120°

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

By Tom Phillips
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.

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RFornillos44145d ago

sounds reasonable. if you want the game badly, then you should buy it. can't live with demos forever you know.

CraigandDayDay4145d ago (Edited 4145d ago )

I disagree. I've played the demo for GRID on the PS3 probably a hundred times. I had the game but traded it in. I just play the demo over and over every once in awhile to have fun drifting.

I hate that these game companies keep adding more and more restrictions to our gaming. If the demo is compelling enough, people will buy the game. Not allowing the demo to be played more than "x" times is NOT a good idea.

t0mmyb0y4144d ago

Same here with the Skate games. I've bought all 3. Sometimes I just want to skate around a bit without having to change the disc. And to me it sounds like Nintendo is the one who implemented the limit. "...it was a game's publisher that decided HOW MANY TIMES you can try their game." Guessing that is a requirement to post a demo smfh.

Thanks Nintendo. Grow up already.

Shnazzyone4144d ago

You do realize grid is one of those games not enough people bought even though it was fantastic right? Grid was actually fucking awesome but not enough people bought it so now there will never be a sequel. Last i checked beggers can't be choosers.

If you liked the game so much that you played the demo 100 times, then why the fuck didn't you buy it? I'm sick of this drama queen stuff about a play limit on demos. If you are playing the game demo more than 10 times then you should buy it. You do realize there's tons more content in the real game, right?

Sorry I have zero sympathy for people who play exclusively free demos and refuse to actually spend their money (or do some chores for their parents) to get the full game. It's called supporting a publisher.

CraigandDayDay4144d ago (Edited 4144d ago )

Actually, man. You're wrong. There IS a sequel coming. Not joking. Look it up. But yeah, it's a fantastic game!! I loved it. I actually enjoyed racing in that more than any other game (even GT5). The drifting was awesome! So addictive. I bought it but ended up trading it in later and I still regret trading it, but still have the demo to play now and again.

Here is GRID 2:

http://www.gridgame.com/tra...

UltraVegito4145d ago

sorry but no just no.
It's ridiculous putting a limit on playing a DEMO.

dirthurts4145d ago

I disagree. It's their property, and allowing you a free temporary license is understandable.
It's their property, and they can use it however they want.
Weather or not it makes us happy as gamers is another matter entirely.
From a business stand point, I think they realize there are people who can't play the demo alone forever and be content, thus never buying the game. It makes sense to limit that.
It's a business.
Again, not saying I like the idea, but if I was trying to make a living I would do the same thing.

MikeMyers4145d ago

I believe XBLA has demos for all the games and can be downloaded as many times as they want. If Nintendo says this is up to the publisher why isn't it the same on other platforms?

4145d ago
Ghoul4145d ago (Edited 4145d ago )

@mikemyers

because its mandatory for XBLA releases
MS forces every XBLA title to have a demo or they wont release it on XBLA

easy as that and i like it.

i mean iphone games cost around 1-5 bucks but you gotta pay it to try it out. There are simply no demos (at least almost)
and we all know how many of those micropayment games you keep playing

around 1 out of 10

demos are a must

Games are interactive and thus NEED a demo.
what would the consumers say if film makers would stop giving out trailers......

i dont have a problem with a limit if it is in a reasonable scale, if you can try a demo lets say 10-20 times its mostly enough to make yourself a picture of the product

if this leads to better demos with more gameplay elements of the release im all in.

most demos these days are so stripped down to prevent people from only playing the demo it sometimes distortes what the real game is about.

so i would be happy if those restricted demos to be more representative than most demos today

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4145d ago
CalvinKlein4145d ago (Edited 4145d ago )

well the fact that they are allowed to put restrictions on demos comes from nintendo.

I respect nintendo but they are not for me with their methods that cater to 12 year olds and their parents. that thing I read about the other day where you have to Down Load Mature rated games between 11pm and 3AM in Europe just tells me as an american that nintendo thinks it needs to parent everyone including me, and Im 26.

I honestly wont play a demo more than 1 or two times ever, unless I really like it or cant just play the real game yet and thats pretty much only one time in my life that I can remember(or the time I downloaded the snood "demo" in computer class). But still, the idea that demos can even have a limit just screams RETARDED to me.

RFornillos44144d ago (Edited 4144d ago )

like i said, it sounds reasonable. if you don't like the limits really, then it's up to you. if you really enjoy playing demos like forever, fine so be it, it's your call. you may not find it on Wii U.

@CalvinKlein. Apparently you haven't read enough about the restrictions in Europe. NOE is situated in Germany, and as such, they are bound to follow the rules and regulations. Mature games are not to be sold until around night-time. some other countries in Europe follow a similar rule. so although it's a tough situation, and even I don't agree with it, Nintendo is bound by law, otherwise they'll face legal issues. so really, it's not about Nintendo "parenting" everyone, it's about following the law, and i do hope you understand that part.

you might say, but Wii U has "parental controls" in it. how many 12-year olds can work around that "parental control" feature? or better yet, how many parents really turn on the features of parental control for their console? i guess not that many, otherwise we won't have 12-year olds screaming profanities while playing multiplayer games.

Nerdmaster4144d ago

I totally agree with that. When they announced that 3DS demos would be locked after being played a certain number of times, I was angry. But there's not one demo that I used all my "credits". Even in Nintendogs, that only allowed 10 times, there're 5 times left.

If I really like a demo, I buy the full version. If I don't like the demo, after a couple of plays I would delete it. There's just not a reason for a demo to be eternal.

Some guy here said that he had a game, sold it, and kept playing the demo. This just shows how demos can be misused. If a company releases a demo that can be played forever, and people - although they love it - don't care to have the full game, it's almost like the company is pirating itself.

ape0074144d ago (Edited 4144d ago )

i respectfully disagree, i remember demos like burnout paradise, i was playing it all the time in anticipation for the game as well as saints row 1 demo back in the day

also crackdown 2 demo, with all it's Demo Achievements that unlock later in the full game

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4144d ago
chasegarcia4145d ago (Edited 4145d ago )

sometimes i do play a demo countless times until i can afford the game or install demos so that when friends/family come they could try it out.

also this is one more annoying pop up question. It reminds me of the PS Vita. Every-time I install something it ask me if I want to let others know i bought it.

marioPSUC4145d ago

uh Nintendo is still the one that implemented this "feature" and allowed them to do so.

warringah084143d ago

The sonic generations demo on the 360 also did this (can't speak for the ps3), it's completely up to the developers.

theWB274145d ago

Sounds crazy, it's not like we somehow found a way to get the full game by playing the demo so many times it magically unlocked. Setting a limit on how many times we can play a small snippet of a game won't make us run out and buy it...and lastly who plays a demo that much to need a limit? Strange...

League_of_Draven4145d ago

Unless the demo is for Shadow Complex.

guitarded774145d ago

Aww man I never knew about that... the cheap ass in me is heartbroken I paid for it, but the gamer in me is glad I got to experience a great game. Did the demo glitch have achievements available too, or were they locked?

Nerdmaster4144d ago

Some guy in the first comment said "I've played the demo for GRID on the PS3 probably a hundred times". He sold the full game and just played the demo. So, there's an example of someone who needs a limit.

And if nobody plays demos that much to need a limit as you say, then why are people against it? What difference would it make?

theWB274144d ago

Thanks to the guy who points out the exception...they still got their money when he bought the game so the demo did it's job. In no way did it harm a game sale which further strengthens my point of pointless limits to a demo that won't MAKE someone go buy the full game. All that says is he got his fill of the game and was ok with racing here and there.

Nerdmaster4144d ago

@theWB27

You didn't say anything about my second paragraph... So I'll repeat it here:
"And if nobody plays demos that much to need a limit as you say, then why are people against it? What difference would it make?"

And yes, limits will make people buy the full game. Let's say that that guy from my example played his demo for 30 times and it expired. If he liked it that much, sooner or later he would go buy the game again. Or he wouldn't even have sold his copy in the first place, so the other guy who bought the game from him maybe would've bought a new copy.

I have a friend that keeps playing his Bayonetta demo on his PS3. He likes it, just not enough to buy the full version. And why would he, if the demo is enough for him? If it had a limit, almost certainly he would've bought the full version. Even if he didn't buy Bayonetta, all the time he spends playing this demo would've been spent by playing another games which he would've bought.

So there're two options:
- You're right, limits are worthless and change nothing. If it changes nothing, why are you against it? Just let them do their way.
- I'm right and people use demos too much and it hurts game sales (even if just a little). So putting limits will help game sales.

Either way, there's just no reason to be against limits on demos.

League_of_Draven4145d ago

Online passes and now this. What will they take away next?

FarCryLover1824145d ago

$30 to unlock blu-ray movie playback on 720 and PS4.

boybato4145d ago (Edited 4145d ago )

xbox live Rhodium subscription

animegamingnerd4145d ago

paying monthly fee's for a single player game

Y_51504145d ago

@everybody above
...DON't give them any ideas!!!

Norrison4145d ago

Console subscription, you have to pay 60$ monthly to use your console or just pay 1000$ a year and save (not) money!

boing14145d ago

Pay 60$ bucks a year to be able to play online...oh, wait :/

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4144d ago
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80°

Nintendo's Massacre Of The 3DS And Wii U Is Finally Complete, Regrettably

Hanzala from eXputer: "The cruel hammer of Nintendo has fallen. Farewell, 3DS and Wii U, you surely brightened my life and many others; you won't be forgotten."

280°

Xbox's Preservation Step Sets A Much-Needed Example, Especially For Nintendo

Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"

purple1016d ago

Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”

Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever

Nice one ☝️

Zeref5d ago

It's better than what Nintendo and Playstation is doing. It might not be perfect but at least they are TRYING. Unlike the others.

DarXyde5d ago

Trying? Take off the blinders for a moment, mate.

1. A failure to preserve games is just that: a failure to preserve games. Don't try to sugarcoat it: NO ONE is doing it properly. Better than awful is nothing to write home about.

2. At the time of this comment, isn't it the case that you need an internet connection to play Xbox games even if you buy physical discs that are hardly in circulation anymore? I don't have a Series X and I can't verify, but I think that is correct. I'm fairly certain you can at least play PS5 games at version 1.0 (not much of a win really when many games require day one patches). I think Microsoft's all digital, licensing approach is by far more aggressive than anyone else's. They really try to push you to game pass where you lose your entire library by umm.... Skipping a month of payments.

I don't think anyone is doing it right whatsoever. Don't get me started on Nintendo, who goes after anyone looking to preserve their games better than they ever would with extreme litigation.

Don't be a simp for any of these companies. Get it together.

PhillyDonJawn5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

@DarX never speak on Xbox again. You lost all credibility with your internet connection comment. Smh you have 0 clue and misinformed yet speaking on something you don't no squat about.

Einhander19725d ago

What has Sony done exactly? You guys keep deflecting to Sony but I am not actually seeing any results, and ai am certain nothing that you can come up with even comes close to what Microsoft has done and what they have tried and failed to do, like tie all your disks to your account on xbone.

Microsoft removed their whole indie section when they moved to the xbone because they were going to only allow games on the service that came from a publisher, id@xbox started after xbone launched and it only exists because Sony embraced indie and Microsoft was forced to cancel their plans and reverse course.

And every single game that was part of games for windows live including disk games (I have gta 4 on disk that won't work) so hundreds of games that use that DRM no longer work unless the company themselves patched it out which of course very few did.

MrBaskerville5d ago

Not trying. Tried. they killed of the backcomp program years ago. They set something up again, but sounds like it's more of an attempt to save the current library on whatever they are planning next. With luck they save everything and more, but let's see. I could see them killing off parts of the OG xbox and 360 libraries. Can't imagine that they would allow us to play Forza 5-7 in the future.

With that said, I do like what they've done and really wish they could have done more.

shinoff21835d ago

Zeref

So killing off physical media is trying what exactly. Ms don't really give a fk if you think they do your kidding yourself.

Profchaos5d ago

They are not trying this team is established for forward compatability the team is. It interested in preserving Xbox or 360 games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 5d ago
isarai6d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref5d ago

Just because it's digital only doesn't mean you can't preserve it. Just put it on an external and you have the exact same functionality of what a disc does.

MrNinosan5d ago

Guess you're trolling, but if you actually think that's how it works, I'd recommend buying some braincells.

mkis0074d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Volitile vs nonvolitile data. A disc will not corrupt either. A drive can be corrupted.

Einhander19726d ago

This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.

No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.

Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.

6d ago Replies(3)
Einhander19725d ago

Anyone remember xblig which Microsoft removed their whole 360 indie section removing hundreds of games from people?

5d ago
5d ago
Zeref5d ago

Do you know you can put your games on an external and preserve them that way? There are no benefits to discs. ZERO. Idk why some of you are still obsessed with them.

DarXyde5d ago

Because games like Persona 5 exist. It's STILL V1.00. On Playstation, that's a win because 1.00 is installed on the disc—no need to download anything.

If a game does not require any updates, it's all on the disc.

Extremely low bar in the modern era, of course. It's not much of a win by any stretch.

But for now, physical media does have a purpose, at least on Playstation.

Einhander19725d ago

That is factually not how game licensing works, try plugging your hard drive into someone else xbox, It's not going to work, and it won't work if the licensing servers ever go down.

Einhander19725d ago

Anyone remember games for windows live.

I have around a dozen games, some on Steam itself that will not work because Microsoft shut off the licensing servers.

BehindTheRows5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

I do. I STILL have games (Gears of War being the big one) I cannot access because Games for Windows LIVE is total garbage and no one has held Microsoft accountable.

Zeref5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership.

Chevalier5d ago

"You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership."

Damn how many times do people got to explain your idiocy to you? You can take a copy of Persona 5 like someone used as an example and play that game on ANY console WITHOUT logging in which means I can lend the game to a friend without internet and they can play my game. Can you lend your hard drive to anyone without logging in for them to play? NOPE. That is a huge difference and if you think otherwise then sorry you're an idiot.

Tacoboto5d ago

"No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft."

Ubisoft is literally erasing games people bought from their libraries... My PS1-3 discs are useless on modern hardware. Nintendo's re-published and resold almost their entire Wii U library, and the eShop is completely dead with no BC mechanism in the Switch software. Microsoft publishes everything they make today day one on Steam and Xbox/Windows. Sony only brings to PC the titles they think you might want some years later and Nintendo won't even design a functional long-lasting joystick.

You're absolutely trolling and not serious if you think Microsoft today is the worst offender.

shinoff21835d ago

Yay steam

Not everyone fks with computers though. The disc is still the best way as a console player. Period.

Tacoboto5d ago

How do Sony and Nintendo feel about these discs from 2001-2013?

Don't be stupid, you know Xbox is the best at this today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 5d ago
Hofstaderman5d ago

Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?

crazyCoconuts5d ago

Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.

Xeofate5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

That is not their plan, their plan is to transfer users accounts to the cloud.

Phil Spencer himself said as much a few months back, plans could have changed but I think people are reading way too much into one statement where Phil said he would allow Epic on xbox because he wants to be able to sell xbox games directly on other platforms. Aka, instead of selling Sea of Thives through PSN he wants to have an xbox store to sell his games on PlayStation without giving PlayStation any money.

Again, it's extremely unlikely that Phil plans to put PC on xbox and licensing would prevent them from just giving out other publishers games purchased on xbox copies of thier games on PC, Microsoft does not own their games.

crazyCoconuts4d ago

The thing that doesn't align with the cloud strategy is the giving up on exclusives. You'd still need strong exclusives for cloud streaming - it's still a "platform" , just with a lower upfront hardware investment. I feel like they've learned what PS learned with PSNow long ago. We're not ready to stream games and it's only gonna lose them money to try at this point

FinalFantasyFanatic4d ago

I would love that, I'd buy up some of the Xbox games if they could run on PC, like the Rare Replay, Lost Odyssey and Dead or Alive Ultimate, probably a pipe dream though.

Show all comments (43)
90°

Nintendo's War Against Player-Made Content Will Hurt The Company In The End

Danish from eXputer: "Nintendo has historically gone against player-made content and emulation of its games. This has done much to harm the company's image."

XiNatsuDragnel12d ago

I agree nintendo hire some these folks to help in your games it'll help imo.

banger8811d ago

They need to stop announcing these mods and fan remakes until they're finished. Finish it, upload it, and then if Nintendo dmca's it tough shit. Once it's online, people can share it around, even if the original download gets taken down.

Jingsing11d ago

True, but most modders need constant admiration during the process to motivate them.

PRIMORDUS11d ago

Yup, once it's a torrent nothing can be done Nintendo is helpless at that point. But it would be wise if they just had a site on the dark web, it's also easy to use with Tor and no one will bother you.

mastershredder10d ago

This is all coming from the mouth of short-sighted fandom and grifting madness.
No.... it wont. There is a clear defined reason why they don't. This is nothing new. Make your own shi7 from your own original ideas especially if you are trying to capitalize of it it. Duh.

Yeah, hire people that have zero respect or understanding for an established process. Wow. Yep. Totally makes sense.

shinoff218310d ago

Those guys that made that sonic game got a gig from sega or something along those lines and that game was dope as hell. One of the best sonics as of late.