Rockstar probably hates you. Secret insider ninjas (actually, VideoGames.com) have informed us that Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network will not be seeing a demo for the year’s most anticipated game, Grand Theft Auto 4. A Rockstar representative was quoted as saying, "Most people know the concept of GTA anyway. I don’t know that the demo is worth the time and effort."
Most people know the concept of driving, but they still take a test drive in a car before the buy it. While it’s true that not all games have demos, I think Rockstar is wrong for not putting one out. They are the ones who keep saying that this game is different than their other games. Showing off the new features (i.e. new targeting system!) to players, like myself, who are just burnt out on the GTA franchise would benefit Rockstar enormously.
And not worth the time and effort? My mind is taken back to a certain Halo Beta that was sold with a free copy of Crackdown last year. Normally I am not a sandbox gamer and Crackdown is not a game I would have picked up under normal circumstances. Fortunately, normal circumstances didn’t occur. I played the demo. It pulled me right into the Crackdown world and made me want to be a super cop. It showed off just enough of the game play and just enough of the world that I wanted more. I wanted to leap tall buildings in a single bound. I wanted to make gigantic chain explosions. And I wanted orbs.
These days demos are extremely important. And having one that shows me how awesome all the new control and story tweaks are, was probably the only thing that was going to get me to spend my hard earned 60 dollars (er… 65.02 after tax) on GTA this April. I have yet to see anything that I want to do in Liberty City, so the way I see it: no demo from Rockstar, no dollars from me.
