A while ago we talked about how game demos were seen as not being anywhere near as effective as trailers, and it seems a few developers are taking that to heart. Both Epic Games and Bethesda have come out to say that no demos are forthcoming for their respective titles, Gears of War 2 and Fallout 3.
Talking about Fallout 3, Bethesda's Pete Hines said it was impossible to provide a demo of such a huge game world:
"When you build it as one thing, there's no way to portion off a section and have it stand on its own without putting the whole game in the demo, which we're just not going to do ... And it doesn't really capture the fun of a game like an Elder Scrolls or a Fallout, where you can go where you want and do what you want. So no demo, sorry."
Fair enough. Both Fallout 3 and Gears of War 2 would be first day buys in my book anyway, and I trust Bethesda and Epic enough to not feel like a demo is truly necessary. Still, I hope too many other, less trustworthy developers don't follow their lead. Demos have saved me from a number of purchases in the past, and I'd hate to lose that safety net altogether.
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
11:40 AM on 04.21.2008
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I thought about that, but seriously, could you imagine downloading something that big? Maybe on a disc, but who plays demos on discs anymore?
The problem is creating a demo for a game causes two problems. The first is time consumption. Companies that spend time working on a demo for their title, usually chew up alot of time in doing so, giving them less time to work on their full-release title which can lead to a game that didn't quite hit the bar.
The second problem is what I personally experienced with Bioshock. With a demo, you have to be careful not to shoot yourself in the foot as a developer. You need to make the demo enjoyable, not too long, not too short and also carry over the feel of a full game. Bioshocks demo left a sour taste in my mouth and I thought it was terrible but I played the full-release and it was fantastic.
Demo's = fail
Trailers = win
but pff it's bethesda I don't need any kind of info before buying :)
... only the sys specs.... I hope I'll be able to play it on it's fullest.... hoping....
Also, not being in the industry I have no idea on this but what's the difference between a preview for the reviewers and a demo for the public? Couldn't a cleaned up version of the stuff shown to the reviewers way back when be used as a demo, they already have the basic structure there.
Focusing on Fallout here, because that's what I'm looking forward to.
If you could see my face, you'd see a shocked face that resembles a duh face.
Give videos then, or maybe screenshots, blogs with descriptions. Anything, anything, i need it man, i need it.
OH THE PAIN.
why risk turning someone off who would have bought the game anyway??
Boobs.
Topic: I think they should make a little room like a Vault doctor's waiting room with a clearly visible sign that says "WAIT". Meanwhile on nearby monitors the trailers play. Not a bad idea eh?
Trailers mean nothing to me. If I don't get a stab at a demo, I usually don't buy the game. Elder Scroll games not with standing of course, nor will I hold it against Fallout 3. But a FPS/3rd person shooter should have one. Just going to cause more ppl to illegaly obtain it to try it out to see if they like it. Then what's the point in buying it as they already have a copy they can play? <shoots self in the foot> Ah, much better.