The Multiplayer Demo for Uncharted 2 was released today on the Playstation Network, free to anyone with an internet connection and a PS3.
I came across an interesting poll on Gamefaqs that said only around 30% of people would try a demo for games they’re not sure about, over 30% would try a demo only for games they are REALLY interested in, and the other 40% don’t really play demos at all. I know this poll isn’t scientific or official, but about 70,000 people have responded (and the site blocks multiple votes from the same computer/user), so I’ll consider it in this argument since its polling size is about 70 times the amount of most political polls.
The purpose of a demo, I’d imagine, is partly to reign in consumers who are on the fence about a game, but also people who have never heard of or think they might not be interested in a game. But you’re missing almost half of the market if 40% won’t even play your demo, and I’d guess a good majority of the 30% already interested in the game would end up buying it anyway. So, from my deduction, a lot of demos are played by far less than half of the target market.
However, the Uncharted Demo includes a sizable amount of the multiplayer that will come with the game when it’s released – a very smart idea. For anyone who hasn’t done it yet, online multiplayer is one of the most fun, competitive, and addicting types of gaming out there. Letting everyone get a taste of the game for 2 weeks and then taking it away once the full game comes out is going to make a lot of people buy the game just to keep playing, I’d assume.
Also, the fact that it’s multiplayer will attract a lot of people looking to play with their friends to download the demo. Some of these people might be players who would not otherwise be interested in the Demo or game (I know half of my friends on PSN who wouldn’t be interested in Uncharted 2, but are going to download this demo to play together).
Whether you liked Naughty Dog (the makers of Uncharted) or not, you have to admit this is a smart idea. There have been other multiplayer demos, but none of this size (at least that I can remember).
Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go watch my demo download progress crawl at a snails pace on my unbearably slow internet.
