What effect do game demos usually have on you?

Zenn3k

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Feb 2, 2009
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For me, demo's usually make me never want to play the game again.

I don't really know why, but demo's always seem (to me at least) to show all the game really has to offer, and often it isn't very much. I realize a demo is suppose to be a taste, but often I feel the taste is SO small and SO well..."tasteless" that it gives an overall bland experience. It would be like getting a "demo" of a Steak Dinner. The food would be half-cooked, with no spices or flavoring and no sauce. Chances are, you are gonna decide you don't want that steak.

Percentage wise, I'd say I purchase about 1% of the games I play demos for, and I purchase more games that I DON'T play demos for than I do play demos for. its getting to the point where if I'm really looking forward to a game, I avoid the demo, because it usually turns me off the whole product.


How do demo's affect your buying habits? Do you like demos? Do you purchase games you download demos for often? Do the demos make you like the game more or less than you expected you would?


Edit: Grr, this was suppose to be a poll, but somehow got screwed up.
 

Cherry Cola

Your daddy, your Rock'n'Rolla
Jun 26, 2009
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Yes I do. I bought batman and didn't regret it. I bought Red Faction Guerilla (one of the funniest demo's ever) and didn't regret it. I didn't buy that new star wars game because the demo sucked, I'm going to buy God of War 3 because the demo is fucking awesome.
 

Howlingwolf214

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Dec 28, 2008
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Only played one demo that has made me want to buy the game. And that's the Legendary demo. Still haven't bought it yet though.
 

Wakefield

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Aug 3, 2009
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Demos have gotten me to buy games I wouldn't normally and I haven't regretted a single one.
 

Redingold

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Mar 28, 2009
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I like demos. I was bored the other day, so I downloaded Batman: AA, Call of Juarez and Brutal Legend demos. Killed a few hours, and they were quite fun.
 

GamingAwesome1

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May 22, 2009
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I don't play demos that often, for the very reason that they tend to throw me off the game it's supposed to be selling. L4D2 is the only exception!
 

fix-the-spade

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Feb 25, 2008
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Depends.

In the cases of Syphon Filter, Metal Gear Solid, Colony Wars, Spyro the Dragon, Halo, Jak & Daxter 2, Half Life 2, Metal Gear solid 3, Battlefield 2 and Left 4 Dead it's sold me the game.

A good demo just needs to show me what the game will be like to play, they all did that perfectly and got me hooked. But for every demo that's sold me a game there's fifty that have un-sold me a game. Which is probably why developers don't like them anymore...

I think free demos are great, they've saved me from buying a huge number of crappy games that got perfect or near perfect 'review' scores.
 

Marowit

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Nov 7, 2006
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You should get yourself the L4D2 demo...I spent 4 hours last night playing with my little brother.

I generally don't like demos for a lot of the reasons you've listed, but this was exactly what I wanted/expected. Plus it's made me even more excited for the release next week.
 

dark_taint92

That's Cap'n Taint to you
Jan 26, 2009
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i always enjoy demos, i feel there put there for me when i get bored ill have a nosey on xbl to see if any new ones have popped up if there is ill download it and play it for a while if its good and interests me i might buy the game if it doesnt i dont buy the game its as simple as that really. last demo i played was the l4d2 demo and i really enjoyed it playing with a friend so im deffiantly buying the finished game when it comes out
EDIT: woo 333 posts half way there
 

Bobbovski

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May 19, 2008
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Demos work fairly well on me I must say... Right now I really want to buy the game "Tropico 3" because of the demo which I found really addictive and fun.
 

JIst00

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Nov 11, 2009
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I never bother with demo's, if I want to see if a game's any good I'll buy it, if it's good i'll keep it, if it sucks I'll go trade it in for something else.

Simple reason is, usually i get into the game then, bang, demo ends, and I'm not the patient type and have a short attention span so...
 

SimuLord

Whom Gods Annoy
Aug 20, 2008
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All a demo shows me is the developers' best few minutes of the game. That teaches me absolutely nothing, and a creatively crafted demo can hide a LOT of the game's flaws.

I let the game come out, read the reviews, listen to people who I know have my same taste in games, then decide whether or not to buy.
 

Zenn3k

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Feb 2, 2009
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So many praising the L4D2 demo. Why exactly? Its exactly the same game as L4D1 with some new special infected. The daylight environments really took me out of the experience. Its not spooky or scary like a zombie "movie" should be, I couldn't get into it at all.

I personally found the demo boring and it has made it unlikely for me to purchase it in the future. Maybe when it goes to discount.
 

EvilMaggot

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Sep 18, 2008
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A demo of a upcoming game i cant wait for is mostly the Thing that makes me want to buy it or not ;)
 

Sanaj

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Mar 20, 2009
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I enjoyed playing the demos of 1942: Joint Strike, Batman Arkham Asylum, PixelJunk Monsters and Super Stardust HD on PSN.
Also, I played and enjoyed the demos of Torchlight and Trine on steam.
Later, I bought those games and I don't regret it.

Recent demos I've played that I didn't enjoy: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Killzone 2, Infamous and Mirror's Edge on the PSN.
So, I usually find demos to be useful, unless they only provide a multi-player section.

(I don't go buy a game, solely based off a demo though...that would make the purchase almost an impulse buy.)

If the demo is too short to be helpful then sometimes I'll go and rent the game,
or just pay more attention to the reviews from Destructoid, Giantbomb, and the Escapist.
 

Otterpoet

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Jun 6, 2008
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I agree. There are so many crappy demos now. It's the main reason I still haven't picked up Heavenly Sword (what a piece of garbage THAT was... a quick-time event and a combat and a half. WTF?!). As we progress into the 21st century, developers appear increasingly protective of their games and generally choose snippets that have no context, no real overview of the game mechanics, and very little of the game itself to capture the player's interest. I remember the days of Doom, Duke Nuke'm, and Deus Ex... when the demos were meaty, fun, and made you want to play more... in other words, make you want to BUY the product.

Unfortunately, most games these days are so blasted short to begin with, there's nothing to show. Consider this... the /demo/ of Descent is probably twice as long as the /entire/ 1st person campaign of Modern Warfare 2. I think we - the players - are getting the seriously short end of the stick in more ways than one :(