Keeping Yourself Entertained as EA Launches Game Demos for PC Gamers

[BMWDriver]

For me, price makes all the difference. Otherwise, comments, popularity and reviews play a big part as well. So, sales on Steam are very appealing, and I usually wait for a game to be $20 or much less. I don't care about the wait. Besides, my income is not that high that I can pay more. I know I can afford patience. Never mind piracy, I just don't condone that. But, at times a demo has made a difference too.

[BMWDriver]

Originally Posted by tri5cui7

It's funny because as you see a decline in demos available for the pc you see a dramatic increase with XBox360 and the other consoles over the past few years.

Yeah, there's a heavy trend towards consoles I read. Game companies seem to like them better because the titles sell in higher numbers and the piracy is much lower in numbers and percentage, because piracy is not as feasible or as easily accessible as with the PC. How that goes in the future remains to be seen. However, the Steam platform might send things in another direction. I know I've bought more games with Steam because of the very low price sales they get. $2,50-$5,00 for hit games makes me so happy! $7,50 for Batman Arkhane Asylum GOTY is a fabulous deal!

It's all a question of financial numbers for them. It was interesting to see EA executives test the waters making public comments with the possibility of foregoing the demo for CRYSIS 2 to save development costs. Apparently, a demo is not a simple matter of cutting down the game in size.

[Pukka]

Demos are definitely a good way to gauge a game before buying. If you do what BioWare is doing with the DA2 demo, as well (unlockables in the full game after completing the demo) it also gives the company more promotional power.

Yeah, I'd have to agree with most of the people posting here. Demos help me better decide whether or not a game is worth 50 or 60 bucks. Without a demo, I'd just wait until the game dropped to $20 or $30. What's strange about some of the demos being released in March is that some won't be available until the full game is released.

[draemn]

Demos may cause me to buy some games that I wouldn't buy otherwise, but mostly the just confirm that it's not a game I want (not that I would have bought it anyways).

Most demos I have bought are not short crappy demos, but actually let you progress pretty far into the game and you get hooked because of how far into the game the demo lets you go.

[TofuwRice]

Demo's are the way to go! I like to try out before I buy.