Let's face it. For all intents and purposes, video game demos are a promotional tool for company's to build hype and woo consumers to purchase their title. Demos have (on most occasions) heavily influenced my decision to buy a game...and likewise have decidedly steered me away from them. As an "equal opportunity" gamer, I try to make sure that I check out each and every demo I can get my hands on, regardless of my initial interest or not. I try to be honest, fair and forgiving when forming my opinion on a demo. Some demos are excellent, some are O.K. and others are downright awful. When I finish playing a demo, I usually head to various forums to read other people's impressions of the game and see how my opinion aligns with them and discuss.
These past few months have had me scratching my head, wondering how in the world some demos could have possibly made their way to the general public before launch. You guys know what I'm talking about, downright AWFUL demos. Demos that unequivocally get these responses from people across the board....."waste of my time"...."worst demo ever"...."downloaded and deleted"..."not even a renter" etc. Demos that you know do more damage than good.
Every time I play one of these demos I end up with so many questions that my head swims. Am I missing something? Is it just simply bad decision making? Am I under the false impression that company's have control over when or even if a demo is released. Are they sometimes contractually obligated to release a demo? Do demos have less impact on the actual sales of a game than I believe they do? Can't they get some honest opinion's from a focus group (about the demo) before they decide if/when they release it? Who made the decision to leave this awful taste in my mouth, right before the game goes on sale? Wouldn't it have been better to release this demo after the launch or even never?
I know that most the time demos are put together from old builds and that demos are usually an afterthought in the development cycle, but first impressions are still first impressions and quite honestly the most important impressions. Any insight, stories or thoughts would be appreciated.
These past few months have had me scratching my head, wondering how in the world some demos could have possibly made their way to the general public before launch. You guys know what I'm talking about, downright AWFUL demos. Demos that unequivocally get these responses from people across the board....."waste of my time"...."worst demo ever"...."downloaded and deleted"..."not even a renter" etc. Demos that you know do more damage than good.
Every time I play one of these demos I end up with so many questions that my head swims. Am I missing something? Is it just simply bad decision making? Am I under the false impression that company's have control over when or even if a demo is released. Are they sometimes contractually obligated to release a demo? Do demos have less impact on the actual sales of a game than I believe they do? Can't they get some honest opinion's from a focus group (about the demo) before they decide if/when they release it? Who made the decision to leave this awful taste in my mouth, right before the game goes on sale? Wouldn't it have been better to release this demo after the launch or even never?
I know that most the time demos are put together from old builds and that demos are usually an afterthought in the development cycle, but first impressions are still first impressions and quite honestly the most important impressions. Any insight, stories or thoughts would be appreciated.
