Will EA charge for game demos?

It's EA.... Why am I not suprised by this?

Yeah, im definatly not suprised. EA is big on this kinda thing.

i am a person who loves to play demos. thats how i can see if a game coming out will be any good. but if i had to pay for a demo, then i wouldn't get it. i think it is dumb because who would pay to play just a little of the game, where nothing would get carried over to the actual game. i know i wouldn't.

So what's the point of the demo then?? I might as well just wait and shell out money for the full game.

Good job EA, this is the kind of thinking that creates more and more torrents, available to people for free online.

I purchased EA's new Battlefield 2 Bad Company game recently. There are 4 maps that come with the game. EA is releasing new maps for the game in April. So I paid $60 to receive a partial game with the rest coming later. Seems to me that EA is already playing this new game.

So just let them. Who cares? Sheesh, talk about a non-story.

If people want to play the demos and EA wants money for them, they'll pay. Or not. It's a silly discussion. Honestly, if people are willing to pay for demos, they'll create the market.. as preposterous as that sounds.

And then all of a sudden, nobody plays Demos anymore. lol.

The Warcraft 2 demo cost five bucks back in the day. It seems to have done well. The demo prompted me to buy the full game. There is going to be a trade off though. More people will wait for reviews and less people will "discover" a game they like via a free demo

%^$# EA. Charging for a game that they want tested out, they are full of BS>

Hey dummies who responded after 10:34am, THEY ARE NOT GOING TO CHARGE FOR DEMO's so get over it and go complain about something else!

This will chase off all but a very small amount of people who will then not be able to experience enough of the game to find and report any bugs they do find which is one of the main reasons for making a demo. Then since less people know if the game is actually any good or not then less people will buy it. Not a smart choice on EA's part and as others said more people will just download it for free illegally yes but only a small percentage of people ever get caught or punished for illegal downloads... so there is absolutely no point in charging for a partial game. On the topic of paying for new maps and extras though they do this partly because they do not know exactly how everyone will like the game when it comes out so they add more that you can pay for based on feedback and once they feel they have maximized the current game's potential they start with the next game.

Paying for a demo completely defeats the purpose of it being a demo. This world keeps getting greedier and greedier by the day.

Sorry Jon, but demos aren't beta tests. People don't play demos to find bugs and report them to the publishers or developers, they play to make a choice to buy a game or not.

Typically a demo is a vertical slice of a game that has been polished up before a game's release so the players have an idea of what the gameplay experience will be like.

Charging for a demo won't work. For too many years gamers have gotten free demos. To change that system now would upset too many people in too many ways.

The answer to this is simple. If you don't like the method, then don't buy into it.

Like everyone always says "Vote with your money." You want it, buy it. If not, don't. If they don't get the cash, then they go back to the drawing board for new ideas.

You have to laugh when hearing things like this. Companies can do NO more then what you allow them to do. This is America, where the goal is "make money."

Playing a game demo is not a right. I would pay a $1 for a demo. But let's keep things in perspective. There are demos and there are DEMOs. A multiplayer demo that requires running hosting servers can dig into publishers expenses when they haven't even sold one copy of the game yet. A single player demo is another story all together.

But hey, if no one likes the idea, don't cough up the money. Your life will not change one bit.

I stopped buying EA games a looong time ago.

Then that "demo" is no longer a demo...
I think people won't buy the game either...

Well, if this is true then screw it. I'll wait until some other sucker plays it in my neigborhood then I'll see if I like it. I remember when doom, wolfeinstein were shareware then fully unlockable with the key. Doesnt sound this is the same thing since I know lots of keys were around back then to unlock them and play without paying and i'm sure they learned that lesson.

On top of that, arent they moving away from burning them in their original disk and we get to digitally buy and burn, so that at least reduces their expenses on the disk, shipping, box art and materials, etc.

Demos are a marketing tool to help sell the game. Having gamers pay for the demo regardless if it's $5 isn't to going to help with the final sale. If 100,000 people download free demos expect that number to drop down to less than 10,000 who are willing to pay for it. If EA charges than this only promotes gamer reviewing sites like IGN.com, or 1UP.com further, because now more than ever gamers will rely on how these games rank. No one wants a game that is below a 6 rating, however a free demo might persuade the gamer the other way. So if EA charges its failing up. They lose more sales because are taking away more avenues for the gamer to experience it.

Think about it for a second anything you want to try before you buy you have to pay a small fee. You wanna see that movie trailer online. Nope you gotta pay $2 bucks. You wanna test drive that Scion Xb nope you gotta pay $100. You wanna try out that iPod touch at the Apple store nope buy $10 bucks to get into the store. Its lame to think to charge for a DEMO. Our life evolves around trying things out and figuring out if they fit into our lives.

And so EA will continue to milk their games, and destroy the industry....

this is very simple to me. when there's a game i'm interested, i go on the playstation network, and download the demo. if i like the game, i'll go and buy the game. if i don't like it, oh well, no big loss, i didn't have to pay anything to try it out in the first place.

if ea starts charging for demos, i just won't be downloading their demos, and therefore, won't be buying their games. they're shooting themselves in the foot in my eyes.

this is a terribly bad idea on EA's part...

HAHAHAHA

Business is stupid as usual. Nobody is going to pay for a demo. We download demos to see if we like the game. EA is trying to get money from people that don't like their games....

Another thing I'm not happy about is the Jack in prices for Download Content such as the Call of Duty "Stimulus Package".

The only thing you'll see is a rise in piracy or a drop in sales.

Another thing too....

This game featured here is a prime example. It was developed many years ago and very popular on the PC. Then they recently released it on the XBOX LIVE as a couple hour demo that you could purchase. Thats expectable, but I didn't buy it on Xbox because I already own it for PC and the graphics are not up to par with industry standards. But still, they made some money on the re-release because I know plenty of gamers who bought it.

Alot of these companies should either fire their CEO or Marketing consultant because they are why off base from their customers these days.....especially Microsoft.

Wow.. isn't much of a shocker since it's EA we're talking about. But come on, charging for a demo... that's a waste of cash. Even if they charge 5 bucks for the demo, and oh say 35 for the full game, they are making a extra 5 bucks if you try the demo then download the game. All demos should be free.

So many people are demoing games by pirating full versions nowadays that I do not see this being a big change from the current norm...in fact I'm shocked it's taken this long. Besides, if Sony can manage to charge a couple of bucks for dynamic themes on Playstation (And even manage to SELL some no less), Demo's are worth a couple bucks too.

I actually think this is funny. Can you imagine ... pirating game demos? I can't wait to see what they come out with next.

read to the end, they arent planning on charging for demos for games that are usually free

I think it is a good idea because you have gamers like me that play demos to get a taste of the game. If they don’t like it they won’t get it. Think about it that way they sill get a little profit on the game they try and make. It takes a good deal of money to even make games.

The main reason I say this is I’m trying to write a book and it takes money to get things like that done.

who cares EA makes lame games. its all about the classics, i just bought the orginal nintendo and 100 gmaes for $50. charge me for downloadable conent now EA. what does EA really stand for..."eatting ass" because that is what most of their games do is eat my ass.

There is a reason why EA's Command and Conquer 4 is not seen as a big seller. It's the DRM embedded in the game. Here is the real deal: If you make an incredible game that everyone wants to play sales will be out of the park. You don't have to make any kind of lame cert or verification process that continues to verify that you bough the game. I bought starcraft 3 times because my disks went bad or got lost. It's probably true that 90+ percent of everyone listed above me or below me in comments that are gamers also bought starcraft. I don't know of too many people who ever said oh I have to steal this game because its not good enough to buy. For years people have bought it and continue to play it because its a great game. LAN GAMING IS VALUABLE TOO... I won't be shackled to the internet to play games.
A perfect example of hype and demo leading to destruction is Aliens Vs Predator released recently. It didn't do well because the demo showed the consumer that they weren't really getting anything new. I think its clear that the move to charge for a demo is to offset the obvious ruin this will cause when they produce less than stellar games. EA cares about money. That is all.

Well I am a pc gamer, so I do not pay for full games ever.

This will not effect me.

EA, one of the kings of pushing crap out the door way before it's completed. I love the internet, but one of the bad things it brought is this publisher mentality of release it now, patch it later. Pretty much why I don't bother with jumping on stuff on release day anymore. I remember when I used to get excited about release parties and whatnot. Yeah, those days are long gone. And it's just fantastic that it's bleeding over even into console releases as well. Albeit to a far lesser degree, but it's still rearing it's head.

It's a warning that 2012 is coming out

demos ain't supposed to be charged. what if the demo is fake and you gfotta pay. EA noways. this ain't good at all

I'm kind of surprised at all this, and confused. How is the proposed premium content different from the current premium content of add-ons and such? How?

http://emmithinks.blogspot.com/

I see all this coming...as it stands right now you dload the demo and play it THEN find out that the regular game needs a revision update which file size is in the one gig or more area! Then you find out that you dont get all the unlocks or other goodies unless you play it for X amount of days or months. Look I paid full price for it so I should not have to play to get additional features. Reminds me of a game in which if you could not land the jet onto the carrier THEN you cant play at all. Jetfighter?
SORRY..doesn't work that way. AS one person said..vote with your pocketbook. Its simply stupid the way this thing is going. Lets keep the DEMO a DEMO – something that represents the full version of the game.

I don't want to pay extra for a demo,but rather wait for the full version instead. Before i buy a game i usually go to youtube and watch the pc in-game gamplay vids. It usually helps me to decide to buy a game or not. What if i dont buy the demo and buy the game instead because it looks cool and i want to save money, but the game is crap, then i will be disappointed in EA and wont buy a game for a while from them. But there is a bigger picture in this. The Demo money is a fail-safe for when they make a sucky game. So please watch previews on the net first before buying demo's, otherwise you'll just increase the crap-demo selling market. I know they don't mean it, but they will probably get more money in via idiots buying just for the fun and disappointing themselves later. Remember, you want a game you enjoy, not something that will that will make you angry at EA. if you buy the demo, there's a good chance that you'll buy the game as well. You spend enough already, why not just go the whole way and get the original crap. I love EA games, but i will never buy a demo. I don't pay to do a test drive with a car.

Just another reson not to buy EA games lol

They aren't charging for a demo. They're charging you to be a beta tester. If the beta goes well, they'll release a game around it. That's what I'm thinking EA is considering doing.

Either way, they plan to charge you for something that was once free. Don't think I'm surprised about it. I mean, they charge you the same for a digital download as they would for a hard copy.

Are you kidding?

"Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Sales Top 2.3 Million
DICE's sequel has moved enough copies to make it EA's best-selling March release on record."

2.3 million x purchase price ($59.95) = 138 million dollars!!

AND THOUSANDS of gamers like myself, who paid $59.95, cannot connect to their multiplayer servers. This has gone on since it's release, almost 2 weeks ago. 2 WEEKS!!

most of these customers are loyal gamers who have purchased every version of the "Battlefield franchise" and we have been left in the cold.

totally unacceptable. If EA repaired my truck, I would be walking right now and be out sixty bucks!!

BOYCOTT EA GAMES AND DEMAND BETTER PRODUCT!!!

Yup, I wont be playing any EA demos anymore. Are they seriously that stupid? I am not paying 1 red cent for 5-10 mins of gameplay.

I do like the manner in which you have rfemad this specific challenge and it does indeed supply me some fodder for thought. On the other hand, because of everything that I have observed, I simply just wish as other reviews pack on that folks remain on point and don't embark on a soap box involving some other news du jour. Yet, thank you for this outstanding point and whilst I do not necessarily agree with this in totality, I respect the point of view.

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