Video Game Demos and Betas. Timed, Amount of Tries, or unlimited?

sohrob101 · Apr 7, 2015

So once in awhile we might get a nice Beta or Demo to test out for an upcoming game that comes out later in the current Year, and one thing that is noticeable is Demo's tend to obviously vary from each other. We first have the Timed Demos, that let you play as much of the game as you want, but only for a certain time limit of course. Then we have Amount of Tries demos(Only Nintendo really does this) Where you can only play a demo for a specific amount of times every time you open it. Then there are unlimited Demos, that just stay there forever. Regarding Betas, Betas tend to be similar to demos but are only offered in a certain timeframe, but tend to offer early access players fairly well as the players can help the development cycle of the game by noting any bugs or changes that need to be fixed or made.

What do you guys think of Demos, do you think Demos are dying out a bit? Would you like to see some more demos, maybe even better ones that show more than just the first level and maybe include an exclusive level to make you understand the game? Do you think Demos should include something similar to the final product?

LostSpirit · Apr 7, 2015

I think demos are pretty cool. They give you a feel of what the game is like so you don't come home with a game you don't like the style or gameplay of. I definitely think they should be similar to the game to give an accurate representation to the game. That's what makes a game fail or not is how much a user likes the game and wants to buy it.

Nator · Apr 7, 2015

Some demos don't give a good idea of what the game is about. For example, I thought the ORAS demo could've been done better. Do I think demos should die out? Nah. There are some demos that give the player a good idea of what the game will be like. I played a MH3U demo on 3DS, and when I got the actual game, it was what I expected. I say demos should stick around. Actually, more demos would be nice. There are too few as it currently stands.

Prosecutor · Apr 8, 2015

Demos are amazing and I'm really glad that we have them. If we didn't have demos, I wouldn't own Bravely Default of Fire Emblem and I wouldn't be looking to buy MH4U. Demos are amazing and I'm so glad that they are still a part of gaming today.