Topic: does the u.s get more demos than europe?

just wondering because the eshop in the uk only has had 15 or something demos and the last one was sonic lost world

I'm from US and we haven't got a demo on Wii U eshop in a long time. Now for 3DS.... we did get another one a few weeks ago.

ok thanks WOW nintendo really need to start putting morenos out there

Demos aren't really a good idea for game developers

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7QM6LoaqEnY

They are fine if your games are of acceptable quality and they don't try and be ridiculously tight with it.

Doom worked giving away the entire a third of the game.

Demos done right: Bravely Default, Fire Emblem Awakening

Demos done wrong: Tomodachi Life

Nintendo would only put demos on from its own games. They have little control over other developers

Why would a developer want to put money into making a demo when there is little to no benefit?

It's consumer-bias-syndrome (CBS?). It's when consumers only talk about how they can benefit from a decision with only little to no regard to anyone else's benefit

Just giving the first reasonable chunk costs no money.

They need to do the QA or whatever for the first world anyway. So just end after that.

They have to do QA, most likely new art saying something like, "thanks for playing - this game - avalible on the eShop." They need to make sure they can package it smaller as their are unused assests (that way the demo doesn't take up the same size as the whole game), they also need to make sure it is going to pass certification, you need to make sure the demo represents what the final game will look like, and if you are going to make the save data from the demo work on the full game you need to test and program that.

then there is also freemium games but those games are designed with that type of marketing in mind. What if your game design does not support the freemium type of marketing? Are you going to have to find a point to cut it off and force it in? Are you willing to confuse your fans in releasing a game as "free" but they have to play to get the whole game? How well does this type of marketing work compared to releasing the whole product under a standard price?

It isn't as easy as saying, "oh just cut it here and send it out" there are a lot of aspects you have to think about. Personally when there are a small number of demos available I am more likely to buy a game with a demo. But when there are lots of games that have demos (such as Xbox Live Arcade) I am less likely to buy as I have more options for free gameplay. I just don't see how it can be worth it for developers.

Take somebody like Shin'en for me they are at that point where I just get anything day one knowing its going to be good. (Odd exception if its in a genre I really don't like). Don't think I would have given them a chance without those wiiware demo's. For me personally they don't need them now but they would never have got a chance without.

If something has a demo (And it is from somebody I don't already trust I am far more likely to just buy it).

Edelweiss I trust as well now (I got two games dirt cheap in bundles and they were both brilliant). Bought Astebreed straight away at full price and wasn't disappointed (Its the highest rated PC game on metacrtiic for this year and its a shmup).

Then there is the ported stuff on the Wii U. If it is good enough I don't object to paying the full price but I use the Steam version as a demo and there hasn't been anything like that yet. (There has been a few that if they were 60fps I would have. If Twisted Dreams - Rise of the Owlverlord goes on I will buy it even though I wouldn't play it because it was everything the first game should have been and I got it totally dirt cheap - and I definitely want more stuff like that).

Then there are situations like Code of Princess. I am really unsure the USA got a Retail release and regular discounts on it. So far I just haven't got it.

Kokuga / Jett Rocket 2 / Yumi's Odd Odyssey (And Steel Empire if it ever comes to Europe) I was sure enough to get it just immediately.

I am not interested in Freemium (At least the generally accepted type). On iOS / Android if the price is listed as free I don't even download it.

The type of Freemium that the iOS Lego Star Wars uses though is ideal. (Its half the price a used Wii Copy / has no advertising and one IAP to unlock the last 5/6 ths of the game for £7). But that was only because I knew the game already and it was on the physical controls supporting listing site mfigames.com

There is loads of indie games at the moment and hardly any of them are good enough (There is a list of Unity games coming to the Wii U on this forum and I have at least 95% of them on Steam and there is only one that I think is good enough - Blood of the Werewolf.)

I am not saying there aren't times when a Demo has convinced me to buy a game, I am just saying the negatives outweigh the positives for a developer

To be fair, I don't know if we can accurately measure the overall effectiveness of a demo. I think every demo is affected by too many factors including the demo, the game, the target crowd, etc.