Why You Should Always Try the Demo Before Buying a Game
How often do you buy video games? Are you the one who often spends $ 60 on the latest Nintendo game, or are you just waiting for the games you follow closely? Regardless of your buying habits – no matter how sure you want this game – if possible, you should always try a demo of it before buying it.
Game demos help you make smart buying decisions
Video games are expensive . AAA titles traditionally cost $ 60, with some in this latest generation asking for $ 70. However, I’ve always wanted to point out that a lot of video games cost $ 60 in the 90s, which definitely makes games a little more affordable compared to them today.
But I digress. $ 60 or $ 70 in 2021 is still a lot of money. Even indie games and older games, which probably cost a lot less, can still be beneficial if you’re an avid gamer; it can be all too easy to buy a “cheap” game here and there, only to find your credit card statement filled to the brim at the end of the month.
This is where demos can really help. They satisfy this desire for the “new”; you want to play something fresh and different from your collection, but instead of getting bored with the $ 60 game after a few hours, the demo was free. If you really enjoyed the demo and feel like buying the full game is worth the money, good! Do this and support the game developers along the way. However, if the game is not what you expected, or if it is not worth the cost, you will find out for free.
But you may already know about these inherent benefits of playing the demo. I would say there is a second, more important reason to play these demos first; they are not enough.
Playing demos could inspire more demos on the market
Demos are not very common these days. Of course there is a demos out there; you can, for example, play the Metroid Dread demo or try Minecraft for free on PlayStation. But for many games it is simply impossible to try before you buy. Your only option is to watch as many reviews and walkthroughs online as possible, which doesn’t have the same impact as being able to play the game yourself.
In the end, you may feel like you have no choice but to throw money at the game. Maybe it was the right decision and you are thrilled with your new adventure. Or maybe the game wasn’t quite what you thought and now you have buyer’s remorse. Again.
So what should we do? Well, of course, play the demos. If more people played the demo games before purchasing them, perhaps the developers would consider turning them on more often. After all, if these studios were hoping to reach as many audiences as possible, wouldn’t they want that audience to see if the game is right for them?
I can’t speak on behalf of these studios, but I can imagine that one problem would be that giving players demos would discourage them from buying the game if they find they don’t like it. While this is definitely an anti-consumer philosophy, I think they will find that more people will end up buying their game – I can’t be lonely buying games only when I really need them. If I had the opportunity to try more games, I might find other games that I didn’t know I wanted about.
I found this to be the case when I bought the PSVR; Because of how innovative this system was, Sony has created various “demo discs” that have assembled a collection of virtual reality demos that allow you to experience different genres of virtual reality games. It was brilliant; I quickly found the games I needed to buy. If the same spirit could be applied to more new games, I’m sure I would end up buying them more often.
Until then, you can view the demos that are available on the Internet as well as on your system’s online store. I’ve linked demo lists for Nintendo , Sony, and Microsoft here; go through these lists and see if there are any titles that interest you. The demo might just help you make a new purchase.