Go Pre-Load Your Left 4 Dead 2 Demo, Son

[modeps]

Valve just sent along a press release letting us know that people who pre ordered Left 4 Dead 2 can now pre-load it in anticipation of its release early next week.

LEFT 4 DEAD 2 DEMO PRE-LOADING NOW
 
Those who have pre-purchased Left 4 Dead 2 via Steam may now pre-load the game demo, which is due to launch for early access on Tuesday, October 27. Early access to the L4D2 demo is available for both retail (360, PC) and Steam (PC) customers. Those who pre-ordered via participating retailers should be able to pick up their early access codes this weekend and be ready to play on Tuesday when the demo launches.

It's a good time to be a PC gamer!

[Syl]

oh. oh god. The demo.

This is for the demo.

I was about to shit a brick thinking that i had to find a way to buy the 4 pack of L4D2 before the end of the week.

[Anenome]

What use is a pre-release demo for people who already bought the game... as a reward? I guess, but the people you really want to get the demo to are those whom really haven't bought your game yet. I suppose this is better than giving pre-orderers some exclusive in-game content? Dunno. I can understand why they might do something like this, but it still seems a bit off somehow.

In any case, can't wait to play the demo :D

[CSargeP]

I've already finished my pre load. Can't wait to play it!

[Primus]

Pre-load the demo!!

[MasterEvilAce]

I suppose this is better than giving pre-orderers some exclusive in-game content?
baseball bat


I do agree with you, though. It IS strange. I think it's more of a "quench your thirst" type of thing. Plus it helps distribute the steam server load.. some people download the demo today, others download it later.

[sixtyfps]

I know why they allow people who already paid for the game to play the demo first.

It's because people who have invested in something are much more likely to spread positive word-of-mouth about a demo than people who haven't invested. The three most difficult words for the human mouth to say sequentially are "I was wrong". ;)

[Dr.Acula]

Didn't pre-orderers get early access to limited versions of L4D and TF2 as well? Seems par for the course for Valve. Demoing games is more useful to Valve as a beta-test, I'd imagine, as it allows them to get a lot of hours of high-volume playing before the official release.

[Aneurhythmia]

The demo will be freely available a week after the limited release to pre-orders.

[Mozgus]

Even if the demo will be available to everyone a week later, this still seems retarded and a wasted opportunity to me. Demos are supposed to be the most potent lure that gets a potential customer's attention. You don't fucking withhold that from your potential customers, so you can let your existing customers snack on it a little earlier. Yeah, it's nice to those guys, but from a business perspective, it's completely ass backwards, and there's absolutely no one who could argue otherwise. You're sacrificing a week's worth of additional sales for no reason. It's really only going to make the final product less exciting when it comes out.

Remember when the No Mercy demo for L4D came out? We all played it like a dozen times through. Then the real game comes out, and by that time, No Mercy was boring as hell.

[Anenome]

I think it's more of a "quench your thirst" type of thing. Plus it helps distribute the steam server load.. some people download the demo today, others download it later.
- This does make sense, good on ya.

...people who have invested in something are much more likely to spread positive word-of-mouth about a demo than people who haven't invested.
- This is quite true, and something I came to realize after my post as well. If the game is good, this can only serve to heighten interest to a truly fevered pitch. But it's only going to work if your game is good, if you as a company believe in it for its entertainment value alone. Which probably explains why we don't see more companies making demos.

Demoing games is more useful to Valve as a beta-test
- This is a good point also, they can get play statistics, etc.

Games have the problem of not having 'big name' actors to help push them, promote them, and draw crowd. But wouldn't it be funny if a game licensed the likeness of a famous actor to play themselves in a game like this? Like, what if L4D2 was actually about finding yourself alone in the middle of a zombie attack when you were attending a speech by Arnold Swarzenegger, governor of California. Your mission then is to get him out alive. And he wouldn't be playable of course, but that could make for some pretty memorable scenes if it was 'acted/scripted' correctly. Little humor here, little fear and humanity there, and tons of accented quotes. There'd be some pretty heavy irony in there, an action hero now fighting for his life for real, etc.

Graphic technology is good enough to pull off a perfect likeness like this these days. I think it's not done because of the momentum of days past. That is, this would've been impossible when gaming was young, sprites simply can't capture a face. So other methods were developed to make games fun and interesting, and those methods are still being employed. But technology continually makes new things possible.

I wonder though if players would rebel against a concept like this because they aren't playing the character of focus, the hero. Personally, I've been waiting to play a version of Normandy Beach which features thousands of soldiers and german's-AI that can't tell me from any other soldier. That's epic scope and authentic/organic gameplay.

[brandonjclark]

At first I was thinking > OMG, WTF MOFO's STUPID SON OF A BITC!

Then I realized that this is L4D2, so I stopped caring.


Demo's for ONLY pre-oders are stupid, but if you release a demo for the game to the general public a week later, it's all good.

[LilAbner]

It's a good time to be a PC gamer!

I'll bet!!

Because you can afford a good PC gaming rig despite the worst recession since the Great Depression!

</envy>

[modeps]

I'll bet!!

Because you can afford a good PC gaming rig despite the worst recession since the Great Depression!

</envy>

Actually, the only reason why I've got a decent PC is because my last one crapped out and I was forced to build a new one... now that I have a newer one, I'm playing more games.

[Syl]

I'll bet!!

Because you can afford a good PC gaming rig despite the worst recession since the Great Depression!

</envy>
It's cheaper than buying an HDTV!

[Anenome]

It's cheaper than buying an HDTV!
Look into Visio HDTV's, they are cheapest on the market with great quality. I've got a couple in the house now, love 'em. They were formed specifically to put together a low cost HDTV production facility, and have been blowing everyone away ever since. I bought one for a tv and it ended up becoming my monitor when my LCD burned out a few weeks later, and I couldn't be happier. It's got a tv tuner built in and still cheaper than the smaller screen'd computer-only LCD that it replaced. This one was less than $300 for 22"

[Anenome]

At first I was thinking > OMG, WTF MOFO's STUPID SON OF A BITC!

Then I realized that this is L4D2, so I stopped caring.


Demo's for ONLY pre-oders are stupid, but if you release a demo for the game to the general public a week later, it's all good.
Borderlands in one day.......

[Methos]

Borderlands in one day.......

This. Necessary added text inserted here. :p

[Anenome]

This. Necessary added text inserted here. :p
26min
http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=1804718

[Anenome]

Dammit, still 12 hours to go for me =\ Factoring in the international dateline blows.