Lack of demos in general?

[FrostWinds]

This question also goes out to people who have an Xbox One or made the switch over. There were a lot of demos on the 360 which I liked a lot, almost every indie game and XBLA game had a demo on release and many AAA games got them. The PS4 is slowly getting a bigger selection of games but the demos are rare, especially for indies which is strange to me. I'm wondering if the One is also sparse compared to the last generation or does it still get demos for all XBLA and indies?

For instance Rygar was just released recently and I know it's an NES game but there is no demo, video, or even a screenshots. Thanks for any info.

 

[edogn12]

I also noticed this. It's kind of frustrating that you have to guess or wait for it to be on psn+ to find out if you like the game. Watching Youtube isn't the same as playing.

 

[Negative Zero]

This is one reason why.



The chart is from a presentation by Jesse Schell last year. There are some articles online if you search (I can't post links yet). I think the chart doesn't take a lot of things into account, but it's easy to imagine developers seeing that chart and saying "No demos! Ever!"

 

[FrostWinds]

Good find. Thanks for ruining our fun, Jesse!! Ha.

 

[sparkblade14]

Demos can still drive up hype though (seeestiny beta). Yeah, it's a beta but still. I think the only demo I've downloaded so far is the UFC one. Seems kinda shady for some devs not to give out a demo to let you see what the game is like. Back in like 07 I downloaded the CoD4 demo on PC and that didn't hurt sales

 

[rkkeller]

On the Xbox One, there are "roughly" 8 demos right now. Some are really limited like Dead Rising 3 only allowing you to play it 2 times and some only work for a short time like Destiny. The UFC demo is really fun.

 

[RPCOM]

Well, it's not really a PlayStation issue, the amount of demos is low even on the Xbox One and the PC. Developers these days believe that free demos do not impact sales a lot and feel that investing resources into a game is not economical. I used to enjoy demos a lot and I would prefer to try out the game demo before purchase. Demos can also be time killers if you cannot or do not want to purchase a game for a while.

 

[sparkblade14]

On the Xbox One, there are "roughly" 8 demos right now. Some are really limited like Dead Rising 3 only allowing you to play it 2 times and some only work for a short time like Destiny. The UFC demo is really fun.

Wait there's a demo for Destiny on Xbox One? Are you sure? I haven't heard anything about it. PS4 doesn't even have a demo and it's the primary platform for that game...

I think demos are also a good hands on experience instead of relying on reviews or hearsay. It lets you see for yourself. It's a shame they're disappearing. They used to be so common.

 

[Ridge]

It makes a lot of sense for most games to not have demos. Once you try something you are more likely to feel like you've had enough than you are to run out and buy it. Plus they do take resources to make, and those are limited already.

As someone who almost only buys games on launch day I hadn't realized this was an issue..

 

[Heyshiloh]

I really wish there were more as well, but I can totally see things from the developer's standpoint. There's "no reason" to put one out when it may change your decision to buy the game. Take Watchdogs for example; I feel that it had a really good idea, and all the makings to be a great game - but personally I think it fell short in the game play. I think that if buyers had had the option to test it out first, many of them would've had a better idea of how the game would be and they wouldn't have made that purchase. But, if you're one of those people that really needs a demo to want to buy a game, chances are one of your friends has it and you can test the waters in that way. It's awful for people like you and I, but it makes more sense to not have a demo from a corporation's standpoint.

 

[Oberon]

I think it goes both ways.
For eg once you try a demo you for a game you planned to buy and if it turns out crappier that you expected it may defo put you off buying it altogether.
On the other hand playing a demo may want you to buy a game that you thought you would'nt have any interest in.

 

[Sekelani]

If just rather watch reviews on YouTube lol.

 

[rkkeller]

Are there any demos on the PS4? I only looked around a little last night, but did not see any.

 

[rkkeller]

I found them.

 

[Derri]

Demos cost money to make and upload so its only very new IPs that'll release a demo or games looking for technical feedback.

 

[FrostWinds]

I think you are exactly right, Oberon.

Also I don't think anyone needs a demo for whatever upcoming CoD is coming out, but one for something like Flower or Hohokum would be nice where watching trailers etc. is just not the same as playing it.