Want more evidence of the
patent degradation of modern society? Well, here's Sony with its latest idea for
selling games. The feature-eroding demo concept gives the user the full game to start off with, but then grows increasingly more limited the more you play it. In racing games, that means the number of tracks you can race on gradually dwindles, whereas in classically themed smack-em-ups like
God of War your sword, erm... well, it also dwindles. We're kind of on the fence about this -- on the one hand, it's hilariously insulting to the user as it perpetually nags him about what a cheapskate he is for not purchasing the entire game, and yet on the other it does at least let you taste the full breadth of the game, albeit for a limited time. However you may feel, this is still at the application stage, but given the
patent office's recent track record, there's no reason why Sony should be denied the rights over this supposed innovation.
posted March 5th 2010 1:19PM
"We're kind of on the fence about this" -- No, no, the patent app is a *good* thing. It means that nobody else will be able to pull this.
@John Stracke
So I can get a patent on crappy games and people that make them will have pay me?
Sony = scumbags, created yet another path to pull an extra buck from kinds pockets
@AndroidFreewareORG err, "kinds" = "kids"
I see this as a somewhat creative way to dish out demos and let people experience more than one small stage of a game... however, the reason i like demos (downloadable ones at least) is that the file size is small. I'm happy to waste 15 minutes downloading a ~150MB demo. If it sucks, whatever. I've wasted 15 minutes doing worse things. But if this were something like Metal Gear Solid 4 which used a full Bluray, I don't think I'd be so if I discover I don't like the game... let alone what the poor suckers with bandwidth caps would feel.
We need Apple to enter this market segment, reinvent the industry with some "iPlay" thingy. Then Google jump on the bandwagon, looks where Apple failed, creates an open gaming platform, delegates a company like HTC to create devices for it. Then the consumers will be happy and Sony goes broke.
@AndroidFreewareORG Wow... You need to put down the weed man.
call your doctor if you experience a demo lasting more than four hours
So if they were to go this route and get the patent, will we have to wait until games are actually finished to download their demos? I thought demos in a way helped developers get the consumer's side of things and improve the product for release?
Oddly, the patent system makes me more angry than paying taxes.
Seriously .... Anyone tell me why they would patent this. Is apple coming out with a system to rival Playstation. This is the only thing i could think of.
It is too broad.
It should detail the exact mechanism that will limit it. Decay rate of game. Loss of levels equals.
But Game + Limiting + features + loss = too broad. Or at least it should be considered to Broad. But hey who knows with the broken patent system.
I think I will go patent breathing using the nose and make everyone else walk around panting like a dog.
A patent? WTF ever happened to getting a copyright or w/e? IDK, its a creative idea, but an invention? I'm sure the patent office will give them patent rights to this *sigh*
Okay, so...
As you are about to decapitate your enemy, your sword shrinks and you just cool him off with a slight breeze instead.
As you are about to make that sharp, downhill turn at Laguna Seca, you lose your power steering - and your best time.
As you are about to nail that double mctwist 1080, the snow melts.
As you are about to type that last hypothetical, your keyb
@NHAnimator
Brilliant! If only I could come up with a quote that good...
If I did that and thought like Sony, I'd patent it!
Wat? Then they are going to sure every car sim studio because of tyre wear?
I really really liked the timed demo for EA's Skate. I must have played it 100's of times without getting bored.
When I finally got round to buying the full game I was disappointed. Everything good about the game was included in that short, 2 minute demo.
When I played the full game I found myself skating around doing nothing for long periods without really doing anything. When you did find a spot it often took a long while to set up a run and when you finally nailed something good, the sense of satisfaction soon wore off.
When I skated in that area in the full game it didn't have the same feeling. When you weren't against the clock it almost seemed pointless. I think in some ways I preferred the demo to the full game.
I'm sorry for the essay, I suppose what I'm saying is, if the demo had gradually degraded over time there's no way I could have got as much fun out of it as I did.
How about taking it to the next level..?
Game start: Male Hero is in full armor, with a big sword.
6 hours in: Male Hero is in full armor, with a tiny dagger.
8 hours in: Male Hero is in a frilly pink tutu that provides no protection, and he's completely unarmed.
10 hours in: Male Hero is wearing a pink thong, and has lost both his arms.
14 hours in: Male Hero has no legs, no arms, and now has the face of Don Knotts.
24 hours in: Male Hero is now just the head of Abe Vigoda with the mouth sewn shut, and no color vision or depth perception. Also, he's got HIV and suffers from the delusion that he's Megan Fox's left butt cheek.
48 hours in: The game just openly mocks and insults the player whenever they start it up.
I think you've inverted how this would be used in a driving game. Instead of fewer tracks/time, they would probably use it to degrade parts of your car over time. You know, making the game more realistic!
After 6 months you have to pay to change your virtual oil. After a year you have to change your virtual brakes. And you can implement this in various ways too! You can pay in one lump sum to purchase a new (virtual) car warranty, or you can just buy each element separately. And if you want to win those virtual races and get invited to the big (virtual) leagues, you'll do it!!!
Like everyone else says... it's a feature, not a bug... just making your game more realistic.
I don't know whats more disturbing; people playing demos for 2-6 hours, or the fact that sony is so stupid that they think this will help boost sales for ps3 games. Here is a thought; if they wanna boost sales for ps3 games maybe they should fix their incredibly crappy online servers. I wish they would just put xbox live on ps3, then the world really would be perfect
@collegekid440 People playing demos for long periods (Like me) are seeing if the game is actually worth $45-60 of your own money... Plus I already preordered the game :(
They have taken a queue from drug dealers. Give them the first hit for free, ensuring total addiction, then take it away causing withdrawl. Once you can make someone addicted they will pay a lot more for product. I am just waiting for the day world of war craft starts charging more for access, forcing millions of single white males to move out of their mom's basements, and get a job.
Is it also applied on penises as done with swords?
Considering the fact that this would give you the full game at the beginning, it's not a bad idea, but really, what would this mean for the file size of the demo? Would it be 20GB+? I don't know how they plan on doing this. Not to mention I would hate to have features taken away from me (I already hate those demos that put time limits on you). To tell you the truth, all games should just have 1-2 single player levels, along with maybe 1 multiplayer map to give you a taste of the game. I don't want to not be able to play the demo of a game after a couple of months just because it's handicapped.
I think "feature erection" would be much cooler especially for the singles...
Wow they are taking their pioneering work in brand erosion and taking into the functionality of the products.
nice
I like time limited PC demos, a good example is Just Cause 2's demo. Within a few hours someone made a simple trainer to turn off the time limit, so you can screw around for hours without restarting the game every half hour.
I love people who spend more time hacking the demo than playing it :)