4 ms·

> Also, demos are not really necessary today; if people want to find out about a game, they can look on YouTube or read what many many people have to say about

by norswap 10y ago

> Also, demos are not really necessary today; if people want to find out about a game, they can look on YouTube or read what many many people have to say about the game on the internet. Just no. And the steam refund if played less than 2 hours doesn't help. For most games, 2 hours is not enough.

chii 10y ago
Demos sounds good in theory, but I think you'll find that they adversely decrease sales in the long run. They take effort to put together, and serves only to stop the player from buying. The reason is that if you are interested enough to try the demo, you'll only be swayed to not buy the game if you're dissatisfied, it obtained enough from the demo that you're no longer interested in the actual game. If you're already going to buy, you won't try the demo. In both cases, it's bad for the developer.
- archagon 10y ago
  I've seen this argument and I strongly disagree. Speaking anecdotally, I've bought plenty of games after trying the demo that I wouldn't have even considered otherwise. (Or would have waited to go on sale.) Also, I think it's just the right thing to do — though with Steam refunds, it's probably not as big of a deal anymore.
- ben_jones 10y ago
  On the flip side games like Battlefield and Overwatch which are entirely multiplayer driven and have various balancing and load-testing requirements benefit immensely from (free) alpha and beta stages which are essentially demos. With the increased prevalence of such games I can only imagine demos remain prominent (even if they are called "alpha/beta periods" instead.
douche 10y ago
Steam sales and Humble bundles give an incredibly low-cost chance to try out games that you wouldn't ever take a flyer on at full price. I've found a few gems, but there's a lot of stuff that I haven't played, or have put in under an hour on, but hey, it was $2. Cheaper than a cup of coffee.
e12e 10y ago
I agree that reading reviews and watching videos are a poor substitute for demos, but what games do you play for 2 hours and not realize that they're not worth the asking price? Sure, you might realize after 10 hours that it's not as great as you had hoped - but that's still (usually) quite a lot cheaper entertainment (per hour) than buying a CD or going to the movies? [ed: to clarify, if you had a great time playing a game for 10 hours - even if you then find that it has less replay value, or too little content compared to what you would like - hopefully you've then had fun for 10 hours playing it...]

by norswap 10y ago

chii 10y ago

Demos sounds good in theory, but I think you'll find that they adversely decrease sales in the long run. They take effort to put together, and serves only to stop the player from buying. The reason is that if you are interested enough to try the demo, you'll only be swayed to not buy the game if you're dissatisfied, it obtained enough from the demo that you're no longer interested in the actual game. If you're already going to buy, you won't try the demo. In both cases, it's bad for the developer.

archagon 10y ago
I've seen this argument and I strongly disagree. Speaking anecdotally, I've bought plenty of games after trying the demo that I wouldn't have even considered otherwise. (Or would have waited to go on sale.) Also, I think it's just the right thing to do — though with Steam refunds, it's probably not as big of a deal anymore.
ben_jones 10y ago
On the flip side games like Battlefield and Overwatch which are entirely multiplayer driven and have various balancing and load-testing requirements benefit immensely from (free) alpha and beta stages which are essentially demos. With the increased prevalence of such games I can only imagine demos remain prominent (even if they are called "alpha/beta periods" instead.

douche 10y ago

Steam sales and Humble bundles give an incredibly low-cost chance to try out games that you wouldn't ever take a flyer on at full price. I've found a few gems, but there's a lot of stuff that I haven't played, or have put in under an hour on, but hey, it was $2. Cheaper than a cup of coffee.

e12e 10y ago

I agree that reading reviews and watching videos are a poor substitute for demos, but what games do you play for 2 hours and not realize that they're not worth the asking price? Sure, you might realize after 10 hours that it's not as great as you had hoped - but that's still (usually) quite a lot cheaper entertainment (per hour) than buying a CD or going to the movies? [ed: to clarify, if you had a great time playing a game for 10 hours - even if you then find that it has less replay value, or too little content compared to what you would like - hopefully you've then had fun for 10 hours playing it...]