Nintendo question effectivness of demos

[Renzo]

Nintendo 3DS project lead Hideki Konno has questioned the effectiveness of demos. (http://train2game.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/nintendo-question-effectiveness-of-demos-how-relevant-do-you-think-they-are-train2game/)

How effective do you believe demos are? Do they help you decide if you want a game? Do you even download them?

And are Nintendo missing out by not publishing them?

[Jayhmmz]

Demo and Beta tests are crucial to a games success, right off the bat, more often than not.. unless the developer is absolutely 100% confident that all aspects of their game is as good as it can be and holds no bugs within the content.

I'm going to rip on Black Ops again, like I always do, and MW2. But notice how Call of Duty has started going down the drain since they stopped distributing demo releases? I think it's a big contributing factor as to why Call of Duty is now released with so many bugs and glitches, because they have not yet properly tested the single-player with gamers from all over the globe for their feedback, nor have they tested their multi-player on a world-wide network (for stability and content feedback.)

I realise Call of Duty have never released a Multi-player demo before, but they did used to release a campaign demo. Multi-player worked so well back in the day, as it was kept simple, without the developer putting a load of pointless tosh in the mix to corrupt it.

This example goes for all games though!

[Ilyich Valken]

I realise Call of Duty have never released a Multi-player demo before,

Not quite true. World at War had a public beta, and that helped quite a bit noticeably before the game even release. I've no idea why Treyarch didn't do it for Black Ops.

[Renzo]

Demo and Beta tests are crucial to a games success, right off the bat, more often than not.. unless the developer is absolutely 100% confident that all aspects of their game is as good as it can be and holds no bugs within the content.

I'm going to rip on Black Ops again, like I always do, and MW2. But notice how Call of Duty has started going down the drain since they stopped distributing demo releases? I think it's a big contributing factor as to why Call of Duty is now released with so many bugs and glitches, because they have not yet properly tested the single-player with gamers from all over the globe for their feedback, nor have they tested their multi-player on a world-wide network (for stability and content feedback.)

I realise Call of Duty have never released a Multi-player demo before, but they did used to release a campaign demo. Multi-player worked so well back in the day, as it was kept simple, without the developer putting a load of pointless tosh in the mix to corrupt it.

This example goes for all games though!

Activision do release single player demos, but not until months after the full game has been released. It's a really odd move.

[Jayhmmz]

Activision do release single player demos, but not until months after the full game has been released. It's a really odd move.

I didn't say they did not release single player demos? I thought I made it clear that they did release them..

[ROFLBRYCE]

They work for me, anyways. If I see a game that looks interesting, I'll give the demo a shot. If I like it, I'll rent it. I don't wanna spend ~$50+ and decide the demo was better. From there I see if I'ts got replayability, if I wanna buy it to beat it, or if it's just worth another rent.

Only exception to that is the Halo series, and Rockband. CoD though, I think I'm actually gonna start renting them before I buy from now on. 2 dissapointing games in a row.

[EpsilonX]

Well, I would have had no interest in Mirror's Edge or Warhawk had I not played the demo...however I didn't buy either of them lmao. I'll get them eventually though. But some games I lose interest in after the demo.

[Renzo]

I didn't say they did not release single player demos? I thought I made it clear that they did release them..

Calm down I'm lacking in coffee today so may have missed that :)

For the record, the last demo I played...and the only one I've actually done so recently... is that of Dragon Age 2. That was partially because completing it meant items for the full game. (http://train2game.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/dragon-age-2-demo-confirmed/)The full game which I'm still not sure if I want to buy or not.

[Jayhmmz]

Calm down I'm lacking in coffee today so may have missed that :)

I wasn't angry :)
Just confused.

[Renzo]

I wasn't angry :)
Just confused.

I am glad. :)

Now lets get this topic back on track somehow.

....the 3DS vs iPhone gaming. (http://train2game.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/nintendo-3ds-not-competing-with-smartphones/)How is that going to work? :shocked:

[Jayhmmz]

I am glad. :)

Now lets get this topic back on track somehow.

....the 3DS vs iPhone gaming. (http://train2game.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/nintendo-3ds-not-competing-with-smartphones/)How is that going to work? :shocked:

Straight away, out of pure judgement, 3DS gaming ftw.

[Renzo]

Straight away, out of pure judgement, 3DS gaming ftw.

Well this generation the 3DS will be successful, as it already has been in Japan. But how powerful will phones be the next time Nintendo release a new handheld?

I've not owned a handheld console since an original gameboy, and looking at how things are going, I'm not sure that I ever will again.

[Jayhmmz]

Well this generation the 3DS will be successful, as it already has been in Japan. But how powerful will phones be the next time Nintendo release a new handheld?

I've not owned a handheld console since an original gameboy, and looking at how things are going, I'm not sure that I ever will again.

I don't really want phones to be better than an actual gaming system :/ I don't want them to be a gaming system at all.. it's a frigging phone, I want to call people, text people and have the added luxury to use social network apps, surf the internet and use internet facilities.. that's about it!

[EpsilonX]

>topic about demos
>getting "back on topic" by talking about something other than demos

um....what?

[Jayhmmz]

>topic about demos
>getting "back on topic" by talking about something other than demos

um....what?

LOL good point, I never actually noticed.. I just joined in xD

[paecmaker]

Lol.

About demos, If I like a demo I will probably buy the game but in some games the demo can both spoil to much and maybe be in such a bad part that the game seem bad.

About the last Ive heard that dead space got a demo in a very bad part so many didnt buy a game they would enjoy cause they didnt like the demo

[EpsilonX]

Lol.

About demos, If I like a demo I will probably buy the game but in some games the demo can both spoil to much and maybe be in such a bad part that the game seem bad.

About the last Ive heard that dead space got a demo in a very bad part so many didnt buy a game they would enjoy cause they didnt like the demo

The Dead Space 2 demo was really boring lol. Dead Space 1 demo was fine though

[Jayhmmz]

The Dead Space 2 demo was really boring lol. Dead Space 1 demo was fine though

Agreed. I played that demo for all of five minutes, and wasn't anywhere near to completing it. I just turned it off, and played another demo I had downloaded :P

[Saph]

Honestly I have always considered demos as kinda stupid, they dont decide for me wether I buy it or not whatsoever! They take maybe the first part of the game and you play like the first level or for like 5-10 min and then it doesnt go any further. I only see that as annoying as hell, and actually makes me want the game less, cause NO game is better at the beginning.

So I think demos are just a failed experiment that was tried YEARS ago that never died out.

I think it actually never died out because people with low budgets, who werent sure if they want the game badly enough to buy it, they just go and get the demo version, and play that whenever they feel like it. I'm afraid thats the sole reason for demos even still existing.

I used to be a demo whore! When I was in my mid teens I played nothing but demos cause I wanted to spend my allowance on candy, pizza, soda etc. I thought "Why spend like 3 weeks of allowance for ONE game, when I can get some more candy every day???

I played demos for almost every game.

GTA 1 and 2
Tomb Raider games, LOTS of them
Fifa games
Bomberman games
Pacman games
racing games
action games
shooters such as doom, duke nukem
half life

All kinds of games I played demo only.

But if demos are effective game advertisement? Hell no, its probably the worst cause most people probably just stick with the demo and never even bother to buy the actual game =S