News EA to create paid-for demos

This worked for me with the TV series carnivale. The box set was like £50 at the time, or I could get the first episode for £4. I bought the single DVD "demo" I loved it and bought the box set.
As someone who never has as much time to plY as the cost of my pc and it's games deserve, smaller cheaper games sounds good to me

 

I used to like EA back in the days of NFS 2 & 3... but that was ages ago... now most companies only look at one thing - money.

The continuing trend of BAD PC games in the last 3 or so years had made me use the following attitude, i consider torrenting as "demos" , you try it... play a bit, and if you like it you buy it...

I never did like the demo games they made, i don't think i ever installed one?
But then again, opinion of this are in contrast when you ask someone in US or someone where i live.

 

Only EA could have thought of this.

 

Just to clarify, Pachter spoke to Kombo today and said that EA isn't charging for "demos". He says that the games will be the size and scope of Battlefield 1943 and that they will essentially be standalone products that preview what a game will be like but shouldn't be regarded as demos because they are much more significant and hold up on their own.

Check out the article here, then maybe you'll think a bit differently.

http://www.kombo.com/article.php?artid=14320

 

I think people are missing the point. This business strategy works perfectly well in one other market that most people have bought into

Music

buy a single for 5-10 bucks or the whole album for 10-20

I think it's like that. Imagine a really hot in demand game, like halo 3, MW2 etc. If you could buy a rather complete multiplayer (say like maybe half as many maps or what not) a month before the game came out for $15, how many would jump all over that? Also work in epic story telling games if you release a short "pre-lude" or back story campaign before the game came out to get people worked up about the story.

I'm not saying I would buy into this model but it could give die hard fans something to play, and let people try games without a $60 commitment especially if the full price game was discounted against that purchase.

 

Ah, but you have usually heard the single on the radio first, right?

 

This has already been done; GT5 "Prologue" on the PS3..

In a way it's a brillant idea, those die hard gamers out there who must be the first to play the game will lap it up. Sure they will moan and complain publicly but as soon as it's available they will buy it. (Don't belive me look at MW2, the number of people saying they would not buy it, joining the steam group "I will not buy it" and then go and buy it anways). To entice them further the game could have a levelling system where you can carry your level on with the full release, or a few extra skins / items for the full release.

So now the development of a game will be.. Fully develop the game.. Rip out 80% of the content for the "pre-version", replace 60% of the content for the "release version" then put the final 20% out as a DLC pack months later . Brillant money making scheme...

 

If this increases choice (e.g. free short demo, long paid-for demo, full game) then this is a good thing. If the paid-for demo gives us money off the full game (like the Creature Creator in Spore) then I don't see this as a problem, either.

Mind you, I don't play demos very often.

 

Thanks for that link. This may work, it may not. We shall have to wait and see. I'll reserve judgment...for now.

 

If they use it as a sort of DLC I can see the point, give the people who by this som extra content

 

All of Pachter's waffle still boils down to one thing: it's a demo. A long demo, but a demo nevertheless. This is in the same league as making prople pre-order a game before they can beta-test it.

They are charging for stuff which used to be free, and no amounr of pretty wording is going to change that. There is a reason why demoes and betas used to be free: they helped the developer, both in terms of marketing and in terms of QA. Now, some wisecrack in a boardroom has figured they should charge us for helping them. Greedy pigs.

 

EA = F*ckwits

 

No way in the nine levels of Hell.
I am not about to spend money to decide... if I want to spend more money.
I won't even buy a game anymore that doesn't have a demo because I've ended up with crap I didn't care for...
Paid demos? No sales here.

 

Hahahahaha please let me pay for your advertisements.

And that guy above using the music industry as an example of a good business model; would that be the same industry that uses legislation and strong-arm law suits to FORCE their customers to purchase their products? I really hope you were being ironic...

The games industry complains about piracy ruining the scene, yet they do increasingly dickish moves like this and wonder why people are pissed off enough to steal their product. Just like everything else the only ones to suffer are the honest paying customers, this won't affect pirates in the least.