First post on Era!!! Whooo!!!
It's a sad state of affairs that it seems the console game demo has pretty match drifted off into the gaming graveyard. Back in the early PS2 days demo discs (usually from official PlayStation magazine) and previews were all the rage!! I spent so many of my gaming hours lost replaying demos, watching new trailers, and discovering new games that were not even on my radar.
I fondly remember being hypnotized with Ico the first time I played it; the lifelike animations, the trippy atmosphere, the sense of scale and discovery....and a ceeepy castle and a story ghosted in mystery was simply wonderful, it was such a unique discovery as I'd never heard of this game before...and it was on a demo disc from PlayStation Underground. It was such a fantastic sampling of that game, and post completion of that demo Ico shot straight to a day one purchase.
I remember feeling the same way when the God of War demo dropped through an exclusive mailing, fighting that hydra and getting exposure to the amazing world, meeting Kratos and destroying skeletons with those destructive chain blades, mastering the game's super fun combos, and bathing in it's bloody combat was just awesome.
So what happened? Where did all the demos go? It's seems like a rare unicorn sighting to get a demo for a game on console these days. I feel it's due to developers not finding the value; the time spent on a demo prior to release is just too costly and disruptive to production.
It's a damn shame because games need more exposure to stand out in these overcrowded marketplaces. What better way to promote your "interactive" product than to produce a small sampling of it? I hope demos on consoles somehow make a comeback or take on a new form (Some form of try before you buy? Basic limited timers on full releases?)
I don't know what the future holds for gaming demos on consoles but either way I'll always remember the good ol' days of rushing back from the mailbox to drop an evening on a freshly pressed demo disc.
It's a sad state of affairs that it seems the console game demo has pretty match drifted off into the gaming graveyard. Back in the early PS2 days demo discs (usually from official PlayStation magazine) and previews were all the rage!! I spent so many of my gaming hours lost replaying demos, watching new trailers, and discovering new games that were not even on my radar.
I fondly remember being hypnotized with Ico the first time I played it; the lifelike animations, the trippy atmosphere, the sense of scale and discovery....and a ceeepy castle and a story ghosted in mystery was simply wonderful, it was such a unique discovery as I'd never heard of this game before...and it was on a demo disc from PlayStation Underground. It was such a fantastic sampling of that game, and post completion of that demo Ico shot straight to a day one purchase.
I remember feeling the same way when the God of War demo dropped through an exclusive mailing, fighting that hydra and getting exposure to the amazing world, meeting Kratos and destroying skeletons with those destructive chain blades, mastering the game's super fun combos, and bathing in it's bloody combat was just awesome.
So what happened? Where did all the demos go? It's seems like a rare unicorn sighting to get a demo for a game on console these days. I feel it's due to developers not finding the value; the time spent on a demo prior to release is just too costly and disruptive to production.
It's a damn shame because games need more exposure to stand out in these overcrowded marketplaces. What better way to promote your "interactive" product than to produce a small sampling of it? I hope demos on consoles somehow make a comeback or take on a new form (Some form of try before you buy? Basic limited timers on full releases?)
I don't know what the future holds for gaming demos on consoles but either way I'll always remember the good ol' days of rushing back from the mailbox to drop an evening on a freshly pressed demo disc.
