Steam Introduces 90-Minute Game Trials
Steam has just unveiled a new option for anybody using their storefront. This system allows players to try out a new release to see if its worth them spending however much the game costs. Its a system thats been in place in gaming for decades now, but its also one thats been dying out recently- with Playstation even locking demos behind a Playstation Plus paywall. Unlike pre-made demos, this new offering from Steam allows players to experience 90 minutes of a game before being given the choice as to whether they would like to purchase it or not.
The first game on offer is EA’s Dead Space, which came out earlier this year. This is likely a test-run to see how the programme is received by players. Considering that its just an upgraded version of Steam’s old policy of being able to return a game within 2 hours of purchasing it, this is likely to be received relatively positively. This is especially considering how the recent state of a lot of PC ports (Star Wars Jedi: Survivor being the most recent) have left a large majority of players disappointed and angry. By having a 90-minute trial option, players will be able to experience how a certain game plays and performs on their specific PCs and, therefore, if the game is worth picking up for them.
It’s unclear as to what Valve’s future plans are for this programme, with the Dead Space demo only being available until May 29th. Whether other demos of games will be a limited release similar to how Games with Gold works or if they’ll stick around for the entire lifetime of a game remains to be seen. If this process becomes more widespread, (or even mandatory) however, it may force developers to put more effort into PC ports, which have been severely lacking in the last 12 months especially. By giving each player a way to see how broken a port is for no cost, more time may be put into making a more polished port similar to what’s usually seen on consoles.
One final important note is that all progress gained from these demos does carry across into the main game, so you won’t have to restart from scratch if you do decide to pick it up. While this idea is still in its early stages, its always a consumer-friendly idea to let gamers try a new project before spending upwards of £70 on it. Hopefully, these will become more widespread to spread the word on good games and keep people from laying down money for those PC ports that really don’t deserve it.
