Is it just me, or have Bethesda Softworks forgotten the meaning of the word "demo" (in the context of a video game)? Pete Hines of Bethesda has announced that there will be no demo of Fallout 3. To quote bit-tech.net:
Admittedly, I'm not familiar with the game, but I can't really think of any way in which a game could be structured which would prevent a demo from being feasible. So it's "open" and "free-roaming" in nature? Surely the demo could be confined to a specific area - with a limited number of objectives available? Sure, it won't give the full experience of the game - but it would give a feel for what the game will be like, such as the interface and playing style.
Surely Bethesda are shooting themselves in the foot with this one. Give your potential customers nothing to try out for free, and they'll give you no money - I think it's fair to say that many people who would have otherwise played the demo and then gone on to perhaps purchase the game will, instead, turn to piracy to find out what the game's like. Unfortunately for Bethesda, once you've pirated it to find out what it's like, especially if it's not an absolutely mind-blowing game, many such people will then, having already pirated it, lack the motivation to shell out hard-earned money for something they've already got - especially if it's not an absolutely mind-blowing game.
Hines explained that because Fallout 3 has been built as one thing, "there's no way to portion off a section and have it stand on its own without putting the whole game in the demo, which we're just not going to do."Forgive me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the very definition of a demo? Is it not short for "demonstration" - meaning that it provides, in the case of a video game, a limited experience?
He then went onto say that because of the open, free-roaming nature of the game, a demo would prohibitively limit the experience.
Admittedly, I'm not familiar with the game, but I can't really think of any way in which a game could be structured which would prevent a demo from being feasible. So it's "open" and "free-roaming" in nature? Surely the demo could be confined to a specific area - with a limited number of objectives available? Sure, it won't give the full experience of the game - but it would give a feel for what the game will be like, such as the interface and playing style.
Surely Bethesda are shooting themselves in the foot with this one. Give your potential customers nothing to try out for free, and they'll give you no money - I think it's fair to say that many people who would have otherwise played the demo and then gone on to perhaps purchase the game will, instead, turn to piracy to find out what the game's like. Unfortunately for Bethesda, once you've pirated it to find out what it's like, especially if it's not an absolutely mind-blowing game, many such people will then, having already pirated it, lack the motivation to shell out hard-earned money for something they've already got - especially if it's not an absolutely mind-blowing game.
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