Slitherine

quote:

ORIGINAL: Iain McNeil

From our experience and the research we've seen demos work well for light games that are easy to get in to. When you give someone something for free (a demo) they do not value it. If they are not grabbed instantly (the first 5 minutes are when most players make up their mind) they move on to the next free thing. However when a user buys something they have already invested cash in it and so value it more. The first 5 mins are not as critical. They are very unlikely to give up if they are not having fun immediately. They persist for longer, getting through the learning curve and on to the point they are enjoying the game and it could take them hours. The person playing a demo might give up before they get to the point they enjoyed it, whereas with the bought game they don't and so the same person with the same game can come out with a completely different opinion based on their investment in it at the time if first playing.

Turn based strategy games by their nature rarely are able to grab you in the first 5 minutes which is essential for a demo. This is why we generally try to avoid them, or you have to invest a lot of time & money in making sure the demo does grab people in the first 5 minutes which is very different to making a strategy game that people enjoy for many many hours. Having said that we're planning demos on some of the recent releases but we're looking to do them in unusual ways that hopefully mitigate the 5 minute rule.

Unfortunately it is just human nature that this is how it works. Obviously this not true of everyone but the % is so high that demos can actually hurt sales rather than help them, and I don't mean because people can find out they don't like a game from a demo. We only create demos where we feel a demo will increase sales. Anything else would be crazy for us as a business :)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Misery

quote:

ORIGINAL: Iain McNeil

From our experience and the research we've seen demos work well for light games that are easy to get in to. When you give someone something for free (a demo) they do not value it. If they are not grabbed instantly (the first 5 minutes are when most players make up their mind) they move on to the next free thing. However when a user buys something they have already invested cash in it and so value it more. The first 5 mins are not as critical. They are very unlikely to give up if they are not having fun immediately. They persist for longer, getting through the learning curve and on to the point they are enjoying the game and it could take them hours. The person playing a demo might give up before they get to the point they enjoyed it, whereas with the bought game they don't and so the same person with the same game can come out with a completely different opinion based on their investment in it at the time if first playing.

Turn based strategy games by their nature rarely are able to grab you in the first 5 minutes which is essential for a demo. This is why we generally try to avoid them, or you have to invest a lot of time & money in making sure the demo does grab people in the first 5 minutes which is very different to making a strategy game that people enjoy for many many hours. Having said that we're planning demos on some of the recent releases but we're looking to do them in unusual ways that hopefully mitigate the 5 minute rule.

Unfortunately it is just human nature that this is how it works. Obviously this not true of everyone but the % is so high that demos can actually hurt sales rather than help them, and I don't mean because people can find out they don't like a game from a demo. We only create demos where we feel a demo will increase sales. Anything else would be crazy for us as a business :)

Great feedback from a developer. Thank you very much. I guess my only follow up question is what are the determining factors in deciding which games get demos? Or is it simply as you stated, the "lighter" games = demo?

As for the comments from other posters, thank you. I appreciate your feedback. Regardless of the positive forum discussions, developer comments, screenshots, AAR's, etc...those are all subjective factors. When it's $50, I need to try the game out for myself. I've been burned too many times in recent years by buggy releases, under-delivered promises, and secondhand opinions. Guess it's a lose-lose...no sale for Matrix, no game for Misery. The only person who benefits is Mrs. Misery becase she hates my gaming habits.