Play limit on Wii U demos set by publishers, Nintendo says

[richiek]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...n-wii-u-demos-set-by-publishers-nintendo-says

Unlike PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 demos, trial versions of Wii U games downloaded from Nintendo's eShop are limited to a certain number of uses.

This number depends from game to game - FIFA 13 is 10 uses, for example, while Rayman Legends is 30 uses. Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing Transformed is 15.

Eurogamer asked Nintendo why the limits on different games varied - and why there were limits at all. The platform holder replied that it was a game's publisher that decided how many times you can try their game.

"Each publisher has the opportunity to decide how long demos will stay on the eShop, and how many times consumers can play them before they expire," a Nintendo spokesperson told us.

So it's the third parties who are to blame, not Nintendo. This doesn't bode well for the Nextbox and PS4.

 

[King_Moc]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...n-wii-u-demos-set-by-publishers-nintendo-says



So it's the third parties who are to blame, not Nintendo. This doesn't bode well for the Nextbox and PS4.

It'll be Nintendo that implemented the system, then asked what each dev wanted the limit to be. Else this would already have happened elsewhere.

Edit: That's pretty much confirmed in the interview as the rep skirts his way round that part of the question.

 

[Aquamarine]

It'll be Nintendo that implemented the system, then asked what each dev wanted the limit to be. Else this would already have happened elsewhere.

I don't think that giving developers more choices is inherently a bad thing.

 

[dallow_bg]

How can you not blame Nintendo, when they allow and set up the systems for publishers to do this?

 

[Omegasquash]

Nintendo is likely saying "There's a limit, what do you want it to be?" Do the pubs also set it on the 3DS?

 

[Pharros]

It'll be Nintendo that implemented the system, then asked what each dev wanted the limit to be. Else this would already have happened elsewhere.

Edit: That's pretty much confirmed in the interview as the rep skirts his way round that part of the question.

So you're saying a developer/publisher cannot request an unlimited play count for their demos? Where do you see this to?

 

[dwu8991]

demos are great for launches but once you've built up a library it becomes meaningless.

 

[Wiz]

There's a couple demos on the 3DS that have unlimited tries. So pubs can choose that route if they wanted to.

 

[stuminus3]

I'm pretty sure that's OS level functionality, Nintendo person.

 

[Shiggy]

Oh Nintendo...try concentrating on finally delivering new games instead of creating stupid demo limits.

 

[Branduil]

Gotta make sure people aren't having fun for free.

And publishers wonder why so many of their studios are going out of business. Maybe because you treat customers like enemies instead of clients?

 

[zoukka]

Who cares? If you play a demo over 30 times, you need a friendly slap in the face :b

 

[BibiMaghoo]

Does anyone really play a demo 30 times?

10 even?

 

[Doffen]

demos are great for launches but once you've built up a library it becomes meaningless.

So wrong.

 

[Majukun]

another idiotic move by nintendo...
i wonder why they are putting so much effort in making me NOT buying a wii U

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

Oh wow.

 

[solarus]

Yep. This is one issue you cannot pin Nintendo down for.

Lol wut, Nintendo set up this dumb system in the first place.

 

[The Technomancer]

Gotta make sure people aren't having fun for free.

And publishers wonder why so many of their studios are going out of business. Maybe because you treat customers like enemies instead of clients?

Wait, what? People are hostile to demo play limits? Its a demo. Are you really going to play a sliver of a game more than fifteen times before you decide if its worth purchasing or not?

 

[Aquamarine]

Nintendo is likely saying "There's a limit, what do you want it to be?" Do the pubs also set it on the 3DS?

It's WHATEVER the developers / publishers want.

It's giving them more control over the demo system. And I don't see that as an issue.

Spoiler

(It's maybe a little anti-consumer, but demos are supposed to get you to buy the game. You can't just keep playing the demo!)

 

[dallow_bg]

^ lol
oh aquamarine....

Does anyone really play a demo 30 times?

10 even?

Depends on the demo.

The original NG Sigma demo on PS3 had online leaderboards.
There was also a special Vanquish demo with score attack mode and online leaderboards.

There's a lot that featured online multiplayer.

 

[deviljho]

Who cares?

Exactly. We talkin bout demos, man... we talkin bout demos...

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

another idiotic move by nintendo...
i wonder why they are putting so much effort in making me NOT buying a wii U

1080p though. /reggie

I used to play demos FREQUENTLY on the dreamcast. I played the virtua tennis demo so damn much, then I eventually bought the game and didn't play it nearly as much as I did the demo beforehand lol.

 

[Gahiggidy]

What happens if you perform a master reset of all settings? Or change the system clock back to 2011?


Or, never close out the game you want to keep playing? (I've done this with Dreamweaver's 30-day limit).

 

[Keyouta]

Nintendo is likely saying "There's a limit, what do you want it to be?" Do the pubs also set it on the 3DS?

iirc the Final Fantasy Theatrhythym demo on 3DS has a limit of 'unlimited'.

 

[cgcg]

The platform holder replied that it was a game's publisher that decided how many times you can try their game.

Sounds like there's a mandatory expiration system in place, the developers just choose the numbers.

 

[Threi]

I remember the Battlefield 1943 demo on 360 having something like a 10 minute limit, after that you couldn't play it again at all.

 

[Nairume]

So you're saying a developer/publisher cannot request an unlimited play count for their demos? Where do you see this to?

They are able to, as there is at least one 3DS demo that allows it.

 

[Effect]

So you're saying a developer/publisher cannot request an unlimited play count for their demos? Where do you see this to?

It's been known the limits were set by the publisher since they first stated appearing on the 3DS. They can also set the limit to be unlimited. Which is what Square-Enix has done with the Theatrhythm Final Fantasy demo on the 3DS eShop.

The point behind the limits I assume is so people don't only play demos and never buy the games. Which sucks for those without a lot of money. I recall doing that with tons of demo cds on the PS1 when I was younger that would come with copies of PSM or get borrow them from friends. However I can see why they'd do this from the business side of things.

 

[The Technomancer]

Sounds like there's a mandatory expiration system in place, the developers just choose the numbers.

Nah, IIRC there's a 3DS demo with unlimited plays.

 

[Metalmurphy]

Are you guys serious? How can you not pin this on Nintendo? They're the ones that gave publishers the option to set the limit.

 

[richiek]

iirc the Final Fantasy Theatrhythym demo on 3DS has a limit of 'unlimited'.

I love how when the article explicitly states that publishers decide how many uses a demo has, people still bash Nintendo, lol.

 

[MDSLKTR]

This doesn't bode well for the Nextbox and PS4.

How did you came up with this conclusion? Sony gives away games for free and xbox live have mandatory demos for all the xbla releases. They would never allow a idiotic system like that fly in the first place.

 

[Cosmonaut X]

As far as I understand it, the system in place allows the publisher to pick the play limit and on the 3DS it seems to range from something like 5 to Unlimited, with the typical being 15 or 30.

 

[The Technomancer]

Are you guys serious? How can you not pin this on Nintendo? They're the ones that have publishers the option to set the limit.

WHY IS THIS A BIG DEAL?! I really don't understand why anyone would get upset over this.

 

[King_Moc]

I just played the Rayman demo 30 times. Still not sure so won't be buying it. Maybe if i got a 31st try...

That's how stupid this whole argument is.

Anyone can decide if they want a game after 1 go on a demo. Anyone complaining just wants free stuff.

 

[Omegasquash]

iirc the Final Fantasy Theatrhythym demo on 3DS has a limit of 'unlimited'.

I think it was 30, but I'll double check. Frankly I should delete it (not my style, but want my wife to try it to know for sure). Man with the Machine Gun might sell her on it.

 

[Air Zombie Meat]

I'm against it (who would prefer limited over unlimited) but I can't say it's bothered me in practice yet.

 

[Randdalf]

Who plays a demo 30 times anyway? The only time I got close to that was the Just Cause 2 demo, but that was only because it had a time limit.

 

[Neuromancer]

Demo limits are indefensible if you ask me. It's anti consumer and its dumb. I don't know if I've every played a demo 30 times but there are certainly demos I played over and over leading up the release of the game (such as TimeSplitters 2, Crackdown* and and Prey off the top of my head). Having it in the back of my head that I had a limited number of plays would have really bothered me and of course if I play a demo multiple times I always ended up buying the game.

At the end of the day it's just another dumb Nintendo misstep in a long history of dumb Nintendo missteps.

 

[Wiz]

Are you guys serious? How can you not pin this on Nintendo? They're the ones that gave publishers the option to set the limit.

Because publishers can forgo the limit and have their demos set to unlimited if they wanted to. It's just that most pubs prefer that people don't play their demos forever and actually buy the game.

I don't see why this is a big deal.

 

[Derrick01]

And this is why we need console makers to clamp down on publishers/devs or things like this happen.

"Leaving ___ up to the devs or publishers" is the single worst recommendation I've ever seen.

 

[oatmeal]

I played the Rayman demo. I will not be opening it again.

It makes sense to have a limit, otherwise you can get your fix of the game without buying it.

Seems like the least of Nintendo's problems.

 

[FlashbladeGAF]

The Nintendo hate is strong with this one

 

[dallow_bg]

I'm against it but I can't say it's bothered me in practice yet.

Same here.
It's just a stupid thing to put in though. More of a principle issue.

 

[Red Blaster]

Who plays a demo 30 times anyway? The only time I got close to that was the Just Cause 2 demo, but that was only because it had a time limit.

I played the greatest demo of all time (MGS2) probably hundreds of times

People still play the Gulf Of Oman Battlefield 2 demo; a game that came out 7 years ago.

 

[zroid]

I thought this was common knowledge?

Anyway, as I've said countless times in other threads, demo limits don't bother me in principle, but they should never be below 20 or so. That's when it crosses the line from protecting your work from being abused to unnecessarily frustrating consumers.

 

[cyberheater]

Are you guys serious? How can you not pin this on Nintendo? They're the ones that gave publishers the option to set the limit.

Yep. What a super stupid thing for Nintendo to do. I'm truly gobsmacked. I really am.
Another nail in the - I'm really regretting buying my WiiU - coffin.

 

[test_account]

I dont really see the big problem with this. Personally i hardly ever try demos, yet alone try them multiply of times. Out of curiousity, how many here plays a demo 10+ times?

 

[King_Moc]

How did you came up with this conclusion? Sony gives away games for free and xbox live have mandatory demos for all the xbla releases. They would never allow a idiotic system like that fly in the first place.

You mad? MS charge for early access to demo's. They're fucking adverts, for fuck's sake.

 

[PhantomR]

Who cares? If you play a demo over 30 times, you need a friendly slap in the face :b

/thread