Today’s gaming marketplace is inundated with products. Across every platform and every genre, more and more fantastic games are being released every day. The temptation to part with hard-earned cash can be pretty…tempting…but more often than not we probably find ourselves listening to that little voice in our heads that asks: “But what if it sucks?”
There are trailers. There are screenshots. There are reviews. But ultimately in the world of gaming there is only one true determination as to whether a game will be worth the money. In yon olden days, sometimes discs packed with these would be tucked away inside PC gaming magazines. They were golden. They were vital.
They were the playable demos.
Because let’s be truly honest: games rarely play out like their cinematic trailers. The concept is incredibly strange, really. Here’s a product that has to succeed based on how fun it is to interact with it. Logically, one would provide an example of that interaction in order to sell the game.
Oddly enough, that practice has largely fallen to the wayside. Except for some wonderful companies upholding the practice, the idea of a playable demo disappeared a long time ago. This is marvellously ironic given that the overall landscape of gaming has firmly changed from a physical to a digital one. So now that we aren’t as reliant on physical media, digital demos should be easily available!
Yet, the opposite seems to be the case thus far . A swift look at Steam’s latest demos shows only a few indie titles. Not a single major game released recently offers a free trial. Slightly better is the PSN. Featuring a bunch of popular titles like Destiny, Life is Strange, Far Cry 4 and Final Fantasy XIV: a Realm Reborn, each of these and more boasts a free demo.
MMOs typically offer such trials so this isn’t too surprising. Seeing such incredible titles getting the treatment is also a great thing. But what about Evolve? Why didn’t Bloodborne or Dragon Age Inquisition get a free demo? Why hasn’t one been announced for The Witcher 3?
Perhaps this is less of a problem for long-running series, but perhaps not. Had I personally been given a chance to demo Dragon Age Inquisition I never would have purchased it. When new and expensive games are premiering, one must ensure that the chunk of change they’re about to part with is going toward a good investment. Gamers have a lot of options and a finite amount of cash; choosing which new title to indulge in isn’t easy.
And what about gamers looking to branch out of their comfort zone? There are great examples of demos for the many visual novels that are practically infesting Steam lately, but it’s still not widespread. Games like Princess Evangile and eden* are free to try, but there are tons of new titles released every day – and they aren’t cheap. Can publishers reasonably expect someone to dump cash into a game that might turn out to be their new least favorite?
Free demos can change this – but how?
Demos have two excellent effects. The first is obvious: gamers get a chance to try before they buy. The “try” has to match the experience of the “buy” and thus a “cinematic trailer” for a game doesn’t cut it. A playable demo gives a gamer a chance to interact with piece of the finished product. It’s not Early Access and it’s not beta testing. Demos are a piece of an otherwise complete product.
The consequence of this “try before you buy” is gamers become more inclined to spare a few megabytes of disk space off their Xbox One, PS4, or PC to give a new product a chance. Then, if they’re impressed, they’ll be more likely to pull the trigger on a full purchase. Win-win all around.
The second effect is subtler and might not necessarily translate into direct sales – but it’s still important. Demos give players less of an excuse to complain. Demos won’t eliminate negative response to a release; however, they give publishers and developers a chance to say, “This is our product. Here is a free sample. If you don’t like the sample, then don’t buy the product.” Just like that piece of teriyaki chicken from the mall’s Chinese place, if your appetite isn’t piqued you can walk on to Five Guys.
Demos obviously aren’t a panacea. They won’t completely prevent releases like Assassin’s Creed Unity, but nor should they be expected to do so. Demos give players a chance to feel better about buying a game. Providing a complete piece of a game is enticing. It practically begs to be tested. Publishers and devs get a chance to show they care about the players as the audience of their product and not just as a source of revenue.
Now, this doesn’t necessarily apply to publishers that essentially offer demos behind pay-walls. That includes Early Access or beta testing entitlement that comes only with a purchased version of a game. All that does is treat players even more like wads of cash just waiting to be picked up. When The Old Republic entered beta, it was closed – but it was free if you were selected. No download code needed, no proof of purchase required.
Tying in to this is the whole argument of the true purpose of Early Access. Is it just a way for developers and publishers to freely crowdsource beta testers and QA? Do players (and the developers, too) really benefit from buying an incomplete product under the premise of having “influence” over its final development stages? Is an Early Access product representative of what the final game will be? The playable demo bypasses this. You can’t have a demo of a finished product without the finished product. Slicing off thirty minutes of a game for players to try can go a long way to enticing them to buy. Early Access sometimes has the opposite effect.
Right now, demos are still something we get excited about. If the players make themselves heard, demos could become a routine experience. Given the benefits for players and producers alike, this would be a fantastic change for the better.
About the author
