For-Pay Demos Coming to Xbox Live?

The Opposable Thumbs blog is talking about a disconcerting new idea being floated by the Official Xbox Magazine. Most people only buy the mag for the demos; they're considering just offering up the exclusive demos on Xbox Live, along with the included trailers and such. The catch? They're going to charge you $2.50 for the privilege. From the article: "We're used to paying for Xbox Live at this point--the feature set is worth the money--but it was sold to us as something of an all-inclusive deal. You're a part of the Xbox network, so you get the demos and the videos and that's part of what you're paying for. Now there is even more of an incentive to offer for-pay demos to people with this new distribution model. In some ways the magazine is already obsolete, and they could conceivably soon be in the business of selling demos." Would you pay money for a downloadable demo?

Comments

Hell No

[Thyamine]

That's my short answer. I'm already paying to be on the network, and if I want to buy the game I'm not going to get a $2.50 discount. Now I don't want to sound like a cheap wad (which maybe I am), but the demo of the game is for me as the consumer to determine if I want to buy a game. Putting an additional barrier between me and your demo certainly isn't going to endear me to buy your game. Not to mention I have purchased games after playing the demo, so I can easily see this stopping me from buying games that I may have bought after trying out the demo (for free).

Re:Hell No

[xenocide2]

sound like a cheap wad (which maybe I am), but the demo of the game is for me as the consumer to determine if I want to buy a game .

There's certainly a cheapwad in the room and I don't think it's you. A demo is advertising for a product. By charging your customers to sell them something else, they've earned the title cheapwad.

And at 2.50, plenty of people are making a profit off of the demo itself. This is essentially an attempt by publishers to cash in on AAA status titles before they've truly hit the shelves, and isn't the first time. The trouble with AAA games is that they take a damn long time to make, meaning they take a long time to go from spending money to making money. Metal Gear Solid 2 had a demo released around six months before the game actually shipped. In an attempt to shorten the time from spending to making money, they packaged the demo with an otherwise weak game, "Zone of Enders". Sold like gangbusters simply on the market demand for that demo. I shouldn't have to mention how upset people were at how different the demo was from the game released six months later. (gameplay-wise, it was fine, but the setting and characters radically changed, which upset many longstanding fans of the series).

I believe, if you want to sell demos, make shorter games and sell them instead. 50 dollars or 2.50, it's the principle that matters here -- everyone knows its not about finding new customers.

I may be mistaken...

[Locriology]

But I thought the point of a demo was to try BEFORE you buy?

Re:I may be mistaken...

[Applekid]

$2.50 protects me from a potentially larger loss by making me disinterested in the game altogether so I save the $60 AND the $2.50.

If I really (and I mean, REALLY) want to take a crack at the game, why not just rent the full thing (as opposed to an incomplete, cherry-picked demo) for a few bucks more?

No way.

[webrunner]

1. Demos are advertisements. Paying for advertisements is stupid.
2. The biggest exclusive demo they have isn't exclusive if you have a Japanese account set up (Eternal Sonata- if you D/L the Trusty Bell demo it comes out Eternal Sonata when you play it)
3. Exclusive demos existed as a way to get you to buy the magazine, before. Now you're just paying for the demo?

Re:I have an interesting, insightful response to t

[Chouonsoku]

I would love to, but I just ran out of Slashdot Points and I don't want to buy another 800 if I'm only going to use 150.

Rental "demo"

[EMeta]

Or, I could pay twice that (tops) and rent the whole game when it comes out, which I may get my fill of during some weekend. Micro-payments might work ($0.25-$0.50, say), but $2.50 is completely ridiculous.

Probably timed

[MooseMuffin]

They way I would envision this working is that the demos normally included with the magazine will cost $2.50 or whatever for the month associated with that issue's release. When the month is up they would make them free to everyone. Thats the only way I can see them doing this without pissing everyone off.

Re:Amusing

[Jimmy King]

Just because you vote with your dollars doesn't mean you should only vote with your dollars. Explaining exactly what you are unhappy with and why makes it more likely that it will be corrected in a way that you want rather than just made different but still crappy or all out taken away.

Re:Amusing

[91degrees]

People are still quite entitled to be offended at the suggestion that they should pay for a demo. Or for anything else for that matter. XBox magazine come across as being incredibly money-grabbing.

Better Question

[MBraynard]

As a developer, do you want to charge people for your demo or give it to them for free?

The answer is more than likely the latter. I don't expect this to change.

Silly slashdotters - the market usually solves questions in the consumers favor.

It is insane to do this

[cliffski]

Totally agreed, yet it constantly amazes me how much big AAA develoeprs do NOT want me to see their product.
They release the demos exclusive to paid-subscription websites which I am not a member of
Then they insist on me 'waiting in a queue' to download it
Then they plaster pop up adverts over multiple pages in order for me to get to my download link.
Then there is the slow 6k download connection for 'non subscribers', mixed in with streaming ads.
Then they try and persuade me to buy it before I've tried it, pester me to 'pre-order' it, and have nag screens I cannot quit.

As a game developer myself, this all seems insane, and naturally I do things the more sensible way. Every one of my games has a free demo, thats always updated to be the very latest code (i patch my server copies of the demo the day I patch the main game). Each one is on a server hosted by me, with an uncapped connection, and a direct .exe link (Download manager friendly), with no adverts, queuing or other bullshit to get between you and my demo.
My demo is my advert, I *WANT* everyone to get the demo as quickly and easily, and as hassle free as possible. I cannot understand the mentality of doing it any other way. Just another reason to stick with the PC and not get an XBox I guess :D

WTF?

[sxeraverx]

OK. Wait. WTF? This absolutely makes me cringe. First of all, it's ridiculous that Microsoft even has the guts to make people pay for XBox Live. You pay for the console, you pay for the game, online play is fucking part of the game! A monthly/yearly fee is just nuts! Next, it's demos that people have to pay for. And this is only for the simple reason that Microsoft saw that gamers would bend over and take it for the online play--demos only logically follow. Instead of charging $600 per console, they nickel-and-dime us to death. They drop the price to $400, and in just four years, ($60 per 12-month subscription), you've paid for more than a PS3 (and you still have crappier hardware). And they've probably lost more money than Sony has (for replacing your console, what? three times now? four?) Now, I'm not a Sony fanboi, but it seems to me like Sony's receiving way too much flak for their price, and Microsoft's not receiving nearly enough for theirs.

Pay For Everything

[SandwhichMaster]

Gamers are gradually getting nickle and dimed for everything. Games like WoW started with a monthly fee AND an upfront fee, AND you have to pay for the expansion. Then there's things like Shadowrun, which would basically be worthless without a Live subscription. Some games are shipping where you have to pay to unlock content that shouldn't be locked in the first place. And soon we'll be expected to pay for demos.

I personally refuse to purchase any of these games, but as long as there are those willing to (of which there are many), we can only expect things to get worse.