Talk:Game demo

Demo Kiosks
I think Game Demos also apply to Demo Kiosks you see in stores such as EBGames. I think they deserve a place in this article. --gakon5 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 23:44, 21 August 2005 (UTC)
 * Demonstration kiosks in shops provide full versions of games for play-testing, and not cut-down "previews" of upcoming games. I don't believe they deserve a mention, though I would wait for a consensus to be reached on the issue before acting upon it. Grumpy Troll (talk) 00:01, 22 August 2005 (UTC).
 * I was thinking more like the Preview Disks that have 20 minute demos of various games, or the demo copies of Nintendo DS games you see in stores. --gakon5 (talk)

Different kinds of demos
We're going to have to differentiate the two kinds of demos here. I see a strong (if understandable) bias towards the more common definition - a playable demonstration of a computer/video game soon to be released, a sort of "try-before-you-buy" kind of deal - in favor of ANOTHER common usage I've seen, that being the kind of non-playable demo you would see rolling when you idle on the title screen, or the kind you would download on COMPET-N to see people speedrun though DOOM in record times - most assuredly NOT a "try-before-you-buy" deal, considering this is for the entertainment of those who already own DOOM and want to see people who are capable of exploiting various glitches and tricks to do all sorts of wacky things. It's not terribly likely we're going to be able to shake one definition off in favor of the other, so we've just got to find a way to work both into the article fairly well. --Shadow Hog 05:29, 29 August 2005 (UTC)
 * Here's another, first-person shooter demos, recorded replays of in-game action. This use of the term is widespread in online gaming with Quake, Unreal Tournament, Counter-Strike and the other FPS games using it. &mdash; FlooK 17:47, 29 August 2005 (UTC)
 * Actually this is the same as your last definition, it's just used for things other than speedruns &mdash;FlooK 17:50, 29 August 2005 (UTC)

Demos not matching the final product all that well?
I know that at least once in my gaming history I've liked the demo, went and bought the game, and found that the finished game was definitely different than the demo. I assumed in cases like this that they created the demo several months before release, and in that time polished the systems or gameplay.

So I was thinking of adding such a comment to the article, but I can't for the life of me remember a specific example. Anyone recall a demo like that? --Syrthiss 13:35, August 30, 2005 (UTC)

You're right, sometimes demos differ from the full game in some way when the demo is released before. I added a bit about it in the playable demo section - it probably needs to be put somewhere else though. I couldnt think of any specific examples. --Jeffthejiff | Talk 16:38, 30 August 2005 (UTC)

Sometimes a demo is all there is to a game, because the game gets cancelled between the publication of the demo and the planned full release. This happened, for example, with the Amiga version of Putty Squad. I still have my Amiga Power coverdisk, containing the only two levels of the game Amiga users are ever going to get to play. &mdash; J I P | Talk 10:24, 31 August 2005 (UTC)
 * Well, the Amiga version of Putty Squad was finally released in December 2013, almost two decades after its announcement, and eight years after my comment above. J I P  &#124; Talk 18:32, 12 May 2015 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Demo disc.jpg
Image:Demo disc.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 05:33, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Nintendo DS Metroid Prime- Hunters First Hunt package.jpg
Image:Nintendo DS Metroid Prime- Hunters First Hunt package.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 04:15, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

List
I think there should a list of Tech Demos on Wikipedia. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.26.119.45 (talk) 23:01, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Please add: is it legal for a LInux distribution to share a demo?
See here for the more context https://github.com/gentoo/guru/commit/43cc8ffab5027662c7bdf1d80ccce4a2c73d0f87 Vitaly Zdanevich (talk) 23:02, 21 March 2024 (UTC)


 * I doubt that it is permitted to distribute game demos without written consent from the copyright holder (just because they handed it out for free in the past does not mean that they'd necessarily be happy with someone else deciding when and how to distribute it widely).
 * But Wikipedia is not a legal advisory site so this topic seems too broad to be covered in the Wikipedia article (not least because the laws regarding copyright may vary between countries). Bob (talk) 19:40, 22 March 2024 (UTC)