2008, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulX

Yhea then tell me where can i get fallout 3 for 'testing' please

you got to wait til they release it

spidy666666 · 09-29-2008, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KamisoriX

who needs demos if you can gewt the full game to test

for tho's of us who arn't virgans who get payed to test games we need the demos...demo's are important because it tells the consumer what ther getting if they buy the game...As well as promotes the game for better sales...this is why demos R important...how many people did i lose here???

sloppyflow · 10-04-2008, 06:28 AM

thing is Demo are all free

KamisoriX · 10-04-2008, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spidy666666

for tho's of us who arn't virgans who get payed to test games we need the demos...demo's are important because it tells the consumer what ther getting if they buy the game...As well as promotes the game for better sales...this is why demos R important...how many people did i lose here???

Well, the problem is that demoes are hardly reflecting the full game. some demoes let you play a great part of the game while the rest might be shit. Other demoes are just crap while the game might be very good. Besides having one leg, an eye patch and a parrot on your shoulder is cool

Magus · 10-04-2008, 08:40 AM

I always use demo's to check if a game is okay,else i'll just go to friends, follow the hype or look up reviews