Madden NFL 15 won't be playable early unless you pay for EA Access

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

I cant believe people dont understand that games studios have had to create new teams for new consoles unlike previous years. Everyone believes EA access was the cause but couldn't the reason to stop simply be because there was an increased strain as there are now 2 additional consoles needing development resources and staff allocated/trained/hired reducing the ability to focus on knocking out demos, hell most 1st party who have Sony/MS helping dont knock out demo's before release if ever so EA stopping is nothing new but its obviously all a conspiracy...

 

That's no different to the PS1/PS2/PS3 and Xbox/360 hand over. Demos didn't just fall off the face of the world the day the new consoles released.

[trooper11]

Regarding demos, lets not forget that getting demos for most games is only a product of the last generation of consoles. Before the 360 and ps3, demos were pretty rare. The exceptions came in the form of demos for games being included on discs of other games.

Even during the 360/ps3 era, not every game got a demo, especially on the ps3 side. Now since the X1 and PS4 do not have any sort of mandate to create demos, most developers are opting to skip it. Its affected big and small developers, AAA and indie.

I think the this generation will bring more of these timed demos since they don't require a special build of a game.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Regarding demos, lets not forget that getting demos for most games is only a product of the last generation of consoles. Before the 360 and ps3, demos were pretty rare. The exceptions came in the form of demos for games being included on discs of other games.

Even during the 360/ps3 era, not every game got a demo, especially on the ps3 side. Now since the X1 and PS4 do not have any sort of mandate to create demos, most developers are opting to skip it. Its affected big and small developers, AAA and indie.

I think the this generation will bring more of these timed demos since they don't require a special build of a game.

 

Rare? My PS1 came boxed with a demo disc. Then just about every gaming magazine of the 90's / early 00's included one. They were given away like AOL discs.

 

They were anything but rare. Maybe a different case in US?

 

360/PS3 era definitely saw a change in how demos were released. i.e publishers avoided them when they knew they're game was a flop. Other than that, they were still very mainstream. XBLA is a different case when you compare it to PS3 (which I think you are), because you were required to have one if you sold a game. Just about every other multi-platform game got the same demo though.

[Houtei]

The ps1 did have demos when playstation magazine launched 2 years after its release and would have maybe 3-4 SHORT demos each month which was usually far from all the games released.  I dont remember anyone who had a subscription to that thing that i knew of.  I would pick them up at the grocery store if i saw they had a good game on it i wanted to try but most of the time it just had crap. So yeah in hte US like NO one had any demos cept what came with the console.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

The ps1 did have demos when playstation magazine launched 2 years after its release and would have maybe 3-4 SHORT demos each month which was usually far from all the games released.  I dont remember anyone who had a subscription to that thing that i knew of.  I would pick them up at the grocery store if i saw they had a good game on it i wanted to try but most of the time it just had crap. So yeah in hte US like NO one had any demos cept what came with the console.

 

Sucks to be you guys I guess :p

 

Quite literally every gaming magazine over here came with a demo disc.

 

And they still do today:

 

http://groceries.asda.com/asda-webstore/landing/home.shtml#/product/910000308186

http://groceries.asda.com/asda-webstore/landing/home.shtml#/product/910000282873

 

Not just the official mags, but "unofficial" too. Those are just the ones listed on the site.

[trooper11]

Rare? My PS1 came boxed with a demo disc. Then just about every gaming magazine of the 90's / early 00's included one. They were given away like AOL discs.

 

They were anything but rare. Maybe a different case in US?

 

360/PS3 era definitely saw a change in how demos were released. i.e publishers avoided them when they knew they're game was a flop. Other than that, they were still very mainstream. XBLA is a different case when you compare it to PS3 (which I think you are), because you were required to have one if you sold a game. Just about every other multi-platform game got the same demo though.

Maybe you had it better, but even with the existence of those demo discs, its not like you could demo every game and it still required you to buy the magazine. I even mentioned getting demo discs, so I'm well aware of their existence.

The 360/ps3 era brought much cheaper and more accessible options for demos. Demos were most definitely less accessible and fewer in number previous to that.

But now, the trend is going backwards to before that era, being replaced by timed demos instead of specially crafted demo versions of a game. Heck, demos are even outright sold to consumers (GT Prologue, MGS, Steam Early Access, etc, etc). Demos as we are prefer them are kind of going away. I would like to see a return though.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Maybe you had it better, but even with the existence of those demo discs, its not like you could demo every game and it still required you to buy the magazine. I even mentioned getting demo discs, so I'm well aware of their existence.

The 360/ps3 era brought much cheaper and more accessible options for demos. Demos were most definitely less accessible and fewer in number previous to that.

But now, the trend is going backwards to before that era, being replaced by timed demos instead of specially crafted demo versions of a game. Heck, demos are even outright sold to consumers (GT Prologue, MGS, Steam Early Access, etc, etc). Demos as we are prefer them are kind of going away. I would like to see a return though.

 

Yeah we're not going to agree on this one.

 

Steam Early Access is not a demo :P

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

Yeah, we will all just have to agree to disagree on this one. They had time to make a demo if they wanted. They did not because of EA Access. The demo was actually used as marketing for their loyal fans. 

 

Granted as trooper11 has also pointed out, demos are becoming a thing of the past. However something like an EA Access does solidify this fact.

 

Anyway I never was able to share the fact I learned the hard way don't use the suspend/resume feature on the One in EA Access. I figured it would be smart enough to realize I was not playing the game, but nope, 5 hours of access wasted. I wonder if anyone else has picked up on this fact, then again I would imagine anyone else who did check it out had the time to. Lesson learned, and I guess I should have known better, but I have seen a few games not keep track of play time while in suspend/resume, or at least I am pretty sure they do not.

[trooper11]

Yeah we're not going to agree on this one.

 

Steam Early Access is not a demo :p

Fine, if your going to be picky, call it a beta if you prefer. The end result is the same, you get part of a game before its completely released.

I'm not sure why its considered so different.

[Houtei]

Well i think you can call the early access what you want like demo or whatever but its not really the same thing technically with how developers use the term.  In a sence it is a demo because you only get a limited time but from a developer stand point its not because demos are developed seperatlly and take extra man power where as what they are doing now is just putting the completed game up and adding a timer till you pay x amount of money to unlock.  On the 360 I hated downloading a 1-10gb demo that was like one random level of the game just to have to delete it when i bought the full thing cause it was a waste of space.  Wish they would start making all "demos" like this.  Saves everyone time and money.

[1337ish]

That's no different to the PS1/PS2/PS3 and Xbox/360 hand over. Demos didn't just fall off the face of the world the day the new consoles released.

 

Erm come on ths ps3 was a pretty huge change, well the last gen was a big change to multithreaded developement.

I didnt say demos suddenly stopped but the trend is now either paying for alpha/beta access (rarer on consoles but you do get preorder only beta) or no demo at all. Given the trend its hardly a shock to hear X game dev won't release a demo.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Erm come on ths ps3 was a pretty huge change, well the last gen was a big change to multithreaded developement.

I didnt say demos suddenly stopped but the trend is now either paying for alpha/beta access (rarer on consoles but you do get preorder only beta) or no demo at all. Given the trend its hardly a shock to hear X game dev won't release a demo.

 

Every generation for Sony has been a big departure for them. It didn't stop demos or reduce the numbers though, the higher standards we have in games is the biggest difference. Now devs/publishers are far more aware of releasing demos because it can make or break your sales. Not because they don't have the man power or lack knowledge. Don't forget that many of the builds they use at E3/TGS/PAX etc have to be made and they've never stopped, even when many of them tell us how much pressure it adds to their timescales. Funny how it's only an issue now when you can charge for it instead.

 

As for paying for alpha/beta. I don't know of one game which has been strictly pay for. They've certainly been easier to access if you pre-ordered the final game, but most devs will give alternate entry methods. The trend is also to open the flood gates and try and break the servers with as many people as possible.

 

But as I and others have said, bringing this back to Madden, we have no demo because of EA Access. It's a cop out to say that Madden has been going downhill for years but now with Access out they decide to stop releasing them like it's a coincidence.

[trooper11]

Let's get back to the more important point: EA are just bad people :laugh:

no seriously, it seems pretty clear that EA chose to not make a demo for Madden in order to test the waters with EA access. The fact that it saved them the time and money required to make a special demo build was a bonus.

Now beyond that, I like the idea of offering timed access to a full game instead of a traditional demo. So that has some value to me. Am I ok with that being offered as a perk? Not sure.

[vcfan]

oh what is this? the fifa 15 demo is up now without needing ea access.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

oh what is this? the fifa 15 demo is up now without needing ea access.

 

Sooo...what's Madden's excuse again?

 

Or are people still boiling it down to "the game's reviews have declined" and thus they're hiding the terrible updates behind a paywall now?

 

I fail to see how that is a positive?

 

Or maybe because if Fifa was behind a paywall, EU would burn EA HQ down :yes:

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Sooo...what's Madden's excuse again?

 

Or are people still boiling it down to "the game's reviews have declined" and thus they're hiding the terrible updates behind a paywall now?

 

I fail to see how that is a positive?

 

Or maybe because if Fifa was behind a paywall, EU would burn EA HQ down :yes:

 

It's called testing the waters as well, you don't jump in with both feet, you dip your toe in first. Right now it's crucial EA get people on board and keep them happy and don't burn down their own service a month after launch.

 

Hopefully, all the negative feedback makes them rethink a strategy of continuing this onto something like FIFA later down the line. Madden is a good test subject as while massively popular in the US, it's not so much in the EU. And the EU is bigger than the US.

[trooper11]

I'm not sure how EA will know if the lack of a traditional demo is affecting sales though.

If Madden does really well, does that mean most gamers didn't care about that demo being missing?