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I was just sitting thinking. I have an exam in just over an hour and as usual I can't think about the stuff that I should be concentrating. So instead thought I might as well just waffle my thoughts out and write a post on here.
So what are my thoughts on today? Free trials. Or if you like Demos.
Would these be a good idea? Will we see more of them?
I think that free demos will apear at some time. When on-line gaming takes of in a big way I think that developers will take advantage of the opertunity to allow gamers to downlaod a demo of up and coming games or latest relases to give them a small taste of what the game will be like. There are a number of advantages with demos. Firstly they let people know what to expect in the finished game. They also show of the game and advertise it in the best way possible. A kind of try before you buy type thing.
Just now PC game deoms can be downloaded, console magazines sometimes have playable demos but usually this is only the official magazines and cost around £5. I think that developers will catch on that this is a good way forward and allow suitable demos in the future when it is possible.
Going on from this I noticed in shops just before it's release a Smackdown JBI demo for £5. I was surprised by this as I have never seen this before, to be honest I don't like this idea, Demos are not complete and could still be filled with bugs and problems, that is why I feel that developers should not be allowed to release deoms like this and charge money for them. They should be free.
But then again there could be a downside to demos, especially for the developers. Firstly they have to make the effort to make such demos available. Secondly the demo (if it is of a poor standard) may put people off buying the game as it isn't as good as they thought. This is good for us as gamers though as we won't waste money on something that isn't worth it.
So what do you think? Are free demos good or bad?
Ok moving on from this. It seems as though with the release of the other next generation consoles that on-line gaming shouldn't be too far away. I was thinking just what benefits we will get out of it once we have purchased all the hardware and got connected.
Well I guess the first thing is obviously playing against others all over the world. It does have its plus points as you can show of your fancy skills to foreigners or play against mates that live far away. But when I play multiplayer games I like playing against people I know so that if they beat you then you can hit them with controllers. But then again if you have no friends then there is only really one option, get on-line and pretend to be the best person in the world, big and tough and a great friend.
With this we may also see on-line competitions taking place, maybe introducing professional gamers? Competitions could be a good thing as it allows everyday people to test their skills and have a chance of winning, and you don't have to travel long distances to take part.
Other than demo downlaods I think various other things will be made available by developers. Soundtracks to games? Updates and extras?
I think the updates and extras could be a good thing as it would allow gamers to get the best out of their games and with extras like new characters/levels/weapons they will also have a game that lasts longer than most. Now don't get confused, I don't mean having games that require a kind of patch just to run the way the developer intended. What I mean is something to make a good game even better or to fix any small flaws or bugs in the games.
I think on-line gaming has a lot of potential to be great, there are various ways in which developers could improve their games and also advertise them more. One problem I see is cost, we tend to get ripped-off a litte too much in the UK and with on-line gaming no doubt things will be the same. Unless a suitable fee is introduced then this idea could also be a huge failure, which would be a very sad thing for the industry as a whole.
So what are your views on this?
So what are my thoughts on today? Free trials. Or if you like Demos.
Would these be a good idea? Will we see more of them?
I think that free demos will apear at some time. When on-line gaming takes of in a big way I think that developers will take advantage of the opertunity to allow gamers to downlaod a demo of up and coming games or latest relases to give them a small taste of what the game will be like. There are a number of advantages with demos. Firstly they let people know what to expect in the finished game. They also show of the game and advertise it in the best way possible. A kind of try before you buy type thing.
Just now PC game deoms can be downloaded, console magazines sometimes have playable demos but usually this is only the official magazines and cost around £5. I think that developers will catch on that this is a good way forward and allow suitable demos in the future when it is possible.
Going on from this I noticed in shops just before it's release a Smackdown JBI demo for £5. I was surprised by this as I have never seen this before, to be honest I don't like this idea, Demos are not complete and could still be filled with bugs and problems, that is why I feel that developers should not be allowed to release deoms like this and charge money for them. They should be free.
But then again there could be a downside to demos, especially for the developers. Firstly they have to make the effort to make such demos available. Secondly the demo (if it is of a poor standard) may put people off buying the game as it isn't as good as they thought. This is good for us as gamers though as we won't waste money on something that isn't worth it.
So what do you think? Are free demos good or bad?
Ok moving on from this. It seems as though with the release of the other next generation consoles that on-line gaming shouldn't be too far away. I was thinking just what benefits we will get out of it once we have purchased all the hardware and got connected.
Well I guess the first thing is obviously playing against others all over the world. It does have its plus points as you can show of your fancy skills to foreigners or play against mates that live far away. But when I play multiplayer games I like playing against people I know so that if they beat you then you can hit them with controllers. But then again if you have no friends then there is only really one option, get on-line and pretend to be the best person in the world, big and tough and a great friend.
With this we may also see on-line competitions taking place, maybe introducing professional gamers? Competitions could be a good thing as it allows everyday people to test their skills and have a chance of winning, and you don't have to travel long distances to take part.
Other than demo downlaods I think various other things will be made available by developers. Soundtracks to games? Updates and extras?
I think the updates and extras could be a good thing as it would allow gamers to get the best out of their games and with extras like new characters/levels/weapons they will also have a game that lasts longer than most. Now don't get confused, I don't mean having games that require a kind of patch just to run the way the developer intended. What I mean is something to make a good game even better or to fix any small flaws or bugs in the games.
I think on-line gaming has a lot of potential to be great, there are various ways in which developers could improve their games and also advertise them more. One problem I see is cost, we tend to get ripped-off a litte too much in the UK and with on-line gaming no doubt things will be the same. Unless a suitable fee is introduced then this idea could also be a huge failure, which would be a very sad thing for the industry as a whole.
So what are your views on this?
err... what's with the signing off tag???
Sonic
Sonic
THe XBox Official Mag will be giving out free demos as well as hints and tips on their CDs, another thing i liked about their approach was the fatc that extra levels and chaacters made by other readers will be on the CDs too and could be saved on the HDD for use in games, I liked that...
‘I didn't lie, I just omitted certain truths....’©
‘I didn't lie, I just omitted certain truths....’©
Well, I like the idea of free console demos online. Thinking about it, in Japan, DC owners could download old Megadrive games (for 50p a time) onto their console.
So, why not use the Xbox's built in HDD and modem to store demos that you can download... now that would be cool:)
Sonic
So, why not use the Xbox's built in HDD and modem to store demos that you can download... now that would be cool:)
Sonic
I didn't know that you got the money back.
So you think that when on-line gaming takes off the idea of free demo downloads would be a good thing?
So you think that when on-line gaming takes off the idea of free demo downloads would be a good thing?
The thing with the Smackdown Demo wasnt so bad.
There was a HUGE demand for the game, and when people bought the full game they got thier £5 back if they gave the demo back.
There was a HUGE demand for the game, and when people bought the full game they got thier £5 back if they gave the demo back.
I'd like to see Demo disks on the Gamecube.
They're good so you actually know what you're getting from a game, although they might ruin a few surprises.
Selling demo's shouldn't be done but I can see it happening (I bet that most ZOE buyers saw it as a free mini game that came with the MGS2 demo they bought...).
As for the companies point of view.
If their game isn't suitable for demo play then they don't have to, but a good demo can be VERY convincing on whether to buy the game or not.
They're good so you actually know what you're getting from a game, although they might ruin a few surprises.
Selling demo's shouldn't be done but I can see it happening (I bet that most ZOE buyers saw it as a free mini game that came with the MGS2 demo they bought...).
As for the companies point of view.
If their game isn't suitable for demo play then they don't have to, but a good demo can be VERY convincing on whether to buy the game or not.
I was just sitting thinking. I have an exam in just over an hour and as usual I can't think about the stuff that I should be concentrating. So instead thought I might as well just waffle my thoughts out and write a post on here.
So what are my thoughts on today? Free trials. Or if you like Demos.
Would these be a good idea? Will we see more of them?
I think that free demos will apear at some time. When on-line gaming takes of in a big way I think that developers will take advantage of the opertunity to allow gamers to downlaod a demo of up and coming games or latest relases to give them a small taste of what the game will be like. There are a number of advantages with demos. Firstly they let people know what to expect in the finished game. They also show of the game and advertise it in the best way possible. A kind of try before you buy type thing.
Just now PC game deoms can be downloaded, console magazines sometimes have playable demos but usually this is only the official magazines and cost around £5. I think that developers will catch on that this is a good way forward and allow suitable demos in the future when it is possible.
Going on from this I noticed in shops just before it's release a Smackdown JBI demo for £5. I was surprised by this as I have never seen this before, to be honest I don't like this idea, Demos are not complete and could still be filled with bugs and problems, that is why I feel that developers should not be allowed to release deoms like this and charge money for them. They should be free.
But then again there could be a downside to demos, especially for the developers. Firstly they have to make the effort to make such demos available. Secondly the demo (if it is of a poor standard) may put people off buying the game as it isn't as good as they thought. This is good for us as gamers though as we won't waste money on something that isn't worth it.
So what do you think? Are free demos good or bad?
Ok moving on from this. It seems as though with the release of the other next generation consoles that on-line gaming shouldn't be too far away. I was thinking just what benefits we will get out of it once we have purchased all the hardware and got connected.
Well I guess the first thing is obviously playing against others all over the world. It does have its plus points as you can show of your fancy skills to foreigners or play against mates that live far away. But when I play multiplayer games I like playing against people I know so that if they beat you then you can hit them with controllers. But then again if you have no friends then there is only really one option, get on-line and pretend to be the best person in the world, big and tough and a great friend.
With this we may also see on-line competitions taking place, maybe introducing professional gamers? Competitions could be a good thing as it allows everyday people to test their skills and have a chance of winning, and you don't have to travel long distances to take part.
Other than demo downlaods I think various other things will be made available by developers. Soundtracks to games? Updates and extras?
I think the updates and extras could be a good thing as it would allow gamers to get the best out of their games and with extras like new characters/levels/weapons they will also have a game that lasts longer than most. Now don't get confused, I don't mean having games that require a kind of patch just to run the way the developer intended. What I mean is something to make a good game even better or to fix any small flaws or bugs in the games.
I think on-line gaming has a lot of potential to be great, there are various ways in which developers could improve their games and also advertise them more. One problem I see is cost, we tend to get ripped-off a litte too much in the UK and with on-line gaming no doubt things will be the same. Unless a suitable fee is introduced then this idea could also be a huge failure, which would be a very sad thing for the industry as a whole.
So what are your views on this?
So what are my thoughts on today? Free trials. Or if you like Demos.
Would these be a good idea? Will we see more of them?
I think that free demos will apear at some time. When on-line gaming takes of in a big way I think that developers will take advantage of the opertunity to allow gamers to downlaod a demo of up and coming games or latest relases to give them a small taste of what the game will be like. There are a number of advantages with demos. Firstly they let people know what to expect in the finished game. They also show of the game and advertise it in the best way possible. A kind of try before you buy type thing.
Just now PC game deoms can be downloaded, console magazines sometimes have playable demos but usually this is only the official magazines and cost around £5. I think that developers will catch on that this is a good way forward and allow suitable demos in the future when it is possible.
Going on from this I noticed in shops just before it's release a Smackdown JBI demo for £5. I was surprised by this as I have never seen this before, to be honest I don't like this idea, Demos are not complete and could still be filled with bugs and problems, that is why I feel that developers should not be allowed to release deoms like this and charge money for them. They should be free.
But then again there could be a downside to demos, especially for the developers. Firstly they have to make the effort to make such demos available. Secondly the demo (if it is of a poor standard) may put people off buying the game as it isn't as good as they thought. This is good for us as gamers though as we won't waste money on something that isn't worth it.
So what do you think? Are free demos good or bad?
Ok moving on from this. It seems as though with the release of the other next generation consoles that on-line gaming shouldn't be too far away. I was thinking just what benefits we will get out of it once we have purchased all the hardware and got connected.
Well I guess the first thing is obviously playing against others all over the world. It does have its plus points as you can show of your fancy skills to foreigners or play against mates that live far away. But when I play multiplayer games I like playing against people I know so that if they beat you then you can hit them with controllers. But then again if you have no friends then there is only really one option, get on-line and pretend to be the best person in the world, big and tough and a great friend.
With this we may also see on-line competitions taking place, maybe introducing professional gamers? Competitions could be a good thing as it allows everyday people to test their skills and have a chance of winning, and you don't have to travel long distances to take part.
Other than demo downlaods I think various other things will be made available by developers. Soundtracks to games? Updates and extras?
I think the updates and extras could be a good thing as it would allow gamers to get the best out of their games and with extras like new characters/levels/weapons they will also have a game that lasts longer than most. Now don't get confused, I don't mean having games that require a kind of patch just to run the way the developer intended. What I mean is something to make a good game even better or to fix any small flaws or bugs in the games.
I think on-line gaming has a lot of potential to be great, there are various ways in which developers could improve their games and also advertise them more. One problem I see is cost, we tend to get ripped-off a litte too much in the UK and with on-line gaming no doubt things will be the same. Unless a suitable fee is introduced then this idea could also be a huge failure, which would be a very sad thing for the industry as a whole.
So what are your views on this?