EA To Charge For Game Demos

Updated:07:43 PM CEST Sep,22

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Gameguru Mania News - Mar,23 2010 -

EA To Charge For Game Demos - briefly
(hx) 01:58 AM CET - Mar,23 2010 - Post a comment / read (10)
Gamasutra reports that Electronic Arts aims to monetize game demos. According to industry analyst Michael Patcher after an EA investor visit, the publisher will start selling 'premium downloadable content' prior to a game's release for $10-$15 that is essentially a longer-than-usual demo. Patcher said, 'I think that the plan is to release PDLC at $15 that has 3-4 hours of gameplay, so [it has] a very high perceived value, then [EA will] take the feedback from the community (press and players) to tweak the follow-on full game that will be released at a normal packaged price point.' He also made reference to a comment from EA's CEO John Riccitiello that 'the line between packaged product sales and digital revenues would soon begin to blur.'

So I get to pay $10 for a game that completely fails to show me the full range of capabilities of a character, a satisfying story arc, and which might not even be finished?? :-) Nice :\ Maybe it's just paranoia, but I feel like the days of businesses being innovative to find a way to provide more to their customers is over. Now all the innovation is aimed at getting customers to pay more for less :-(

last 10 comments:

Aragor	(02:39 AM CET - Mar,23 2010 )
After EA's wonderful handling of the C&C4 launch, I think they should be trying to figure how to keep people buying their games, not trying to give us more crap. Just my thought.

th4t1guy	(02:46 AM CET - Mar,23 2010 )
Day's of innovation are not over. Companies like EA make multi million dollar investments in their games. If they invested that kind of money into every innovative idea that landed on their laps, they'd go bankrupt quick. It really just takes a smaller studio or someone with a large expendable sum.

Koogle

(03:17 AM CET - Mar,23 2010 )

quote:
then [EA will] take the feedback from the community (press and players) to tweak the follow-on full game

This wouldn't be so much of a problem if in general the press and players weren't complete utter noobs like they are. Might actually have some decent games, instead we have overated games made for tards. And developers who don't really tweak the game as much as filter out all that they can get away with not bothering with lol.. tis a joke

I mean if simple shit that really could be tweaked easily by developer isn't even fixed by the next version of the fucking game, then where the fuck was this taking onboard feedback.. fucking joke.

Anyway i'm just the observer sure as hell ain't going to be paying to beta test shit for themtards. I get reluctant to even do free signups for what I know is going to be crap anyway these days.

nb411

(05:32 AM CET - Mar,23 2010 )

This is pretty sick. Pay to beta test. Then pay for intrusive DRM. Then pay for DLC that could and should have been a part of the game.

I can almost guarantee that NFS titles in future that have been 'beta tested' in his way will still be crap, and simply unplayably bad as before. I think it will just be used to generate screenshots and videos that people all agree look impressive and attractive so that the sheeple will line up around the corner to gobble their latest turd. I should buy some EA shares.

PoliticalMaestro

(10:40 AM CET - Mar,23 2010 )

Cool for $15 i have the privilege to play a 3-4 hour beta demo, then email EA about the glitches and bugs, what a real honour, sorry i forgot to bring any lube with me... have any butter ?

How about we make it fair EA if you wish to charge us for beta demos then we will bill you for user quality control feedback, say $15 per bug ? If EA thinks it can create an new revenue stream during this depression then we can too.

You have to admit EA has big cahoonies to try and pull this off, but then again the console amebas are a captive audience.

psolord

(01:12 PM CET - Mar,23 2010 )

EA doesn't know where to stop.

Unfortunately there are millions of kids out there (and grown ups unfortunately), that lack the required perception skill to filter out bad games from good ones. So they just pay and the developers are encouraged to continue producing sub standard games with the blessing of their damned publishers.

Companies like EA have stopped selling games. They just sell PR nowadays. With the exception of some good ones of course.

Anyway, I may have gotten old and strange.

Tom	(06:40 PM CET - Mar,23 2010 )
EA sucks. Been saying it for a long time. Pay for demo's. I don't know what fucking retard would do that. Until EA can purge the retards coming up with these idea's, nothing will change with them.

amra

(09:01 PM CET - Mar,23 2010 )

Pah, already starting to program my own games.
So these bitches can charge for whatever they want, I won't buy it ^^
As long as I can have for example 100 billion free flash games, why should I buy anything from them? DRM is sooner or later death... Big Brother isn't an option for anybody... and sooner or later people learn that the installation of such DRM is like giving away your keys, passwords and anything else on your operation system to thiefs. Permanent DRM-Rootkit Internet Connection needed, I call it PEDRIC from now on... so Big Brother has a name. :whdat:

Sabot

(10:25 PM CET - Mar,23 2010 )

Gee whiz! You can go back to the 90's when flight sims were rife and 'we' were asked then if we would pay for ongoing developement on a simulation -ie Falcon4.
It's NOT new.
However, it is when it's blatant exploitation of the punter -as is the case with EA. I'm afraid that wouldn't go down well in the EU, since anything paid for MUST actualy WORK and live up to expectations. A Demo would be an illegal term as it's a work-in-progress. That is why demos on magazines are actualy FREE and you pay for the mag itself -even if it feels like you ARE apying for the demo CD lol
EA would have to give everyone that paid for the FULL product, the same discount as what they paid for a non-working demo of it.
Serious implications and i doubt it will ever be realised.

Thudo	(06:51 AM CET - Mar,24 2010 )
EA has truly sunk to a brand new low of skimming the consumer for purchasing beta products. Wow.. The label "Evil Empire" just hard to break.