Not offering a demo for inFamous: Second Son is a mistake

In disappointing news, Sucker Punch Productions' brand development director Ken Schramm has revealed there are no plans to release a playable demo for inFamous: Second Son.

I find it unfortunate that potential newcomers to the series won't have an opportunity to demo the game ahead of release, especially given the fact that Second Son is the third game in the inFamous trilogy and the first to appear on the PlayStation 4. It's likely that quite a few PS4 owners may never have previously owned a PlayStation and, because of that, may never have played an inFamous game.

"It's hard to have a demo with an open world game to be honest with you," Schramm explained to Videogamer.com. "You what, pick two missions out of the whole thing then you give them a little slice of the world, you gotta make all these walls? I don't think [having a demo] does justice to an open-world game."

While I totally understand what Schramm is saying I disagree that a demo it wouldn't do an open-world game justice. You don't need full reign of a city to get a basic idea of the game's mechanics. Give players, especially the new ones, an opportunity to see how it plays, understand some of the basic mechanics and rules of the universe, see what all of the hype is really about. Dropping $60 on a new game — regardless of hype — is always a risk.

If you are going to release the third game in a trilogy on a brand new console, knowing that the PS4 may very well be the first PlayStation some people have owned, then you need to offer them some sort of opportunity to test out the franchise. Regardless of there being a new protagonist, the same core elements of the long-standing franchise are still present within the game. At least give people a chance to test it out, even if that means a few less sales. Who knows, maybe it'll convince some people currently on the fence about jumping into a new franchise two games in already to actually buy the game.

Just to be clear, this applies to all games, not just inFamous: Second Son. Though some may argue that demos hurt game sales, I'm on the side that believes it gives the game a chance to appeal to people who may otherwise not have been interested. Demos get the game in front of eyes and in the hands of potential customers. Why would you want to limit your audience?