10 Video Game Traditions That Are Dead And Buried
8. Demos For Every Big Game
Before the internet, there was a much greater separation between press and pundit. Those lucky buggers working for the magazines often got the chance to get early looks and hands-on with games as a way to inform the audience and, if the developer did their work right, sell them on that upcoming smash hit from some guy called Hideo Kojima.
But there was a way for gamers to try a title themselves and that was the hallowed demo. Most famously perhaps, demo discs that adorned the front of your favourite gaming mag - assuming some cretin hadn’t come into the store and torn it off.
These days, demos are nowhere near as common. There are many potential reasons for this, including companies wanting consumers to commit to buy rather than try first and, in extreme cases, accidents where demos have been easily exploited by gamers. Infamously, Crash Bash’s demo was the full title with most of the game’s content locked off - until fans removed the locks.
At least these days, audiences have much greater access to deals and discounts on online storefronts to make an impromptu purchase. And, of course, there’s GamePass. If you want to rekindle that authentic feeling, we recommend downloading a dozen random titles and playing them for a maximum of 20 minutes. Ah, nostalgic.