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Good idea, probably not going too work, but glad too see someone trying in a way that doesn't hurt people | |
I see this failing because of pirate scum. Also coudnt you just delete it, download a gain and start over? yea for some games this would still suck (RPGS) but for a racer or shooter no biggy starting over constantly | |
On consoles it might work. But if the games and technology would be used on the PC, or by other services, like Steam, it would surely be bypassed. | |
I can't be the only one who finds it hilarious that Sony equates "amount of features" with "size of sword." | |
Oh I just nearly fell out of my chair laughing *Offers high five too John* | |
I prefer the normal way of doing it. I'm pissed that the JC2 demo has got 2 missions, yet I've only got 30 minutes to unlock and complete it. And are they actually saying they start off by providing the entire game? That can't be right... Also, demo's should include the features of (but not totally be) a section from the actual game, to save people replaying the same parts after purchase. | |
So, for a 15gb game, instead of downloading a 1gb demo and play through a few varied missions, we download a 15gb demo that allows us to sit through the intro? Fuck that. Also, what's preventing them from shutting down features in the full game when a sequel rolls out? Hey, liked that rocket launcher in game X? Better go buy game Y because we just removed it from X. | |
Hmm I smell ulterior motives... | |
That's just the stupidest idea ever, when you use like 1h downloading a freakin demo, you don't want it to just gradually get away! DUH! that's like the Mercs 2 or Just Cause 2 crap with their 30 minutes limit (although that was thoughtful) why not control online what gamers are playing huh? | |
It's a very good idea. Sometimes I don't buy games because I don't know how goodd they are because they will leave a lot out in the demo. If you start with everything and gradually see it disapear in front of you you will know what you are missing out on. I would then be inclined to buy the game. I can see also many flaws. PC gamers might hack them somehow. The downloads will be massive and many others. If it works and it's practicle then I look forward to this type of demo. | |
Not to mention the fact that this is yet another idea that relies on making the internet a requirement for gaming. I do not want to have to be online all the time, and without doing it that way, I can't see this idea being practical. I don't play many game demos and such as it is, but I see this as going in the direction of say Ubisoft's latest DRM scheme. Really it would be nice if the industry would just knock it off given the amounts of money they are making DESPITE their claims of piracy. Either that or if the gaming consumer base would actually stop buying stuff while they keep going with all of this security and what not... instead of whining and then buying it anyway... which is why we're not taken seriously. Simply put the way how this seems is basically internet connected malware. "Hi guys, why don't you download this demo to try our game, which we've intentionally loaded with self destructive code...". I can't wait until someone releases a demo like this and makes a mistake (probably some fly by night producer using the tech without fully understanding it) and it winds up eating people's systems rather than just the game. Overall this is just as mature as game developers intentionally releasing pirate copies of their games loaded with viruses to "teach people a lesson". | |
I can see it now... | |
Meh, this will probably never see the light of day, just junior exec at Sony filling out a patent application to help their promotion prospects. | |
An intresting concept...fresh, and I suppose will stop people palying demos over and over but...what is the point? | |
I try to avoid pessimism over such things. It's new, it an idea, I support new ideas. Yet this is seriously over complicating a simple demo. The whole 'play a bit, win a bit, want to play more to win more' aspect is completely removed and the game itself is convoluted into an unmotivating, "You can play, but you are going to lose. You will first lose your sword, then your team, and now you are going to lose the goal line, you loser. Now go pay for the damn game." I would much rather prefer the simple, 'play and beat the short demo level' or 'play until the time is up' than 'play until everything is gradually ripped from my fingers'. I can equate it to a little girl being handed a My Little Pony, then letting her watch in horror as the little comb accessories disappear, then the pony's tail is ripped off, followed by the mane, then the head. Until she is left with this toy corpse. Then encourage her to buy her own. | |
Interesting concept. But no. I dig how Just Cause 2 did it. They give you 30 minutes, a drastically smaller area to navigate in, vehicles, soldiers, civilians and all that and go. Have fun. Taste it but don't swallow it so you start choking on it. Sony's idea just seems so complicated. Though once I see how it's actually employed in practice then I may really make up my mind. So far it's just a theory. Good luck Sony, hope you make it work :) | |
Been used in shareware for years, how can Sony try to patent this? Still, it works. | |
This looked like a good idea, but then I remembered that pirates could simply remove the triggers. Oh man. That sucks. | |
Sony would commit ritual suicide by making this into a reality. While there's more to pirating this than mounting a simple image, I know for a fact that there are legions of coders out there who would maul this system overnight. Sony could turn the tables on them by including a registry-killing virus in the code that only activates when the entire package is unlocked. I would love that. | |
This nonsense ranks right up there with the failed product "DIVX Disc" format in the late 90's where someone came up with a DVD disc where you'd buy a movie for 2-5 bucks, but as soon as you opened the package and the disc made contact with the air, you'd have 24 hours to watch the dvd before it degrades into being unplayable, and you needed a special player. Some companies are trying to ressurect the product yea, this won't fly either.
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So... what's wrong with normal demos? | |
As far as I understand the reason behind this concept is basically to hook the player with a game with all features working, then after some time (I guess it could up to few days, maybe even more, because if you don't like the game from the first moment, it needs some time to grow on you) you make certain key features disapear without actualy damaging the gameplay itself too much, but it making it less satisfying. Once/if the player is hooked by the game, he can return all the missing features by paying for the game. I really don't think that features will start to disapear after like 30 mins, because that would be rather iritating and you wouldn't achieve much by that. | |
I think it'd be kinda fun to play an eroding demo. How long would I have to play before the character becomes an unrecognizable wireframe? Guns that hold 1 bullet? breaking swords? non-exploding grenades? I honestly think I'd have more fun with that game than the full version. Games today are so bland. most only take 8 hours to finish. that is completely possible with an eroding demo. new challenges will arise from this too: speed runs (now with timer trigger), start the game after full erosion triggers. | |
You can't dangle the awesomeness of the full game in front of the player then cruelly drag them away from it little by little? | |
...Tell me you're kidding. | |
You pay. You shove money into the original box. Or better, you line the disk with bills, precious bills. The bigger the denomination, the better the protection from the air. On an opinion note: | |
I think I (as well as the game publishers) would rather it just stop working after a time. | |
You couldn't, which was the point. It was a bad alternative to the then new format at the time and regular movie rentals
Bingo. Companies are starting to do really annoying things to try and squeeze money out of us. I REALLY don't want to download 15 gigs and in a day have it 'degrade' into a 1 gig demo which I could have downloaded in less time in the first place, but it won't go anywhere when game crackers find a way to "stop the aging process" and companies realize they're making it easier for people to pirate. | |
What gaming needs now is more software patents... | |
Exactly. | |
So Sony are trying to steal a concept that has been used by the shareware market since the 90s. Class. | |
Crap like this is what turns people to piracy. The entire entertainment industry right now is completely defined by the question, "How much will you pay for what you used to get free?" The standard EULA (included with even console games, these days), legally defines your purchase to little more than an "extended demo." Like others have pointed out, this is more likely to be used on "full products" to promote sequels and A way this might work is an event happens in game that takes away a core feature. Happens all the time as a way to move the plot forward, but instead, you see a prompt explaining your demo of [core feature] has expired and to get it back you're going to pay money for something you already had. Randomly taking things away from the average person does not prompt "hurp derp, i guess i better buy dat gaem now hi-yuk!" as a response, it prompts, "fuck you, I wasn't done with that yet." Not even mentioning how much of a joke patenting has become, and how it either needs to be abolished or reformed completely. | |
Yay! Sony pirating someone else's idea. Yay! | |
Nope, you definitely aren't.
A very valid concern. One that I can so see them implementing, not only as a means to sell sequels, but consider this as a means to turn every game into a subscription-based thing like MMOs. For sixty bucks you no longer purchase the game, you purchase access to it for six months. After that, you're stuck with a copy of Left4Dead2 where guns cannot be reloaded, only swapped out. OR a copy of Sims3 where it gets harder and harder to keep you sims happy as negative moodlets pop up out of nowhere. Now what I don't like about this idea, conspiracies aside, is that it wouldn't work. Say you get two hours before things go to shit. That's long enough to beat some games, and not enough time to finish the tutorial levels of others. Hell, on a Metal Gear game, things would start eroding before you're halfway through the intro video. And you can't say altering the erode time per game fixes much. Some people play fast, others obsessively must complete every little sidequest and explore the level to its fullest. A similar, but superior method I have come across was in Grand Theft Auto (original). Full access to one level (1/6th of the missions, 1/3rd of the maps), but only 60 minutes to play before it quit. Even if you could beat the first mission, you couldn't go further, but it was definitely enough to tell you if you liked the game. | |
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Sony Files Patent for "Eroding" Game Demo Technology
Sony has filed a patent application for "feature eroding videogame demonstration software," a new type of game demo that starts players with the complete package but then gradually takes features away over time.
Game demos are a tricky business. Potential audiences need a healthy taste of what's in store, but there needs to be some kind of incentive to actually buy the game, too. Developers have to consider what to include, what to change and what to leave out entirely in the never-ending quest for that "leave 'em wanting more" sweet spot. But Sony appears to be working on a different kind of approach to the demo: Give players absolutely everything and then take it away from them, a little bit at a time.
A new patent filing by Sony describes a demo distribution method in which games are released in their entirety and then, by way of various "trigger metrics," gradually disabled through the removal of levels, items, abilities and other game features. A demo that makes use of the technology "permits a more complete game experience while promoting a desire to acquire permission to continue playing," the patent application says.
"While a user may initially experience most or all of the full version of the game in a demonstration mode, the mode implements trigger metrics to erode game play characteristics, such as character, object, event and/or environmental features, during game play in the demonstration mode," it continues. "As the gamer loses functionality, the user may be prompted with the trigger metrics to purchase permission to continue the game in a non-demonstration mode that disables the trigger metrics and returns the game to the more complete version."
As an example, Sony suggests that the top speed of cars in racing games could be reduced over the course of successive gaming sessions, or that the "finish event" of a race could be disabled, allowing the player to drive the track indefinitely but be unable to complete an actual race.
It's an interesting idea with one glaring flaw: How to keep people from re-enabling the "eroded" game features on their own. It seems to me that unless the piracy issue can be resolved, passing around a fully-functional version of a videogame, trigger metrics or not, is just asking for trouble.
via: Siliconera
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