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Bug-Filled Demos Are Game Anti-Marketing?
Thanks to GamersWithJobs for their piece discussing early, bug-filled releases of videogame demos (actual link here, broken website referrals currently in effect.) The author points out that if the downloader "...doesn't like the demo, the player will probably skip the game which will hurt the publisher in the end. That makes me really wonder why some of them appear to insist on early trial versions." He concurs that sometimes PC demos are 'leaked' from magazine cover-discs, but wonders "why such a poor representation of a product would be released anywhere in the first place", and concludes: "I tried to understand the reasons for the release of rather 'flawed' demos, but short term gains such as marketing deals or market timing are usually clearly outweighed by the overall consequences."
The bug-ridden demos only represent the bug-ridden final products that suddenly populate 90% of the industries releases.
People have come to accept that games are buggy, which scares me, because they whine and complain about it but continue giving away their money to the same publishers that poop on them time and again. So the only thing that will change in this scenario is the publics acceptance of poor craftsmanship.
This doesn't seem like a huge issue to me. I only play a demo to get a feel for the game, to see if the graphics and the gameplay appeal to me. Unless the demo is so riddled with bugs that it is unplayable (in which case I can't imaging why the demo would be released in the first place), I can forgive a few bugs for a chance to sample the game prior to release, just like a beta test. If the game goes GOLD and the bugs are still there with expected patches, that's where players get irked!
Ok, we all know games are not coming out perfect, a few bugs. But UBISoft has made some mistakes releasing demos with enough problems to warrent a new demo release. You dont throw the baby out with the bathwater. When 10 new games comes out, which one are you going to buy? Demos, trailers, movies, commericals, reviews are going to get people. If a game is good enough with 1 level to get people to buy it, its worth the money.
Ive been burned the last few years on hype. I wont even buy before doing research now. 15 minutes of research can save me 50 bux. Demos get more time.