Anybody remember those? Anybody remember, back in the early days of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and even during the Xbox and PlayStation 2 on game discs, when every game had a demo?
Ok, maybe not every game on PS2 and Xbox, but back during last generation, for a good long while every game that launched, retail or digital before digital really took off, had a demo. Those days were great, demos really helped influence my buying decisions. I'll bet if there were a Watch Dogs demo, it would have had a very different perception at launch. That game was marketing done right.
But imagine if every game had a demo again. Game sales would shift dramatically, likely for the better. I remember playing the Just Cause 2 demo multiple times until I could beg my parents enough to buy it for me (high school kid with no job, no money).
Alas, everybody seems to have become complacent with the way "betas" work now. Back when demos were prevalent, beta access was exclusive to those who could get a code or preorder something. Now "open betas" go live a week or two before the game launches. What're you changing that close to launch? Nothing! There's no time for players to get a feel for the game before reporting to the forums to tell of bugs and there's not enough time for devs to fix anything that comes up in that short timespan.
Along with all that, betas are timed. If you don't get in when you can, you won't be able to play until you buy the game, or at least borrow it from someone who has. What if you buy and don't like it? Retailers often don't give full refunds anymore, and it's even harder digital. But if you had a small taste to base your decision from, it would go a long way.
Worst yet, PS3 experimented with "timed trials" wherein gamers had to download the entire game, a lengthy proposition on the old hardware, and we're given roughly 1-2 hours to play the game. After that, they were locked our of the rest until they payed for the game. This might work to some degree but it's not like a demo, which could be replayed ad nauseum. Demos can be replayed as often as the player wants but timed trials have a limit. Once you hit that time limit, that's it. Even if you had the bandwidth to delete and redownload it, Sony's servers knew you'd already run out of time. Your only option is to buy the game. Or make a new account, but who's gonna go through that mess?
I don't know how many gamers remember when betas were called demo and every game had a demo, but I miss those days. Let's bring back the demos! If you're with me, let me know in the comments!