8 Coolest Things Gaming Doesn’t Do Anymore

They're not totally absent from modern gaming, but demos in general are not nearly as widespread as they used to be.

Once upon a time, they could found as free gifts in magazines or perhaps even in cereal boxes. If you were lucky to get something more than a piece of reflective plastic for your bicycle spokes, you might find a disc inside with one or several brand new experiences.

Very occasionally, companies would supply you a demo themselves with another purchase. A marvellous thing for gamers as it was simply more game, it was also a sly way to appeal to existing customers of a genre or series. Notable examples include arcade shooter Point Blank being featured under the inlay of Time Crisis for the PS1, and a demo of Wind Waker being packaged with the Gamecube Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition.

Even more fun, because of just how unique it was, was Naughty Dog hiding a cheat code in Crash Bandicoot games for upcoming Sony Spyro titles and vice-versa, which tied the franchises together and arguably led to their eventual GameBoy Advance cross-over games.

Because gaming these days is so often about locking a player into a single experience for as long as possible, demos for something entirely different are almost certainly never coming back.