Capcom Looking to "Sell" 3DS Demos in Japan

[The Wooster]

Capcom Looking to "Sell" 3DS Demos in Japan

Capcom has revealed plans to charge cash for a demo of 3DS adventure game, Nazo Waku Yakata.

You don't pay for demos. That's kind of the point isn't it? You try the game then, if it tickles your fancy, you spend your hard earned Rupees on the final product. Well that's not how it works any more, at least according to Capcom. The demo for the upcoming Nazo Waku Yakata will let Japanese players check out the game's first chapter and will cost the equivalent of about $2.80. The demo will also be available on the PC, obviously without the fancy 3D visual effects.

Though many accused Capcom of pulling a similar stunt last year with Dead Rising 2:Case Zero, it should be made clear that Case Zero didn't actually contain any content from Dead Rising 2, this is the first time Capcom has monetized an actual demo. Dead Rising: Case Zero did very well indeed, selling nearly 600,000 copies at 400 Microsoft points a pop. It's hard to imagine its considerable success didn't factor into the decision to charge for Nazo Waku Yakata's demo.

While this announcement will no doubt be controversial, considering the rate at which Capcom is burning through goodwill in the last month this is really just a tiny cherry on top of an [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/111440-Capcom-Wont-Make-Resident-Evil-Save-Data-Mistake-Twice] entire banana sundae's worth [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/111745-Capcom-Kills-Mega-Man-Legends-3] of unpopular decisions. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/111812-Ultimate-Marvel-Vs-Capcom-3-Is-Disc-Only]

Source: Destructoid [http://www.destructoid.com/capcom-to-sell-a-3ds-demo-in-japan-207828.phtml]


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[cgentero]

Hasn't Capcom gone bankrupt yet?

 

[BrunDeign]

Angry Joe is gonna be PISSED. And rightly so, because this is stupid. Lets hope there's just some misunderstanding.

 

[duchaked]

I thought the title here meant people would have to pay to play a demo of the 3DS game at convention show floors or something lol

oh that reminds me, I've been wanting to try out Case Zero... *goes to download demo*

 

[Lt. Vinciti]

Capcom...its time for you to go away...


Canceling Megaman Legends 3

ReReleasing the Same Shit Different Price

Selling Demos

Its time for you to pack up whatever you have left in your dignity and sell off what you have

 

[mjc0961]

Though many accused Capcom of pulling a similar stunt last year with Dead Rising 2:Case Zero, it should be made clear that Case Zero didn't actually contain any content from Dead Rising 2, this is the first time Capcom has monetized an actual demo. Dead Rising: Case Zero did very well indeed, selling nearly 600,000 copies at 400 Microsoft points a pop.

Case Zero also had a free demo like all XBLA titles, so you could try Case Zero for free before buying either the full Case Zero or Dead Rising 2.

Of course, selling an actual demo, that's completely shit. Fans of this game had better hope that they don't decide to only release the full game only if the demo sells well, because next they will cancel the entire game without even releasing the demo and blame the fans for not showing their support. We can't show our support if you don't let us you idiots!

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Maybe buying the demo and playing it through to the end will unlock additional in-game content for the full version? That's how it worked for Case Zero after all and, Fable 2 Pub Games (not capcom I know but still)

 

[inFAMOUSCowZ]

Wow Capcom that better be more then not a demo. If its not I'll just simply be pissed.

 

[The-Epicly-Named-Man]

This can't be serious. It must be a joke. I mean, Jesus, it's like they're trying to make us hate them. Imagine if they did this in another medium, like if Paramount made us pay to see a trailer or something, there'd be an absolute uproar.

 

[DustyDrB]

Well...

I'd love to see a diagram of "Goodwill towards Capcom" over the last year. Seriously, just because it costs money doesn't mean it will make you money. Piss off your fans enough, and you'll see diminishing returns. It's in your best interest to not always screw over the consumer.

 

[Something Amyss]

Angry Joe is gonna be PISSED. And rightly so, because this is stupid.

Well, even a broken clock is right twice a day.

I'm going to be honest here: I expected this. I just didn't expect Capcom to pioneer it. DRCZ was a nice game with beefy content for the price. Technically demonstrating DR2, it's still its own game in its own right.

I expected this more from EA or Activision.

Still, I expected the industry to decide they weren't getting their fair share of money from demos and try and cash in, like they have every other element.

What worries me is that people will send the message that this is okay, and it will become standard. Like we have altready done on pretty much every other front.

 

[Sabrestar]

Capcom: Why didn't you just say to our faces "We hate you"?

I've only been giving Capcom money recently for Mega Man 9 and 10. And at this rate, there's probably no way they'd be respectful enough to actually make 11.

 

[Odlus]

The only way this could be even remotely acceptable in my view is if the cost went towards the full game if you decide to buy it.

 

[Mr. GameBrain]

Are you going to cancel this one too Capcom?

 

[Noswad]

Wow just wow, even from a business perspective this one doesn't make sense. You make demo's as a way to show people how awesome your games are to persuade them to buy the full version. So the more people who know your game is awesome the more sales, so the demo has to reach an wider audience as possible. I wonder what percentage of people will not download the demo, because it costs money and they're plenty of free ones out there and therefore will never find out how awesome your games are and will never buy the whole version.

You know what Capcom until you start to value and listen to your customers i'm not buying any off your games........ wait what was my last Capcom purchase............... Resident evil 4 wii edition... second hand. Well this is just like the pope boycotting Durex, never mind.

 

[Nalgas D. Lemur]

I'd love to see a diagram of "Goodwill towards Capcom" over the last year.

At what point does the line go negative?

I'm not sure whether I feel more or less screwed over by them by mostly playing on my PC these days. I see all the massive heaps of stupid stuff they're doing on consoles lately, and at least it doesn't directly affect me, and they're actually making relatively decent PC ports for a change. On the other hand, they're doing things like shafting us by using GFWL in SSF4 so you're locked out of most of the game if you're offline and then charging $5-6 each for DLC costume packs, as if anyone even wanted to buy it in the first place if they're going to pull that kind of crap. Maybe they should've just stuck to ruining their games on the traditional console platforms...

 

[Atmos Duality]

Looks like their plan to use Demos for market testing has failed.
I wonder if it's because THE PRODUCER USUALLY PAYS FOR THAT KIND OF TESTING DURING DEVELOPMENT.

"Here, try our game and let us know if you think you will buy the final version later."
"Oh, and that will be 10 bucks please."