Blix
04-17-2010, 08:27 PM
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/04/17/crytek-boss-free-game-demos-prohibitively-expensive/
http://www.develop-online.net/news/34545/Crytek-foresees-the-end-of-free-game-demos
He said: “A free demo is a luxury we have in the game industry that we don’t have in other industries such as film. Because we’ve had this free luxury for so long, now there are plans to change this people are complaining about it. The reality is that we might not see any free game demos in the long term.”
This is a new thing to me. I wasn't aware of EA actually planning to sell demos but I read now about Crytek planning to do so and they point at EA saying they had plans to do so too. They point out things like piracy costing them lots of money/. But really, a demo is something they do to promote the game and get people excited about it. Players are more prone to buying a game after they have played a demo (if it was good, ofcouse) so I don't see charging for demos as a good idea. They're charging you for their promotion. And the prices they are thinking about is 10 to 15 bucks.
Now seriously, if piracy is a problem, won't the demos get pirated too? At least in PC you can get any game if you look hard enough. You have to work in breaking the security code and stuff some times but I've seen friends find the games they want. And if you buy the demo for $10 or $15, then what is the final cost of the game. I really think they shouldn't make demos if they can't afford it. But selling them is just irrational IMO.
Now, what truly interest me about this article is the fact that even the big companies are having a hard time making money in an industry that is recession-proof and I don't see an end to this trend. 2k games was about to be bought by EA some years ago and if companies keep going down, or struggling, where will the industry be be in a few years? I blame it on the over-blown focus on graphics and Piracy. I don't care about new graphics engines anymore and can barely stand the graphic whores (although I've noticed a decrease of these type of players. Or maybe I don't go to the right places anymore). And I know a lot of friends of mine who truly follow the industry and like the game companies of the games they pirate and the console makers but even that won't stop them from flashing their consoles to play illegal copies of games. It's like people don't even want to support the companies making these games anymore and have become kleptomaniacs that even download games they don't plan on playing. It's absurd!
Your thoughts?
http://www.develop-online.net/news/34545/Crytek-foresees-the-end-of-free-game-demos
He said: “A free demo is a luxury we have in the game industry that we don’t have in other industries such as film. Because we’ve had this free luxury for so long, now there are plans to change this people are complaining about it. The reality is that we might not see any free game demos in the long term.”
This is a new thing to me. I wasn't aware of EA actually planning to sell demos but I read now about Crytek planning to do so and they point at EA saying they had plans to do so too. They point out things like piracy costing them lots of money/. But really, a demo is something they do to promote the game and get people excited about it. Players are more prone to buying a game after they have played a demo (if it was good, ofcouse) so I don't see charging for demos as a good idea. They're charging you for their promotion. And the prices they are thinking about is 10 to 15 bucks.
Now seriously, if piracy is a problem, won't the demos get pirated too? At least in PC you can get any game if you look hard enough. You have to work in breaking the security code and stuff some times but I've seen friends find the games they want. And if you buy the demo for $10 or $15, then what is the final cost of the game. I really think they shouldn't make demos if they can't afford it. But selling them is just irrational IMO.
Now, what truly interest me about this article is the fact that even the big companies are having a hard time making money in an industry that is recession-proof and I don't see an end to this trend. 2k games was about to be bought by EA some years ago and if companies keep going down, or struggling, where will the industry be be in a few years? I blame it on the over-blown focus on graphics and Piracy. I don't care about new graphics engines anymore and can barely stand the graphic whores (although I've noticed a decrease of these type of players. Or maybe I don't go to the right places anymore). And I know a lot of friends of mine who truly follow the industry and like the game companies of the games they pirate and the console makers but even that won't stop them from flashing their consoles to play illegal copies of games. It's like people don't even want to support the companies making these games anymore and have become kleptomaniacs that even download games they don't plan on playing. It's absurd!
Your thoughts?