Sony's demo for the upcoming Patapon 2 will be available (in the US, at least) exclusively to people who pre-order the game through Amazon or GameStop, a strategy Sony employed for its Killzone 2 demo earlier this year.
If you're eager to get to boogieing with the sequel to the PSP's rhythm-game-meets-pseudo-RTS and you live in the US of A, pata-pata-pata-pon your sorry self down to GameStop or click over to Amazon to pre-order the game, because the only way you'll be getting an early taste of the game is by plopping down an advance investment on it.
Just like they did with Killzone 2 earlier this year, Sony has figued that the best way to reward people who have already decided that they want to buy a game is by giving them members-only access to the demo. The promotion has been running at GameStop since last Friday, with the demo available via download until the 27th. Over at Amazon, the demo should be available, but users are reporting that they haven't received download codes yet. And if you're one of those people who actually buys things in person, you'll get a special card when you go to pick up the game at GameStop, which would kind of defeat the purpose of playing the demo in the first place.
Yeah, it's just a demo, sure, but it does sound fairly substantial this time around: five levels, multiplayer functionality, the introduction of the new Hero Patapon and a special helm called the Lordy Hairpiece that's only available in the demo. All items and progress get transferred over to the main game, so you can make all your friends jealous and really get your $5 deposit's worth.
This strategy made sense for Killzone 2, a game that already had a dedicated group of consumers who were dying to play the game before they even saw the first trailer, but Patapon? I think you want a demo to be accessible to as many people as possible, because it's kind of a hard concept to sell just by word of mouth: "So, you tap buttons in rhythm to make these little guys march and fight dinosaurs." Yeah, it makes more sense when you play.
Of course, if you live in Europe, you don't have to mess with any of this: the demo is freely available to all. Or you could just do without the demo and play the free webgame, which really isn't bad at all.
Meanwhile MS restricts demos for people who aren't paying for their online service... Seriously, what happened to the concept of the demo being like a trailer, advertisement that needs maximum exposure?
KDR_11k: Meanwhile MS restricts demos for people who aren't paying for their online service... Seriously, what happened to the concept of the demo being like a trailer, advertisement that needs maximum exposure?
Indeed, the idea I thought was to convince people to try out their product, it'd be like supermarkets charging you for samples...
I suppose this is only really beneficial to fans of the first game who are desperate to play the 2nd. But like the people above me, I dont believe that any money should be charged to buy a demo, which used to be a way to play before you pay.
It does seem very cynical marketing to tie people into a sale just to be able to try it however.
Sure, you can get the demo and then cancel your order, I'm assuming, but this to me makes as much sense as all the music videos disappearing off Youtube, you're desperately trying to stop people seeing your advertising???
Sorry, but that's such an incredulous question it warrants bonus punctuation.
Guys, once again, notice the big 2 next to the word Patapon. This is not something new being offered at Baskin Robbins, its the same flavour you had yesterday. The question is, today do you want to lick the spoon?
Indigo_Dingo: Guys, once again, notice the big 2 next to the word Patapon. This is not something new being offered at Baskin Robbins, its the same flavour you had yesterday. The question is, today do you want to lick the spoon?
What about people that never played Patapon?
And Sony is doing wrong. A demo is for the player to try out a small part of the game to see if he likes it or not. Not buy the game and try the demo so you can regret it.
Of course, if you live in Europe, you don't have to mess with any of this: the demo is freely available to all. Or you could just do without the demo and play the free webgame, which really isn't bad at all.
Strikes me as odd. Why are the Europeans getting off free, like the time with the Killzone 2 demo, while Americans have to pay for a demo?
Indigo_Dingo: Guys, once again, notice the big 2 next to the word Patapon. This is not something new being offered at Baskin Robbins, its the same flavour you had yesterday. The question is, today do you want to lick the spoon?
What about people that never played Patapon?
And Sony is doing wrong. A demo is for the player to try out a small part of the game to see if he likes it or not. Not buy the game and try the demo so you can regret it.
Indigo_Dingo: Guys, once again, notice the big 2 next to the word Patapon. This is not something new being offered at Baskin Robbins, its the same flavour you had yesterday. The question is, today do you want to lick the spoon?
What about people that never played Patapon?
And Sony is doing wrong. A demo is for the player to try out a small part of the game to see if he likes it or not. Not buy the game and try the demo so you can regret it.
Then why do they want to buy the sequel?
Why did people buy Half Life 2 without buying HL1?
Indigo_Dingo: Guys, once again, notice the big 2 next to the word Patapon. This is not something new being offered at Baskin Robbins, its the same flavour you had yesterday. The question is, today do you want to lick the spoon?
What about people that never played Patapon?
And Sony is doing wrong. A demo is for the player to try out a small part of the game to see if he likes it or not. Not buy the game and try the demo so you can regret it.
Then why do they want to buy the sequel?
Why did people buy Half Life 2 without buying HL1?
Indigo_Dingo: Guys, once again, notice the big 2 next to the word Patapon. This is not something new being offered at Baskin Robbins, its the same flavour you had yesterday. The question is, today do you want to lick the spoon?
What about people that never played Patapon?
And Sony is doing wrong. A demo is for the player to try out a small part of the game to see if he likes it or not. Not buy the game and try the demo so you can regret it.
Then why do they want to buy the sequel?
Why did people buy Half Life 2 without buying HL1?
Indigo_Dingo: Guys, once again, notice the big 2 next to the word Patapon. This is not something new being offered at Baskin Robbins, its the same flavour you had yesterday. The question is, today do you want to lick the spoon?
What about people that never played Patapon?
And Sony is doing wrong. A demo is for the player to try out a small part of the game to see if he likes it or not. Not buy the game and try the demo so you can regret it.
Then why do they want to buy the sequel?
Why did people buy Half Life 2 without buying HL1?
I don't know, why?
Cause Half Life 2 was on the news and people that never played HL1 picked the demo, tried it, liked it and bought it.
I never heard of Patapon till a couple of days ago when Patapon 2 showed up in a game review program on the TV.
Indigo_Dingo: Guys, once again, notice the big 2 next to the word Patapon. This is not something new being offered at Baskin Robbins, its the same flavour you had yesterday. The question is, today do you want to lick the spoon?
What about people that never played Patapon?
And Sony is doing wrong. A demo is for the player to try out a small part of the game to see if he likes it or not. Not buy the game and try the demo so you can regret it.
Then why do they want to buy the sequel?
Why did people buy Half Life 2 without buying HL1?
I don't know, why?
Cause Half Life 2 was on the news and people that never played HL1 picked the demo, tried it, liked it and bought it.
I never heard of Patapon till a couple of days ago when Patapon 2 showed up in a game review program on the TV.
There actually was a Half Life 2 demo? Think hard and make sure, this was 2004.
Time it took to research this: 30 seconds. Amount of hard thinking required: none unless you count "I wonder what would happen if I typed 'half-life 2 demo' into Google would bring up?" as hard thinking. And before you say it because you think you'll have somehow salvaged something out of this, yes, this demo was released after the game came out. That does not change the fact that there was a demo to begin with. It also does not change the fact that you could've saved yourself the trouble, as you could have many times before, if you took the time to learn how to do a Google search.
Time it took to research this: 30 seconds. Amount of hard thinking required: none unless you count "I wonder what would happen if I typed 'half-life 2 demo' into Google would bring up?" as hard thinking. And before you say it because you think you'll have somehow salvaged something out of this, yes, this demo was released after the game came out. That does not change the fact that there was a demo to begin with. It also does not change the fact that you could've saved yourself the trouble, as you could have many times before, if you took the time to learn how to do a Google search.
No, the fact that the demo was released only after the game came out is my entire point. Once this game is actually released, the demo will be free to download and play. It is only before its release that in the US the only way to access it is to preorder the game. This is not a new concept, all Sony are doing is making it exclusive to preorder in the US alone.
Time it took to research this: 30 seconds. Amount of hard thinking required: none unless you count "I wonder what would happen if I typed 'half-life 2 demo' into Google would bring up?" as hard thinking. And before you say it because you think you'll have somehow salvaged something out of this, yes, this demo was released after the game came out. That does not change the fact that there was a demo to begin with. It also does not change the fact that you could've saved yourself the trouble, as you could have many times before, if you took the time to learn how to do a Google search.
No, the fact that the demo was released only after the game came out is my entire point. Once this game is actually released, the demo will be free to download and play. It is only before its release that in the US the only way to access it is to preorder the game. This is not a new concept, all Sony are doing is making it exclusive to preorder in the US alone.
I'm sorry. Your question was "did Half-Life 2 have a demo?" That is a yes or no question. I provided the answer. As usual, you continue to spin the answer to serve whatever purpose you want it to be, but it doesn't change anything. Half-Life 2 had a demo. That was what I sought to answer there. I could care less about your pathetic attempts to justify an arrogant juggernaut of a company.
AceDiamond: I'm sorry. Your question was "did Half-Life 2 have a demo?" That is a yes or no question. I provided the answer. As usual, you continue to spin the answer to serve whatever purpose you want it to be, but it doesn't change anything. Half-Life 2 had a demo. That was what I sought to answer there. I could care less about your pathetic attempts to justify an arrogant juggernaut of a company.
I don't own a PSP so I'm kind of a moot point, but if I did I would refrain from buying the game after reading this. That would feel like rewarding bad behavior.
AceDiamond: I'm sorry. Your question was "did Half-Life 2 have a demo?" That is a yes or no question. I provided the answer. As usual, you continue to spin the answer to serve whatever purpose you want it to be, but it doesn't change anything. Half-Life 2 had a demo. That was what I sought to answer there. I could care less about your pathetic attempts to justify an arrogant juggernaut of a company.
You mean VALVe? :D
Sony, who are the arrogant juggernaut of a company.
AceDiamond: I'm sorry. Your question was "did Half-Life 2 have a demo?" That is a yes or no question. I provided the answer. As usual, you continue to spin the answer to serve whatever purpose you want it to be, but it doesn't change anything. Half-Life 2 had a demo. That was what I sought to answer there. I could care less about your pathetic attempts to justify an arrogant juggernaut of a company.
You mean VALVe? :D
Sony, who are the arrogant juggernaut of a company.
AceDiamond: I'm sorry. Your question was "did Half-Life 2 have a demo?" That is a yes or no question. I provided the answer. As usual, you continue to spin the answer to serve whatever purpose you want it to be, but it doesn't change anything. Half-Life 2 had a demo. That was what I sought to answer there. I could care less about your pathetic attempts to justify an arrogant juggernaut of a company.
You mean VALVe? :D
Sony, who are the arrogant juggernaut of a company.
And so, as he pointed out, are Valve.
Nope pretty sure its Sony. As I wasnt attempting to justify nothing that Valve did.
AceDiamond: I'm sorry. Your question was "did Half-Life 2 have a demo?" That is a yes or no question. I provided the answer. As usual, you continue to spin the answer to serve whatever purpose you want it to be, but it doesn't change anything. Half-Life 2 had a demo. That was what I sought to answer there. I could care less about your pathetic attempts to justify an arrogant juggernaut of a company.
You mean VALVe? :D
Sony, who are the arrogant juggernaut of a company.
And so, as he pointed out, are Valve.
Nope pretty sure its Sony. As I wasnt attempting to justify nothing that Valve did.
Valve also didn't have a demo for their game released before it went on sale - difference here is Sony is offering the demo to people in Europe.
AceDiamond: I'm sorry. Your question was "did Half-Life 2 have a demo?" That is a yes or no question. I provided the answer. As usual, you continue to spin the answer to serve whatever purpose you want it to be, but it doesn't change anything. Half-Life 2 had a demo. That was what I sought to answer there. I could care less about your pathetic attempts to justify an arrogant juggernaut of a company.
You mean VALVe? :D
Sony, who are the arrogant juggernaut of a company.
And so, as he pointed out, are Valve.
Nope pretty sure its Sony. As I wasnt attempting to justify nothing that Valve did.
Valve also didn't have a demo for their game released before it went on sale - difference here is Sony is offering the demo to people in Europe.
Fine. FEAR2 had a demo and its a sequel people that didnt play FEAR 1 played FEAR2 demo got interested and bought FEAR2 and maybe FEAR1. Happy?
Jak 2 had a demo and its a sequel people that didnt play Jak 1 played Jak 2 demo got interested and bought Jak2 and maybe Jak1.
God of War 2 had a demo and its a sequel people that didnt play God of War 1 played God of War 2 demo got interested and bought God of War 2 and maybe God of War 1.
AceDiamond: I'm sorry. Your question was "did Half-Life 2 have a demo?" That is a yes or no question. I provided the answer. As usual, you continue to spin the answer to serve whatever purpose you want it to be, but it doesn't change anything. Half-Life 2 had a demo. That was what I sought to answer there. I could care less about your pathetic attempts to justify an arrogant juggernaut of a company.
You mean VALVe? :D
Sony, who are the arrogant juggernaut of a company.
And so, as he pointed out, are Valve.
Nope pretty sure its Sony. As I wasnt attempting to justify nothing that Valve did.
Valve also didn't have a demo for their game released before it went on sale - difference here is Sony is offering the demo to people in Europe.
Fine. FEAR2 had a demo and its a sequel people that didnt play FEAR 1 played FEAR2 demo got interested and bought FEAR2 and maybe FEAR1. Happy?
Jak 2 had a demo and its a sequel people that didnt play Jak 1 played Jak 2 demo got interested and bought Jak2 and maybe Jak1.
God of War 2 had a demo and its a sequel people that didnt play God of War 1 played God of War 2 demo got interested and bought God of War 2 and maybe God of War 1.
Both Jak 2 and God Of War II were distributed as demo discs, and went through a relatively exclusive form of distribution. Try harder.
Ok, here is the actual facts, since you seem to have forgotten them. In the US and only the US, this demo will be available to those who preorder it for a limmited time, before it is released to everyone for download.
AceDiamond: I'm sorry. Your question was "did Half-Life 2 have a demo?" That is a yes or no question. I provided the answer. As usual, you continue to spin the answer to serve whatever purpose you want it to be, but it doesn't change anything. Half-Life 2 had a demo. That was what I sought to answer there. I could care less about your pathetic attempts to justify an arrogant juggernaut of a company.
You mean VALVe? :D
Sony, who are the arrogant juggernaut of a company.
And so, as he pointed out, are Valve.
Nope pretty sure its Sony. As I wasnt attempting to justify nothing that Valve did.
Valve also didn't have a demo for their game released before it went on sale - difference here is Sony is offering the demo to people in Europe.
Fine. FEAR2 had a demo and its a sequel people that didnt play FEAR 1 played FEAR2 demo got interested and bought FEAR2 and maybe FEAR1. Happy?
Jak 2 had a demo and its a sequel people that didnt play Jak 1 played Jak 2 demo got interested and bought Jak2 and maybe Jak1.
God of War 2 had a demo and its a sequel people that didnt play God of War 1 played God of War 2 demo got interested and bought God of War 2 and maybe God of War 1.
Both Jak 2 and God Of War II were distributed as demo discs, and went through a relatively exclusive form of distribution. Try harder.
Ok, here is the actual facts, since you seem to have forgotten them. In the US and only the US, this demo will be available to those who preorder it for a limmited time, before it is released to everyone for download.
Try harder eh? Okay Europa Universallis 2 & 3 had a demo and are sequels people that didnt play EU1 played EU 2 or 3 demo got interested and bought EU 2 or 3 and maybe the previous instalements.
hearts of iron 2 had a demo and its a sequel people that didnt play HoI 1 played HoI 2 demo got interested and bought HoI 2 and maybe HoI 1.
Civilization 4 had a demo and its a sequel people that didnt play previous Civ games played Civilization 4 demo got interested and bought Civilization 4 and maybe the other Civ games.
Systemshock 2 had a demo and its a sequel people that didnt play Systemshock 1 played Systemshock 2 demo got interested and bought Systemshock 2 and maybe Systemshock 1.
As much as I would love to debate whether or not VALVe is an arrogant company on some standard, as I do think on some points they (or at least Gabe) are asshole-like, I was joking around. Yeesh, even AceDiamond (I hope) knew that I was just playing around while you two just started that argument out of nothing.
Jeez, Chillax dudes. Sorry from trying to bring some humour here.
EDIT: And I think, oliveira8, you're missing what Indigo is trying to say. The demo for Patapon 2 is still going to be available for free in Europe to everyone, and once the game is released, the demo will be released publicly in the US. They did the same thing with Killzone 2. Though why they're letting the Europes have something earlier than us, who knows, maybe they feel sorry for them that they always get shafted for releases.
Extra Punctuation
MovieBob: Intermission
Experienced Points
First Person
Exploding Barrels
Miracle of Sound: Encore
Special Attack
Loading Time
Backchat
Drinking Games
Escape to the Movies
Escapecraft
Escapist News Wrap - Premium
Escapist Podcast
Feed Dump
GinxTV
Jimquisition
LoadingReadyRun
Mahalo
Meatbag and Co
Media Sandwich
Miracle of Sound
No Right Answer
Pro-Gamer Gauntlet
Reviews
Space Janitors
Tales from the Table
The Big Picture
The Escapist Presents
The Retro Show
Trailers
Unskippable
Zero Punctuation
Max Payne 3 Review
Company of Heroes 2
XCOM Enemy Unknown
Black Ops 2
Diablo 3 Review
TERA Review
Firefall Beta Preview
Starhawk Review
Critical Miss
Name Game
Patapon 2 Demo Is Only For Pre-Orders
Sony's demo for the upcoming Patapon 2 will be available (in the US, at least) exclusively to people who pre-order the game through Amazon or GameStop, a strategy Sony employed for its Killzone 2 demo earlier this year.
If you're eager to get to boogieing with the sequel to the PSP's rhythm-game-meets-pseudo-RTS and you live in the US of A, pata-pata-pata-pon your sorry self down to GameStop or click over to Amazon to pre-order the game, because the only way you'll be getting an early taste of the game is by plopping down an advance investment on it.
Just like they did with Killzone 2 earlier this year, Sony has figued that the best way to reward people who have already decided that they want to buy a game is by giving them members-only access to the demo. The promotion has been running at GameStop since last Friday, with the demo available via download until the 27th. Over at Amazon, the demo should be available, but users are reporting that they haven't received download codes yet. And if you're one of those people who actually buys things in person, you'll get a special card when you go to pick up the game at GameStop, which would kind of defeat the purpose of playing the demo in the first place.
Yeah, it's just a demo, sure, but it does sound fairly substantial this time around: five levels, multiplayer functionality, the introduction of the new Hero Patapon and a special helm called the Lordy Hairpiece that's only available in the demo. All items and progress get transferred over to the main game, so you can make all your friends jealous and really get your $5 deposit's worth.
This strategy made sense for Killzone 2, a game that already had a dedicated group of consumers who were dying to play the game before they even saw the first trailer, but Patapon? I think you want a demo to be accessible to as many people as possible, because it's kind of a hard concept to sell just by word of mouth: "So, you tap buttons in rhythm to make these little guys march and fight dinosaurs." Yeah, it makes more sense when you play.
Of course, if you live in Europe, you don't have to mess with any of this: the demo is freely available to all. Or you could just do without the demo and play the free webgame, which really isn't bad at all.
Permalink