The end of free demos as we know it?   

Crytek co-founder Cevat Yerli tells Develop that you might be paying money just for the privilege of trying Crysis 2 before it comes out. Yerli calls free game demos an antiquated "luxury" that have become "prohibitively expensive" to produce. The result: many studios will either stop releasing them or try to charge for an early test of the game. EA has already brought this idea up as "pre-launch DLC," and Yerli says that what EA is "really trying to do is get investment back but while being as fair to the gamer as much as it can." He continues, "Ultimately, it will be a better deal for the gamer."

Yerli says his company hasn't yet decided whether there will be a demo for Crysis 2 or not, though he thankfully admits that a paid demo should be "something more than a small demo released for free." Takeaway is the same, regardless: because of the development cost of building a giveaway level or two before launch, Yerli says the days of free demos are numbered.   

Well I would never ever pay money for a demo
 
It's that simple

No, it won't work. I'll never pay for a demo.

Yeah, right. I bet it's going to work like that, instead of 5 bones for a 20 minute trial. Yesssiree.

I think people should pay extra for watching the ads on SuperBowl, because they are really good. Through that, maybe you could buy the product cheaper!

I would think some kind of free demo -or at least a benchmark tool- is a necessity on the PC.

I say they take that chunk of money Out of their advertising budget for the game because thats what I see a Demo as.

The idea of paying for a demo is positively asinine and kind of misses the point of a demo. This demo isn't so fervent fans can get a taste of omg Crysis 2, cus your shit isn't Halo. Halo can do that, and like 2 other IPs, and not you. For everyone else, the demo is in of itself a tool of advertisement to win people over and charging for it is like charging to see a commercial. Stupid stupid stupid.

Do these people not understand a demo's purpose?

Demos should be compulsory for PC games. Hardly anyone is going to be playing the Crysis 2 you see in screenshots, the consumer has a right to know how their system is going to hold up.

" Do these people not understand a demo's purpose? "

They are shooting themselves in the foot constantly.

Paying for demos? That's the dumbest thing ever. I think they are completely missing the point of demos.

How anyone still takes Cevat seriously is beyond me.

Maybe I would do that for games like Uncharted 3 that I know I'm going to love and I'd only do it if the demo came out before the game.

Game makers have been bitchin' about the cost of a demo for years but many make them anyway because it's part of the marketing of a game.  Most new IPs can't survive with just standard magazine and website ads.  And, I think a game demo is probably cheaper than producing and airing a full blown TV commercial.  I can see a future where you download a game and then its overall time of play shrinks unless you pay some to unlock it, but I can't really believe that anyone will pay to play just a demo.  Okay, at one point, I know there were people who bought Crackdown for the Halo 3 beta and various Final Fantasys have been included with other games or DVDs, but with those you were still getting something bigger for your money.  If the Halo addict chose not to play Crackdown it was their loss, but it was actually what they paid for not the demo.  And, so I personally can't think of a single game I'd pay money for just to play the demo.

i wouldnt play a demo if i had to pay for it.  
i would just wait for the quick look. 

Yerli says that what EA is "really trying to do is get investment back but while being as fair to the gamer as much as it can." He continues, "Ultimately, it will be a better deal for the gamer    

" @solidlife: Definitely agree here. Besides if I want to PAY to demo a game, I can wait until release and get a full week's time with the full product for $8 from a rental store. "

This is a great idea! (for them). It means that there's already a sense of commitment on behalf of the person buying the demo - "well, I've already spent $10, I may as well get the full game now". But it's not so much of a great idea for customers. 
 
A demo should be a tool which helps me decide whether I want to spend money on the game or not. I shouldn't be spending money in order to see if I want to spend even more money on a product (isn't this the way scams work!?).

Yay, piracy!

" Yay, piracy! "

Fuck them, it is the price they pay for selling the game to the public, and undecided buyers. I look at a demo as a marketing tool, therefore it is part of their marketing budget. Now the concept of me paying someone to try and sell a product to me is ludicrous. 
 
A game like crysis is a showpiece, and benchmark for the industry. A free demo allows more people to experience a taste of the game and generate discussion. 
 
I will personally never purchase a demo. It's like paying to watch a trailer for a movie, and that is just stupid business IMO

" @solidlife: Definitely agree here. Besides if I want to PAY to demo a game, I can wait until release and get a full week's time with the full product for $8 from a rental store. "

How are demos "prohibitively" expensive to produce? If he went into some/any detail on that I might be more sympathetic - the Crysis demo was 95% of the first level of the game, it wasn't unique to the demo or edited in any way as far as I could see. So where does enough money for it be described as "prohibitively expensive" go? 
 
The only thing that jumps out at me is trying to offset the advantage a (pre-release, anyway) demo can give to crackers by putting extra time and money into securing it. But if that's really the case there's a big difference between a post-release demo and a paid-for demo. 
 
This reminds me way too much of the over the top reaction the Crytek head's had over the sales of Crysis vs. the figures for piracy (that if you asked me they pulled out of their asses) - to my mind it was obviously them paving the way to make Crysis 2 multi-platform, in spite of their initial PC ONLY attitude. Well guys, we *wanted* to keep it pc exclusive but you just went and pirated it too damn much didn't you?! Of course, it has nothing to do with you being a business and wanting to make more money, which is obviously fair enough, just have the decency to be up-front about it and not hide behind bullshit.  

Crytek is really pumping out that positive PR lately

So what they're saying is that they want me to pay to partake in what effectively is an advertisement?
 
Well, Mr. Crytek boss, here's some news for ya: I no get demo free -> I no play demo. I no play demo -> I no buy Crysis 2. I no buy Crysis 2 -> You no get any money.

I used to be huge on demos back in the old Apogee days and what have you.  They'd give you enough game to play more than once and enjoy it.  With most demos nowadays, the amount of content they give you is so small that it's kind of an art for them to find the right crumbs to feed you to actually give you an idea of what the game is like - or give you the most positive and inaccurate impression of what the game is like, if they're trying to scam you.  I wouldn't be altogether disappointed if demos went away forever, if they're so prohibitively expensive, but I bet some developers trying to make a name for themselves will still have to in order to sell people on the fence.

I'm never going to buy a demo.

I have downloaded 2 demos in the last year plus so this doesn't really affect me but like  ViciousReiven said I can rent a game for $4-8 depending on how long I want to rent it and for most games play the entire thing and then decide if I want to buy.  But honestly I could care less about Demos.

Well it's prohibitive for me to buy games that don't have demo's so enjoy not getting my 60$!  If you're lucky and it looks good I'll rent it from gamefly.  Or just watch my roommate pirate the pc version and see how it is.

We used to pay for demos, don't see any reason why it wouldn't work if they started charging for them again.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. That's the epitome of a paid demo. And look where it's gone. Nobody I know gave a crap for it.

What's next, DRM for demos to stop the piracy of demos?

remember demo disks and FUCKING Gran Turismo 5 Prologue!!! 
in the old days magazines would pay to include a games demo  so it offset the price to produce the demo.  
well i don't have to bring up the stupidity of the prologue games.

they want me to pay for the thing that will tell me if i want to pay for the game...no thanks

The only way this would work is if Developers made a special prologue or extra piece only included in a demo that showcased the gameplay and it was not included in the final product. I could see that being a worthwhile purchase of extra content before the game came out and a demonstration of what the game had to offer. Otherwise, it's just a rip off to pay for a simple demo.

they are just trying to make more money. they are a business so i cant fault them for that but there are many more options before this should even be considered. as others have said it should be in there marketing budget, put an ad before the demo will play to offset the cost, something. there only option is to make me pay for a demonstration/advertisement so that i can then spend even more money for what they are demonstration/advertisement if i like it? McDonald's has been giving away free coffee, i get mailed free samples, i get free samples of food at some places. why? because they know if i try it and like it i may buy some more. letting me try the product first hand is much better then me seeing a tv ad or going by someone else's input.
 
if they go this route i am not going to go crazy and boycott them, but i will not be as informed as to the quality of the product and may not be willing to risk my money.