[WesFX]

I thought this topic was interesting enough to get a discussion on the message boards.

I have plenty of concerns myself; like the fact that the testing may only happen in Japan (because game sales have been on the decline in general), which could stop it cold for the rest of the world.

Then I'm concerned that the round of demos used to test may only be for Nintendo published WiiWare titles, which (in my frank opinion) do not compose the best of WiiWare, or, with something like Art Style, might not make the right impression during a demo.

I have other concerns, but I'll let the rest of you guys maybe get the first word in about it.

[joeshabadoo]

sure I have concerns, but it's about baby steps, man. Baby steps

[WesFX]

But that's what I'm saying. Only testing the Japanese market and only testing Nintendo published games could be steps that are too small, or steps in the wrong direction.

[CJLopez]

i think they are steps in the good way

a demo has to be special coded. sure, you can make the player download the whole game and only be able to play the demo part and once you pay for the game a flag is setted and then you can play the whole game. but then again, you can grab the demo and given how advanced the scene is on wii, just scrap the flag out and free the full game from the demo

nintendo will have to ask devs to create a demo version of the game to offer on the service which mean a little extra work on the devs, so before they go ask them, they'll test it themselves

[D3stiny_Sm4sher]

Like I said in the news story, I really think it'll boost sales.

I have purchased Live Arcade and PSN games just because I played the demo and it knocked my socks off. If they make demoes available, tons of people will DL and try them all out just for the heck of it, and they are BOUND to find certain games they're interested in buying just because of that. Guaranteed.

[joeshabadoo]

yeah, ultimately im not worried. quality dev teams with wiiware projects will make a point to create a demos and collectively put enough pressure on NOA

[WesFX]

Again, I'm making the assumption that it will only be Nintendo published stuff, but who's to say third-parties will even be allowed to make demos? I mean, they can make what they want, but if Nintendo won't let the public have access to it from their Wii, then it just doesn't matter how quality the dev team is.

@D3stiny_Sm4sher:
You've reminded me of some details that reinforce one of my concerns. But first; my concern was not that it wouldn't boost sales, but that the whole world would be depending on Japan to show Nintendo that it would boost sales enough to justify the regular release of demos. Back to the "reinforcing"; you've reminded me that from-console demos have almost entirely been an Xbox 360 thing (and we all know how that's doing in Japan). Sure PS3 gets some, but not as many. I'm concerned that Japanese gamers already don't really care about this type of things, and maybe I'm stereotyping, but they're tastes never seem to change.

I feel like it's time to post another concern: As a Wii owner, I've become used to deciding whether or not I want a game before I ever play it. I've only ever played DS demos for games that were never on my radar to begin with, and so far I've never been convinced to go out and buy something because of the demo. It's not the most well advertised thing, but I believe at least gamers have already decided what they want to buy and what they want to pass up. Of course, that part is null if they decide to test demos with only a set of releases which are new.

[joeshabadoo]

it's far easier for a demo to directly influence a $5-15 purchase decision as opposed to a full retail purchase decision (DS or Wii). Keep that in mind

[KingBroly]

Nintendo needs to put WiiWare fliers in the Wii box to say 'hey, you can download games'. Maybe giving out a free game voucher would help as well.

Demos will definitely help sales for games that need demos. Some games, like Cave Story don't need demos because they have free counterparts on PC.

[cortjezter]

it sounds (according to iwata) that there are two problems: overall traffic to wiiware, and low impulse purchases.

most people apparently know exactly what game(s) they want; they sign into the store, make their purchase and leave, but that's exactly how the store is set up--all they really offer are the games to buy. it's been awhile since i've used the store so i don't know if they've tied any of the nintendo channel content into the store as far as videos/trailers, but even adding demos will at least offer something more to see and do.

so while demos may be one answer, they will still need to get the word out and advertise the service and/or games, and i'm not talking about the nintendo channel. magazine, online and television will be necessary, just like any other wii title. i read recently that a game's success on wii seems to be directly proportional to the dollars spent on marketing them. go figure.

one other idea that i'm not sure why nobody seems to do it anymore is include demos on paid-game discs. many movies include trailers for upcoming films from that studio; games should think about doing it too. could be for disc games, or wiiware titles. why not?

[WesFX]

joeshabadoo wrote:

it's far easier for a demo to directly influence a $5-15 purchase decision as opposed to a full retail purchase decision (DS or Wii). Keep that in mind

This...... is an exceptional point. I may have to withdraw my concerns.

[joeshabadoo]

thanks (i am in marketing). Some of your conerns are still valid, but can't really be addressed properly until we get more details

good post, cort. I believe that you can now select a video link from the shop channel that will warp you to the nintendo channel, but don't quote me on that. Also I'm pretty sure I've seen Wiiware mentioned on some of the "if you enjoy this game . . ." fliers that come packaged with 1st party Wii releases. I haven't purchased a Wii since launch, but I would hope that it comes with some sort of call-to-action documentation related to taking the wii online, plus I know that new wii's come loaded with a message encouraging you to connect it, right?

I mean, the framework they laid out in the OS of the console is inherently prohibitive to widespread online Wii penetration, but they've been trying. They could easily do tons more, like a TV campaign with a light amount of companion print/out-of-home stuff that is focused entirely on the Wii's wi-fi capabilites . . . but I don't see that happening. It might take some hugely high-profile developer with an awesome and novel wiiware idea that uses the wiimote in a sick way to tell them, "look, we want this to happen on wiiware, but you gotta pimp the service more." Then they'd probably also want to increase the file size limit, which wouldn't be too terrible considering the SD card menu and all.

And then there's the core that mostly write off anything related to Wii online because they think that friend codes pervade every aspect of it, and the lack of a persistent online environment. The ambassador program would do wonders in NA . . . maybe early next year

[WesFX]

Good selection of demos.
Very unfortunately, I had already decided which ones I was interested in and which ones I wasn't, and the demos did nothing to change that.

So the conflict arises; do I strain my wallet and buy the ones I planned on buying eventually, now? or do I just stay the course and eventually buy them at my own, normal pace.