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[RUMOR] Microsoft To Announce Xbox Game Demos & More On June 9th

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
“Will someone think of the monetization industry!”

How about we all want devs to put that pretty little OS level timer on their games.

That would be PRO CONSUMER.

As long as it's free and not tied to pay walls, that's all the better.

Even this rumor, the wording implies the demos will be available to game pass subscribers, makes zero sense as in most cases the indie games MS helps financially compensate end up on game pass anyway.

Who will want demos of games with a sub where you can have the full version of the same game.

The article clearly doesn't have all the info and it'll be interesting to see what the official releases say.
 
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DeepEnigma

Gold Member
As long as it's free and not tied to pay walls, that's all the better.

Even this rumor, the wording implies the demos will be available to game pass subscribers, makes zero sense as in most cases the indie games MS helps financially compensate end up on game pass anyway.

Who will want demos of games with a sub where you can have the full version of the same game.

The article clearly doesn't have all the info and it'll be interesting to see what the official releases say.
Just like the last thread. Not all of the info (or if real at all), 25 pages tho.
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
I played the Bioshock demo over and over on the 360.
Yes some demo's can be amazing.

Speaking of bioshock, the remaster was looking amazing last night, first time trying it on an oled and if there was ever a game that wanted great black levels it's bioshock.
 
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Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
Animated GIF
 

Zeroing

Banned
One is a mandatory requirement for games in a certain price threshold.

The other is an opt in program for developers, and those who opt in will be given financial compensation and is mainly targeted towards indy developers.

Even the extremely little we know about this makes it clear how different this is from Sony's approach to the topic.

I know we love dogpiling and all, but just a little bit of reading goes a long way.
One is a billionaire company, the other one depends heavily on their gaming business. Since we are in the Pro consumers and Pro Developers hyperbole narrative, yeah why don't we demand the good Microsoft to give away games for free... how evil of Sony for wanting to sustain a business.

See, if you try hard enough, everything can fit into some logical reasoning to defend your favorite brand.
All this is stupid, MS, Sony etc get our money and we are here defending those corporations for free.

PS. I used bold for better reading comprehension
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
One is a billionaire company, the other one depends heavily on their gaming business. Since we are in the Pro consumers and Pro Developers hyperbole narrative, yeah why don't we demand the good Microsoft to give away games for free... how evil of Sony for wanting to sustain a business.

See, if you try hard enough, everything can fit into some logical reasoning to defend your favorite brand.
All this is stupid, MS, Sony etc get our money and we are here defending those corporations for free.

PS. I used bold for better reading comprehension
The funny thing about console brand warriors for any plastic box is that I bet there's not one other thing they got in their house they devote so much brand loyalty, as if they are a head office employee working for them.

I bet none of them put this much effort into defending the car they own even though that may cost 50-100x more than their console.

You'd think they'd be on every car forum on Earth and telling everyone at work why their car brand is the best to justify the $20k or $40k car they own, but I bet they say absolutely nothing.
 
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Zeroing

Banned
The funny thing about console brand warriors for any plastic box is that I bet there's not one other thing they got in their house they devote so much brand loyalty, as if they are a head office employee working for them.

I bet none of them put this much effort into defending the car they own even though that may cost 50-100x more than their console.

You'd think they'd be on every car forum on Earth and telling everyone at work why their car brand is the best to justify the $20k or $40k car they own, but I bet they say absolutely nothing.
Yeah people do got a wee crazy when it is mostly related to tech stuff...
I am critical of everything I own, maybe I am the weird one... I do not get emotionally attached to objects or brands.
 

pasterpl

Member
As I said in sony thread, demos are great idea, putting these behind the paywall and making it requirement for devs is bad move. let’s see how ms structured this. Sony idea is okay but have more flaws than positives. I wouldn’t compare Sony approach to ms until we know all of the details. It might end up that ms approach will be equally bad as Sony’s is.
 

Three

Member
The funny thing about console brand warriors for any plastic box is that I bet there's not one other thing they got in their house they devote so much brand loyalty, as if they are a head office employee working for them.

I bet none of them put this much effort into defending the car they own even though that may cost 50-100x more than their console.

You'd think they'd be on every car forum on Earth and telling everyone at work why their car brand is the best to justify the $20k or $40k car they own, but I bet they say absolutely nothing.
You've not been to car forums.
 

pasterpl

Member
Also I also find this more interesting:

In addition to this announcement, Microsoft will also be announcing an extension to their Samsung partnership, which will allow people to stream Xbox games on their Samsung Smart TV’s without a console via Cloud Gaming.
 

Wohc

Banned
Yeah people do got a wee crazy when it is mostly related to tech stuff...
I am critical of everything I own, maybe I am the weird one... I do not get emotionally attached to objects or brands.
That's not weird at all, brand loyailty is stupid. I make a new decision for each and every product i buy. Maybe i buy 3 Samsung tvs in a row, maybe i buy 3 differernt brands. But i only buy what gets me the best bang for my buck.
 
I'm all for demo's on new games and people being able to play the 1st couple of hours of a game, given how expensive brand new games are these days
 

Leyasu

Banned
Sony are going to be paying devs/publishers for demos. Microsoft probably thought that as they are already working on the demos, might as well pay them to produce a demo for their console at the same time
 

Shmunter

Member
As I said in sony thread, demos are great idea, putting these behind the paywall and making it requirement for devs is bad move. let’s see how ms structured this. Sony idea is okay but have more flaws than positives. I wouldn’t compare Sony approach to ms until we know all of the details. It might end up that ms approach will be equally bad as Sony’s is.
Making it a requirement is where the magic lies for me. Platform holders used to set the rules back in the golden era of 360. Uniformity, seamlessness, harmony and dependability was a key ingredient in a high quality user experience.

Shit’s fallen of the rails and it’s become like the Wild West these days in comparison.

I completely endorse platform holders setting baseline standards we as users can rely on.

Game trials for everything would be a massively positive step. And I note, timed trials of the full game - not bespoke demos requiring seperate dev effort.

Heck may even improve quality as devs will need to ensure a bug free game on launch knowing they will be exposed.
 
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StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
As I said in sony thread, demos are great idea, putting these behind the paywall and making it requirement for devs is bad move. let’s see how ms structured this. Sony idea is okay but have more flaws than positives. I wouldn’t compare Sony approach to ms until we know all of the details. It might end up that ms approach will be equally bad as Sony’s is.
Making it a requirement is where the manic lies for me. Platform holders used to set the rules back in the golden era of 360. Uniformity, seamlessness, harmony and dependability was a key ingredient in a high quality user experience.

Shit’s fallen of the rails and it’s become like the Wild West these days in comparison.

I completely endorse platform holders setting baseline standards we as users can rely on.

Game trials for everything would be a massively positive step. And I note, timed trials of the full game - not bespoke demos requiring seperate dev effort.

Heck may even improve quality as devs will need to ensure a bug free game on launch knowing they will be exposed.
Demos/trials were great during the n360/PS3 gen. I think every game had one. If not, probably 99% of them did.

Problem is they mostly disappeared starting with the One/PS4 gen and gamers didnt care. And if gamers didnt make a stink about it (I never saw threads demanding them), then MS, Sony and game studios wont bother adding them back.

The only games now that seem to consistently get demos/betas are shooters or F2P where they want MP and server test feedback.

Not sure why the mandate was dropped for 2013 systems. Maybe devs complained to them it was too much work. Maybe one side balked, the other found out and balked too for sake of good graces relationships with studios.
 

ZywyPL

Banned
I just don't understand why the games can't have trials nlike CP2077 recently got, it doesn't cost a single penny to implement while allowing the gane to be reached by a much wider audience and potentially boost the sales.
 

Shmunter

Member
Demos/trials were great during the n360/PS3 gen. I think every game had one. If not, probably 99% of them did.

Problem is they mostly disappeared starting with the One/PS4 gen and gamers didnt care. And if gamers didnt make a stink about it (I never saw threads demanding them), then MS, Sony and game studios wont bother adding them back.

The only games now that seem to consistently get demos/betas are shooters or F2P where they want MP and server test feedback.

Not sure why the mandate was dropped for 2013 systems. Maybe devs complained to them it was too much work. Maybe one side balked, the other found out and balked too for sake of good graces relationships with studios.

Once the One came out, seemingly focus on games and gamers disappeared at MS and they let devs just do whatever. And it never came back. We have a glimpse of something similar here, we should be cheering it on.

Screw the devs that don’t like it, if they have something to hide it’s their problem. - Git gud dev. Great games will sell, especially if someone has already invested a few hours into it - easy conversion.
 

MidGenRefresh

*Refreshes biennially
I just don't understand why the games can't have trials nlike CP2077 recently got, it doesn't cost a single penny to implement while allowing the gane to be reached by a much wider audience and potentially boost the sales.

Or even better, a 2 hours playtime return policy like on Steam. This should be the standard.
 
They completely HAVE to do this. Demo's are bad. They suck the life out of game sales. If your trying to sell a game do not make a demo.
Actually playing a game has dire consequences for you buying or skipping.
Watching someone play is better than actually playing it yourself.
I watched lots of videos on Youtube of people playing Elden Ring and thought, hey that looks great I can do that I'm going to buy the game.
I bought the game.
Had I played a demo of Elden Ring I would know pretty darn quick that I can NOT play the game and I would not have bought it.
Now I'm doing my best not to waste my money and Git Good.

Morgan Freeman Reaction GIF by MOODMAN


There's a reason why publishers pay literal millions of dollars to streamers but generally avoid demos like a plague.
 
If a Dev already has to make one for PS5 why not have to do it for Series consoles as well? honestly it's only fair that we get demos, these are $60-$70 with no return option if we don't like it so I'm glad this is coming.
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
This thread just proves competition is good, ps plus premium or gamepass, gamers now get demos on newer aaa titles that we did not have before. To me that's a win for everyone.
Same with ps plus upper tiers, while not exactly what I had hoped for, it still better than before. All thanks to competition.

I welcome Ms or Sony to release a handheld and force Nintendo to get off thie lazy butts and join the fray any time soon again instead of leaning back riding being the only real portable on the market. (Sorry steam deck is great but not enough being built to matter) Weak, outdated hardware, poor e-store, poor controllers, lack of third party aaa support, and still sells like hotcakes. (Ya ya, Nintendo aaa, walk on water, bla bla bla......that's not why it sold 100 million units)
 

Pallas

Member
Doesn’t make sense to offer “game pass demos to game pass members…” something is missing, I do remember that they have offered trialed versions of games before.

Personally got nothing wrong with it, I know Sony had trialed versions of certain games on their ps4 before. I wasn’t sure though if it was them or the publisher but I know for a fact “Trials of Mana” had a demo or timed sensitive free version on the ps4, because I tried it.
 

DavidGzz

Member
I don't remember much of free demos. I remember buying OXM magazine for the disc of demos they came with. It's awesome that Sony and MS are doing this.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
One is a billionaire company, the other one depends heavily on their gaming business. Since we are in the Pro consumers and Pro Developers hyperbole narrative, yeah why don't we demand the good Microsoft to give away games for free... how evil of Sony for wanting to sustain a business.

See, if you try hard enough, everything can fit into some logical reasoning to defend your favorite brand.
All this is stupid, MS, Sony etc get our money and we are here defending those corporations for free.

PS. I used bold for better reading comprehension

None of what you've posted has anything to do with how wrong your post I quoted about changing narratives is.

The service the two companies are offering, based on what we know, is incredibly different in terms of how they're doling out the demos.

Their financial standing and stance is not a point of discussion at all.
 

Zeroing

Banned
None of what you've posted has anything to do with how wrong your post I quoted about changing narratives is.

The service the two companies are offering, based on what we know, is incredibly different in terms of how they're doling out the demos.

Their financial standing and stance is not a point of discussion at all.
E09U57f.gif

It is like I am watching that Johnny/Amber courtcase all over again....
 

yurinka

Member
If a Dev already has to make one for PS5 why not have to do it for Series consoles as well? honestly it's only fair that we get demos, these are $60-$70 with no return option if we don't like it so I'm glad this is coming.
Since PS3 in PS the full game time limited trials feature are implemented on a OS level. Devs can activate it specifying the amount of hours and the normal full game they uploaded gets this trial. They don't need to implement a separated demo.

This goes both for the time limited trials of PS Plus (PS+ featured them back in 2010 when it was first launched, as I remember back then they did offer PS3, PSP and PSOne games there) and the normal ones that are available for all players.
 
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DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Since PS3 in PS the full game time limited trials feature are implemented on a OS level. Devs can activate it specifying the amount of hours and the normal full game they uploaded gets this trial. They don't need to implement a separated demo.

This goes both for the time limited trials of PS Plus (PS+ featured them back in 2010 when it was first launched, as I remember back then they did offer PS3, PSP and PSOne games there) and the normal ones that are available for all players.
Yep. On OS level for both PS and Xbox. EA Play uses that feature for their service.
 

Lognor

Banned
Sony are going to be paying devs/publishers for demos. Microsoft probably thought that as they are already working on the demos, might as well pay them to produce a demo for their console at the same time
That's what I was thinking too. It's an easy ask since Sony set the groundwork. And ms doesn't need to do demos on their first party games since they're included in game pass...
Unless they include demos on their first party games for non game pass subscribers just to sweeten the deal.
 

Topher

Gold Member
I sill think there isn't a new feature coming ( nothing specific to gamepass ) and this is a misinterpretation of MS stating they plan to make demos available for games shown in their presentations over the next few days.

I think you are right. They have done this in the past.
 

Menzies

Banned
Did I miss something or is it being reported that MS is planning on forcing trials across the board?

This just sounds opt-in, so, basically the status quo.
You get a bunch of usual 'us' vs. 'them-ers' preaching about some invisible hypocrisy, all while giving no validation to the differing rumor's or their context.

"Sony requires mandatory 2 hour timed-demos of all games and reports come in that they offer no compensation to developers"
VS.
"Microsoft has a new opt-in demo program for indies that will be compensated if they so choose to use it"

No difference between those 2 headlines whatsoever. Sure Jan.
 

JackMcGunns

Member
I haven't been following all the drama, but I thought the gist was that people were waiting for Sony to have an answer for GamePass, yet Sony responded saying that the GamePass model of allowing Day One games is not sustainable, but that they will offer demos instead, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's where the backlash started, gamers don't want demos (As opposed) to getting day one releases, not that gamers don't want demos at all, that doesn't really make sense.

Here's my take on this situation, having a timer on a game is one thing, but a Demo is like a movie trailer, it's designed to sell you a product, so developers have to create a great demo experience just like a movie trailer and that takes time, money and effort. Developers probably came to Microsoft and said: Hey, we have these demos that we're now creating for Sony, the design and effort is already there, we just have to port over the code to Xbox and MS said sure why not. That hypothesis doesn't sound too far fetched to me, of course it would only apply to multi-plat games though.
 
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Shmunter

Member
I haven't been following all the drama, but I thought the gist was that people were waiting for Sony to have an answer for GamePass, yet Sony responded saying that the GamePass model of allowing Day One games is not sustainable, but that they will offer demos instead, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's where the backlash started, gamers don't want demos (As opposed) to getting day one releases, not that gamers don't want demos at all, that doesn't really make sense.

Here's my take on this situation, having a timer on a game is one thing, but a Demo is like a movie trailer, it's designed to sell you a product, so developers have to create a great demo experience just like a movie trailer and that takes time, money and effort. Developers probably came to Microsoft and said: Hey, we have these demos that we're now creating for Sony, the design and effort is already there, we just have to port over the code to Xbox and MS said sure why not. That hypothesis doesn't sound too far fetched to me, of course it would only apply to multi-plat games though.
Sony isn't mandating seperate demos, it’s timed trials of full game. Download and play as if you purchased it, when timer hits zero, pay to continue or delete.
 
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