Starting today!
https://freeweekend.ubisoft.com/anno1800/en-US
On Thu, 16 Mar 2023 22:24:37 -0600, "rms"
<rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net> wrote:
Starting today!
https://freeweekend.ubisoft.com/anno1800/en-US
Ubisoft always did like their time-limited demos.
I remember when time-limited demos were first becoming a thing, and
the huge uproar they caused, both on Usenet and the nascent web. The
idea that you could be artificially limited in how long you could play
a demo of a game was anathema to gamers. Now, it's just taken for
granted that's the way it is.
Of course, there are some differences. Back then, the 'demo' was a
cut-down version of the full game, whereas these modern trials give
you access to the full version. Theoretically, you could download,
play, and finish the entire game in a weekend. Of course, given modern
game design, where publishers put excessive amounts of grind into the
game to promote the 'benefits' of MTX that let you bypass that
nonsense, that's not really going to happen.
It would be nice to think publishers offer these free trials out of
the goodness of their hearts, but of course it all comes down to
money; creating and supporting a demo version requires more cash and resources. A trial version - or at least, a modern trial version that
relies on pre-existing licensing technologies - is exactly the same
SKU as the retail, which cuts down on support costs. So you get all
the benefits of an old-school demo, but for less money. Plus, you get
to collect valuable user-data and game data from these potential
customers. It's win-win all around.
I miss the old demos, though. There was an art to them. They had to
present the best of the game they were previewing while still leaving
out enough to make you want to buy the game. There was an artistry to
them that's missing from these trials, where they just dump the whole
game on you. And being able to pick up and demo a game at my schedule
- and not a time decided by some marketing schmoe - is always
preferable.
But those days are gone, I guess.
On 17/03/2023 14:35, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Thu, 16 Mar 2023 22:24:37 -0600, "rms"
<rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net> wrote:
Starting today!
https://freeweekend.ubisoft.com/anno1800/en-US
Ubisoft always did like their time-limited demos.
I remember when time-limited demos were first becoming a thing, and
the huge uproar they caused, both on Usenet and the nascent web. The
idea that you could be artificially limited in how long you could play
a demo of a game was anathema to gamers. Now, it's just taken for
granted that's the way it is.
Of course, there are some differences. Back then, the 'demo' was a
cut-down version of the full game, whereas these modern trials give
you access to the full version. Theoretically, you could download,
play, and finish the entire game in a weekend. Of course, given modern
game design, where publishers put excessive amounts of grind into the
game to promote the 'benefits' of MTX that let you bypass that
nonsense, that's not really going to happen.
It would be nice to think publishers offer these free trials out of
the goodness of their hearts, but of course it all comes down to
money; creating and supporting a demo version requires more cash and
resources. A trial version - or at least, a modern trial version that
relies on pre-existing licensing technologies - is exactly the same
SKU as the retail, which cuts down on support costs. So you get all
the benefits of an old-school demo, but for less money. Plus, you get
to collect valuable user-data and game data from these potential
customers. It's win-win all around.
I miss the old demos, though. There was an art to them. They had to
present the best of the game they were previewing while still leaving
out enough to make you want to buy the game. There was an artistry to
them that's missing from these trials, where they just dump the whole
game on you. And being able to pick up and demo a game at my schedule
- and not a time decided by some marketing schmoe - is always
preferable.
But those days are gone, I guess.
It could just be confirmation bias but it does feel as though more indie dev's are using demos as a marketing tool. It definitely worked with me
on Road Warden as I had read the positive reviews but I was still unsure whether to click that Add to Cart button.
What I do miss, well kinda, is the good old days when you'd buy a
magazine and have a demo disk to try.
On 3/18/2023 3:41 AM, JAB wrote:
On 17/03/2023 14:35, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:Whereas now you can't even get a disc drive standard in a new computer.
On Thu, 16 Mar 2023 22:24:37 -0600, "rms"
<rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net> wrote:
Starting today!
https://freeweekend.ubisoft.com/anno1800/en-US
Ubisoft always did like their time-limited demos.
I remember when time-limited demos were first becoming a thing, and
the huge uproar they caused, both on Usenet and the nascent web. The
idea that you could be artificially limited in how long you could play
a demo of a game was anathema to gamers. Now, it's just taken for
granted that's the way it is.
Of course, there are some differences. Back then, the 'demo' was a
cut-down version of the full game, whereas these modern trials give
you access to the full version. Theoretically, you could download,
play, and finish the entire game in a weekend. Of course, given modern
game design, where publishers put excessive amounts of grind into the
game to promote the 'benefits' of MTX that let you bypass that
nonsense, that's not really going to happen.
It would be nice to think publishers offer these free trials out of
the goodness of their hearts, but of course it all comes down to
money; creating and supporting a demo version requires more cash and
resources. A trial version - or at least, a modern trial version that
relies on pre-existing licensing technologies - is exactly the same
SKU as the retail, which cuts down on support costs. So you get all
the benefits of an old-school demo, but for less money. Plus, you get
to collect valuable user-data and game data from these potential
customers. It's win-win all around.
I miss the old demos, though. There was an art to them. They had to
present the best of the game they were previewing while still leaving
out enough to make you want to buy the game. There was an artistry to
them that's missing from these trials, where they just dump the whole
game on you. And being able to pick up and demo a game at my schedule
- and not a time decided by some marketing schmoe - is always
preferable.
But those days are gone, I guess.
It could just be confirmation bias but it does feel as though more
indie dev's are using demos as a marketing tool. It definitely worked
with me on Road Warden as I had read the positive reviews but I was
still unsure whether to click that Add to Cart button.
What I do miss, well kinda, is the good old days when you'd buy a
magazine and have a demo disk to try.
What I do miss, well kinda, is the good old days when you'd buy a
magazine and have a demo disk to try.
Whereas now you can't even get a disc drive standard in a new computer.
Still, I hoarded my demo disks just like I hoarded everything else. Eventually though, the majority of the disks got trashed just because
I needed the space. These days I probably would have imaged them all
first to archive.org and then tried to give 'em away to some collector instead of polluting the garbage stream. PC Zone was toxic 😉
On 18/03/2023 11:13, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
On 3/18/2023 3:41 AM, JAB wrote:
On 17/03/2023 14:35, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:Whereas now you can't even get a disc drive standard in a new computer.
On Thu, 16 Mar 2023 22:24:37 -0600, "rms"
<rsqui...@MOOflashMOO.net> wrote:
Starting today!
https://freeweekend.ubisoft.com/anno1800/en-US
Ubisoft always did like their time-limited demos.
I remember when time-limited demos were first becoming a thing, and
the huge uproar they caused, both on Usenet and the nascent web. The
idea that you could be artificially limited in how long you could play >>> a demo of a game was anathema to gamers. Now, it's just taken for
granted that's the way it is.
Of course, there are some differences. Back then, the 'demo' was a
cut-down version of the full game, whereas these modern trials give
you access to the full version. Theoretically, you could download,
play, and finish the entire game in a weekend. Of course, given modern >>> game design, where publishers put excessive amounts of grind into the >>> game to promote the 'benefits' of MTX that let you bypass that
nonsense, that's not really going to happen.
It would be nice to think publishers offer these free trials out of
the goodness of their hearts, but of course it all comes down to
money; creating and supporting a demo version requires more cash and
resources. A trial version - or at least, a modern trial version that >>> relies on pre-existing licensing technologies - is exactly the same
SKU as the retail, which cuts down on support costs. So you get all
the benefits of an old-school demo, but for less money. Plus, you get >>> to collect valuable user-data and game data from these potential
customers. It's win-win all around.
I miss the old demos, though. There was an art to them. They had to
present the best of the game they were previewing while still leaving >>> out enough to make you want to buy the game. There was an artistry to >>> them that's missing from these trials, where they just dump the whole >>> game on you. And being able to pick up and demo a game at my schedule >>> - and not a time decided by some marketing schmoe - is always
preferable.
But those days are gone, I guess.
It could just be confirmation bias but it does feel as though more
indie dev's are using demos as a marketing tool. It definitely worked
with me on Road Warden as I had read the positive reviews but I was
still unsure whether to click that Add to Cart button.
What I do miss, well kinda, is the good old days when you'd buy a
magazine and have a demo disk to try.
Very true as I have got one but that's because I don't buy already built systems. Then again I can't actually remember the last time I used it
but certainly not for a few years. Hell, even when I had to replace the
CD player in my car wanting to still be able to play CD's really cut my options down.
As an aside I did read that for the first time in many years the sales
of vinyl are now bigger than that of CD's.
Whereas now you can't even get a disc drive standard in a new computer.
Starting today!
https://freeweekend.ubisoft.com/anno1800/en-US
On Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 4:34:26 AM UTC-7, JAB wrote:
On 18/03/2023 11:13, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
On 3/18/2023 3:41 AM, JAB wrote:Very true as I have got one but that's because I don't buy already built
On 17/03/2023 14:35, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:Whereas now you can't even get a disc drive standard in a new computer.
On Thu, 16 Mar 2023 22:24:37 -0600, "rms"
<rsqui...@MOOflashMOO.net> wrote:
Starting today!
https://freeweekend.ubisoft.com/anno1800/en-US
Ubisoft always did like their time-limited demos.
I remember when time-limited demos were first becoming a thing, and
the huge uproar they caused, both on Usenet and the nascent web. The >>>>> idea that you could be artificially limited in how long you could play >>>>> a demo of a game was anathema to gamers. Now, it's just taken for
granted that's the way it is.
Of course, there are some differences. Back then, the 'demo' was a
cut-down version of the full game, whereas these modern trials give
you access to the full version. Theoretically, you could download,
play, and finish the entire game in a weekend. Of course, given modern >>>>> game design, where publishers put excessive amounts of grind into the >>>>> game to promote the 'benefits' of MTX that let you bypass that
nonsense, that's not really going to happen.
It would be nice to think publishers offer these free trials out of
the goodness of their hearts, but of course it all comes down to
money; creating and supporting a demo version requires more cash and >>>>> resources. A trial version - or at least, a modern trial version that >>>>> relies on pre-existing licensing technologies - is exactly the same
SKU as the retail, which cuts down on support costs. So you get all
the benefits of an old-school demo, but for less money. Plus, you get >>>>> to collect valuable user-data and game data from these potential
customers. It's win-win all around.
I miss the old demos, though. There was an art to them. They had to
present the best of the game they were previewing while still leaving >>>>> out enough to make you want to buy the game. There was an artistry to >>>>> them that's missing from these trials, where they just dump the whole >>>>> game on you. And being able to pick up and demo a game at my schedule >>>>> - and not a time decided by some marketing schmoe - is always
preferable.
But those days are gone, I guess.
It could just be confirmation bias but it does feel as though more
indie dev's are using demos as a marketing tool. It definitely worked
with me on Road Warden as I had read the positive reviews but I was
still unsure whether to click that Add to Cart button.
What I do miss, well kinda, is the good old days when you'd buy a
magazine and have a demo disk to try.
systems. Then again I can't actually remember the last time I used it
but certainly not for a few years. Hell, even when I had to replace the
CD player in my car wanting to still be able to play CD's really cut my
options down.
As an aside I did read that for the first time in many years the sales
of vinyl are now bigger than that of CD's.
People who liked CDs are on to streaming/subscriptions or electronic downloads to play on their phones or computers. The last time I
bought a CD was well more than a decade ago.
I wonder how electronic sales compare to CDs/vinyl?
Starting today!
https://freeweekend.ubisoft.com/anno1800/en-US
rms
Not a fan of that series so pass.
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