The decline of game demo versions

First things first, I'm new to this community, I tried the search and I didn't find anything about this but I wanted to hear some impressions anyway.

Here's the thing. More than ten years ago, when I was playing games there was one thing about pc games that I always liked. A fresh new game magazine with the latest demo version of upcoming games.

These demos really helped me back then to decide what game to buy. They sparked my interest in games I would not have bought otherwise.

With the internet rising I thought that it would become common to receive them from companies directly instead of waiting for a new magazine. But unfortunately most companies stopped providing demo versions or they released them way after the game was out.

When I got my iPhone I was pleased to see some free versions of games from several companies, but this isn't common. Most of the games that I'm interested in don't have a demo version I can pick up for free. So I just don't buy them.

Have you perceived a change on this topic? Do you think there will be more free versions for us that allow us to try before we buy in the future? Or do you think games are so affordable now that we shouldn't bother paying for a game we won't play?

 

Games being cheap might be one reason, yeah. I've heard that many times.

As for the gameplay trailers. I don't think that gives you a feeling for the game. Compare it to movie trailers, you know how misleading they can be. And they already address all senses involved in watching a movie. Gameplay trailers are nice but I don't get the feeling since the controls are missing.

Many games today are shiny graphics and that's how they sell it in trailers. But a game is more than visuals and a nice soundtrack. It's the controls (and the story if there is any) that matter as well. The controls allow the player to immerse into the game world since they are the player's interface to interact with it. If the controls suck that just doesn't work. If the story sucks the player stops playing it. BUT it is bought, so at least the company is satisfied.

And don't say a game review can give you the information you need. I've seen reviewers rage over games I enjoyed.

For PC gamers there's also one other thing that demos can do. Show you whether you will actually be able to play the game with your current hardware.

I admit playing some of the demos for quite a while rather than buying the full version. But that's mostly because the full versions were not available or as a kid I couldn't afford them (that's where the cheap apps succeed).

One demo I did play for a long time even though I could get the full version: Diablo. Really, how can a gaming company put out a demo with a randomly generated dungeon with randomly generated loot. That demo had a taste of "casual game for a short break".

 

Well it's additional development time but isn't it also marketing?

For an Open World game I can totally understand that there's no demo available, too much would have to be done to limit the demo somehow. But with level-based games it shouldn't be that hard to do, it's easy to scale.

Here's a real world example: I don't get why there isn't a free Plants vs. Zombies app with just a few levels. I would have loved trying it out on my iPhone. Instead I played it on my pc, totally different experience. I decided not to buy it despite recommendations from friends based on that experience. I would still not have gotten it hadn't I played it on a friend's phone.

Wouldn't a demo have helped here? Especially for small publishers it would be easier to reach people, wouldn't it? I'd really love to hear someone with development experience on that point. Maybe that'll give some insight.

The approach of unlocking the full version within a free version is nice and all but I can understand the bad feelings people get with that. If you only need a code to unlock you are frustrated that you already have to download the full game. It feels like a waste of space on your device and you don't get the feeling of really getting something when buying the game. A separate download helps with that.

 

I agree if they are restricted in a way that impacts on gameplay. Such as "you can't use this in the demo version". That's a bad limitation, it shows you the possibility and rubs it in your face that you are not able to take it. It doesn't have to be that way though.

Market research and reviews can guide you, I agree. But think about who influences their outcome. You can easily boost good reviews with a good marketing campaign. Reviews take a place similar to recommendations for me. In the end only one opinion matters on a game, my own. I personally don't like being biased by someone else's opinion and I try to give everything a shot that piques my interest.

I downloaded the Star Wars Arcade Falcon Gunner game. It is done nicely, but it is only fun to me when played in AR mode (no starfield background, instead it's what the camera sees). Using AR mode when you're in public will make you look like you escaped an asylum. And ut gets boring when you only can chase Tie Fighters in your own room. Something the demo could have helped me find out. The game sold itself solely on the franchise.

Angry Birds isn't my kind of game, the free version helped me find that out. Judging from the reviews I would have bought it.

A surprise purchase I recently made was Hungry Turtle. They have a free version and after that I went straight for the full version. Judging from the images it looked nice but wouldn't have triggered a purchase. The demo sold it to me. It is a fairly new game so not many reviews out yet. And a game trailer wouldn't have sold it to me because most of the action happens off screen, inside your mind.