Sony requiring Game Trials for games over $35

[the-pi-guy]

These new timed trials must be available to PS+ premium subscribers for at least 12 months according to the report

Keep in mind that these are not a replacement for "normal" demos - devs are still free to release demos, free weekends etc. for everybody pic.twitter.com/tBwoGQbrGy

— Nibel (@Nibellion) April 26, 2022

[kitler53]

i'm not sure how i feel about this...

not sure i like the idea of devs putting a lot of time and effort into making demos.   this probably means a lot of bigger/better indies skip playstation altogether as it will introduce a pretty big barrier to entry.   2 hours also seems a bit long,.. a lot of indie games can be finished in just over 2 hours.   i feel like i get the gist of pretty much any game after 1 hour.  

The idea is overall pretty good.  ...but the idea should have be implemented via sony not via developers.  sony should have provided the infrastructure to:
1. allow any game on their store to be played via the cloud for 2 hours as the "demo"
2. allow any game on their store to have a "2 hour of play time" license file as the "demo".   
    --> this would have been extra nice as the save file would carry forward if after the demo i choose to buy the game.
3. then give developers the option to do something custom if they didn't want the people to just have access to the first 2 hours of gameplay as the "demo"

so basically what i'm seeing is Sony is collecting the premium for extra expensive ps+ for "providing the service of game demos"...
...but developers have incurred all the costs.

happy but not happy.

[Legend]

I have complex thoughts about this. The devil's in the details, and I currently don't know them.  

[kitler53]

I have complex thoughts about this. The devil's in the details, and I currently don't know them.  

i agree with that.  as a developer let us know the details if you get them.   

i'm seeing a lot of people on era saying this is burdenless on developers claiming this is just worked into the system as a 2 hour license.   i can't see how to come to that conclusion from what was written in the tweet.   if that's true then i like this.  if not then i hate this.

[the-pi-guy]

In a really dumb way this is a competitor to Gamepass.

You can try any game from EA, Activision, Sony, Ubisoft for a few hours before it inevitably leaves Gamepass, I mean your subscription.

[kitler53]

In a really dumb way this is a competitor to Gamepass.

You can try any game from EA, Activision, Sony, Ubisoft for a few hours before it inevitably leaves Gamepass, I mean your subscription.

better than gamepass if you're using gamepass as a glorified "demo" service.   this has access to every game (over $35) and not just a select few.  

i could see this being worth the price of the subscription now.   i bought katamari damacy reroll for my kid based on my memory of liking it when i was young.   somehow i didn't remember the fudgy ridiculously low amount of time allocated to the gamer to finish a level.   neither my kid nor myself can even beat the first level.   its fun gameplay but i just wish the fudgy timer wasn't there,.. let me chill out and just have fun.   

we played the game for less than 2 hours and it will never get played again.   a waste of $10...

[kitler53]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/game-developer-timed-game-trials-are-now-a-requirement-for-some-playstation-developers-up-no-extra-work-for-devs-done-by-sony-store-team.577084/page-13#post-85743463

okay, now i feel good about this.   sony done good here.  from my prior post they seem to have implemented either point 1 or 2 with 3 as an option.   that's an amazing benefit to me as a consumer without being a burden on development.   

[the-pi-guy]

Small update: it appears that Sony's own PlayStation Store team will create the 2 hour trials for developers

Article also mentions that this new policy hasn't been officially announced to 3rd party partners yethttps://t.co/sYpUy25hld

— Nibel (@Nibellion) April 27, 2022

I have complex thoughts about this. The devil's in the details, and I currently don't know them.  

While I don't think Sony would announce these details to the public, it's weird how the public is getting all the PS+ details way before it gets finalized, and even before a lot of devs apparently.