What happened to the good old-fashioned game demo?

I had the pleasure of playing a demo for EA UFC this week, and besides enjoying the game, I asked myself why publishers aren’t letting us sample their work before (or shortly after) the full game is released?

After getting my head smashed in by a Swedish guy in the Octagon, I checked out what other demos were available on the PlayStation (4) store – it was slim pickings. Besides UFC, the demos were: EA’s Fifa 14, The Lego Movie Video Game; Lego: Marvel Superheroes; and, just to spice things up, Lego: The Hobbit.

As you can see, if you are not into sports and Lego there is not much on offer.

What happened to the good old days when you got to try out a game before you bought it? I fondly remember buying my PlayStation and/or favourite PC magazine and being gifted with demos of the biggest upcoming titles. I bought Battlefield 2 for PC after playing a demo, it was that good.

Demo Disc – Good Times

These days you are lucky if you can sign up for a closed beta, or watch a few gameplay videos published by international gaming sites who had access to pre-launch hands-on tests.

With the decline of print media, I don’t expect demo discs and glossy magazine covers to start up again, but digital alternatives can easily be implemented.

My brother – an Xbox 360 fanboy – used to receive demos, as recently as the release of Forza Horizon, but this does not happen anymore as far as I know.

Not everyone has warm feelings towards EA, but their EA UFC demo is something other publishers should look at when trying to get hype up around their new titles. EA themselves should also extend this beyond their sports titles, especially when it comes to next-gen and PC games.

These days, publishers encourage you to pre-order the game with little idea of how it will run. “Don’t even wait for a friend to get it first – order it one month in advance or you will not receive the flaming, armoured unicorn DLC” is the standard pitch.

If someone makes a game they are proud of and knows is a solid title, surely a demo will only increase sales? I was not even on the fence when it came to UFC – I wasn’t considering it at all. However, after playing the demo I want to get my hands on the full copy of the game.

You can test drive a car before you buy it, you get to try on a shirt before taking it to the till, why can’t I play parts of a game before ordering it?

Should it be mandatory for publishers to release demos of their games before they go on sale? Tell us what you think in the comments and forum.