Crytek Thinks Free Game Demos Will Soon Be Extinct

An anonymous reader writes with this quote from Develop: "The CEO of indie studio Crytek has defended EA's divisive 'premium downloadable content' strategy, while also predicting the extinction of free game demos. ... Crytek's co-founder Cevat Yerli said he wasn't sure that a demo of Crysis 2 was going to be released. He said: 'A free demo is a luxury we have in the game industry that we don't have in other industries such as film. Because we've had this free luxury for so long, now there are plans to change this people are complaining about it. The reality is that we might not see any free game demos in the long term. ... Yes it is quite unpopular, but this is a messaging issue. The problem with any new strategy like this is it initially may appear as a blood-hungry, money-grabbing strategy. But I think there is a genuine interest here to give gamers something more than a small demo released for free. Really, what this is, is an attempt to salvage a problem. The industry is still losing a lot of money to piracy as the market becomes more online-based. So it’s encouraging to see strategies outlined to combat this.'"

What? Malaria isn't fun?

[AmazingRuss]

I personally loved having to scrounge around for pills like a junkie in withdrawl.

Re:Let them get rid of free demos

[blai]

f. require payments to exit the game -- that's where the big buck is!

Nice!

[celibate for life]

But I think there is a genuine interest here to give gamers something more than a small demo released for free.

Nice! They'll start giving the entire games for free now!

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Haha

[nataflux]

So what they're saying is that most mainstream developers can only make short games, therefore providing a demo would be giving too much value away. Because we totally need insane graphics.

Rubbish.

[lattyware]

I wouldn't take the full version of Crysis for free. These guys can shut the hell up until they can make a good game.

Re:really?

[PopeRatzo]

As long as RAZ0R1911 has anything to say about it, we'll still have game demos.

Re:Save complaints

[tepples]

I'd rather have a system where I can save wherever I want (which Farcry didn't have when I played it at launch)

Then you'd like continuous background autosave: wherever you are, there you are saved. But don't try quickloading, or the angry mole [wikia.com] will come down and kill you.

Re:really?

[Kenoli]

I grab a demo which means I'm already interested in seeing what the game is like. I use the demo to determine whether or not I want to purchase it.

So by not producing a demo they hope to eliminate the profit gained by the demo-playing crowd. Brilliant!

Re:really?

[PopeRatzo]

I wasn't trying to be funny. I buy every game I play beyond the first level, but I download a "demo" before I buy.