Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo

In an interview on AusGamers, Arkane's Raph Colantonio discusses the imminent release of Prey, the sci-fi shooter remake (thanks DSOGaming). One hot topic that comes up is how console owners have a demo of the game to sample, while PC gamers do not. Though this does not sound like Valve's take on the topic, he says they feel Steam's refund policy is the equivalent of a PC demo:
"It's just a resource assignment thing. We couldn't do a demo on both the console and on the PC, we had to choose. And besides, PC has Steam. Steam players can just return the game [prior to playing] 2 hours so it's like a demo already. I also want to clarify that there's no PC port. I keep on hearing 'oh they're going to screw up the PC port' there is no PC port. We do the game on PC. It's a PC game. It's a different engine to Dishonored as well. So we might have our own sets of problems, but we are of course very careful because of what happened with Dishonored 2. So we wanted to make sure the PC version of Prey is good."
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61 Replies. 4 pages. Viewing page 2.
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41.
 
Re: On Sale
May 3, 2017, 18:21
41.
Re: On Sale May 3, 2017, 18:21
May 3, 2017, 18:21
 
gilly775 wrote on May 3, 2017, 14:49:
So those of us that have bandwidth caps get f'd in the end by not having a demo which could be less to download. Ooook. Here's a game I won't be buying then....

We'll find any angle to play and play it hard, even an old one like this. Circular conversation, I guess you don't play many different things if demo's are required.
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40.
 
Re: On Sale
May 3, 2017, 18:19
40.
Re: On Sale May 3, 2017, 18:19
May 3, 2017, 18:19
 
ItBurn wrote on May 3, 2017, 15:00:
gilly775 wrote on May 3, 2017, 14:49:
So those of us that have bandwidth caps get f'd in the end by not having a demo which could be less to download. Ooook. Here's a game I won't be buying then....

Well, in their defense, no one does a demo nowadays. They didn't take anything away from PC gamers and gave something to console gamers. It's not new content or anything, just a demo. I find it hard to complain.

Not always true. Demos do exist; just not often. Civ 6 came out with one, albeit took a looong time lol. I just think it's a BS excuse to call out a Demo for a console but say a Steam refund is a "demo." That's not what I think a Steam refund is for, despite what people may use it for.
39.
 
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo
May 3, 2017, 18:17
39.
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo May 3, 2017, 18:17
May 3, 2017, 18:17
 
RedEye9 wrote on May 3, 2017, 14:34:
Gadzooks wrote on May 3, 2017, 11:54:
I hope tons of people buy, and then refund on steam, and totally screw up their metrics for sales after this.
It will mess up their metrics system so bad that they will start using the Imperial System.


Ok I laughed at that one, it's a tough crowd here these days. I'm fairly confident this will be a fun play, that doesn't mean go out and pre-order now Johnny.
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38.
 
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo
May 3, 2017, 18:14
38.
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo May 3, 2017, 18:14
May 3, 2017, 18:14
 
Overon wrote on May 3, 2017, 17:32:
I thought the explanation was that releasing a PC demo would require DRM which would give a leg up head start for crackers looking to crack the PC retail release as soon as possible.

This is the primary reason. Mass Effect and Resident Evil are recent examples where a demo was provided and that demo executable was used to remove the (expensive) Denuvo protection on the retail game.
37.
 
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo
May 3, 2017, 17:49
37.
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo May 3, 2017, 17:49
May 3, 2017, 17:49
 
Kxmode wrote on May 3, 2017, 16:41:
The refund policy is NOT the equivalent of a PC demo and should never be used by publishers as a justification for not releasing a demo when the console versions have them!

Frankly, a refund is the last action a gamer takes when the game doesn't work for them. Two hours is only enough time to tell if the game will even run. There are way too many games that require several hours to see if the game is worth keeping.
So 2 hours isn't enough...but you want the console demo which is only 1 hour?
36.
 
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo
May 3, 2017, 17:32
36.
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo May 3, 2017, 17:32
May 3, 2017, 17:32
 
I thought the explanation was that releasing a PC demo would require DRM which would give a leg up head start for crackers looking to crack the PC retail release as soon as possible.

Also the guys is playing semantic games. When people say "PC port" they mean the PC release of a game that is also released on consoles. We all know that all games are written and designed on PC's but that doesn't stop so many multiplatform releases from being shitty on PC. What he's saying is true but misleading and people who lie by telling the truth can go fuck themselves.

What we really want to know is how much testing and optimization went into the PC version.
35.
 
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo
May 3, 2017, 17:26
35.
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo May 3, 2017, 17:26
May 3, 2017, 17:26
 
Cutter wrote on May 3, 2017, 15:16:
So instead of downloading a 3GB demo people are supposed to DL 50 gigs instead? Um no.

The console demo is the full game with a one hour timer, it's a massive download. There's no 3gb demo for Prey. There's no PC demo because it'd be them handing the game out for free, as people would quickly find out how to stop that timer.
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34.
 
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo
May 3, 2017, 16:48
34.
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo May 3, 2017, 16:48
May 3, 2017, 16:48
 
El Pit wrote on May 3, 2017, 12:30:
For some here on Blue's News the demo they like is the complete game for free. I mean there could be a bug in the final battle so they must be allowed to play through just to check it out, right?

Or the game has no ending and will break after a certain point. However, this only becomes apparent after 40 hours of play.*

* No Man's Sky
"Listen, Peter... with great horsepower comes... the sickest drifts..." - source
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33.
 
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo
May 3, 2017, 16:41
33.
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo May 3, 2017, 16:41
May 3, 2017, 16:41
 
The refund policy is NOT the equivalent of a PC demo and should never be used by publishers as a justification for not releasing a demo when the console versions have them!

Frankly, a refund is the last action a gamer takes when the game doesn't work for them. Two hours is only enough time to tell if the game will even run. There are way too many games that require several hours to see if the game is worth keeping.
"Listen, Peter... with great horsepower comes... the sickest drifts..." - source
Avatar 18786
32.
 
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo
May 3, 2017, 15:16
32.
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo May 3, 2017, 15:16
May 3, 2017, 15:16
 
So instead of downloading a 3GB demo people are supposed to DL 50 gigs instead? Um no.
“With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." - Aaron Sati
31.
 
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo
May 3, 2017, 15:10
31.
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo May 3, 2017, 15:10
May 3, 2017, 15:10
 
A DEMO refund that's only available on steam, buy it somewhere else and you're shit outta luck.
30.
 
Re: On Sale
May 3, 2017, 15:00
30.
Re: On Sale May 3, 2017, 15:00
May 3, 2017, 15:00
 
gilly775 wrote on May 3, 2017, 14:49:
So those of us that have bandwidth caps get f'd in the end by not having a demo which could be less to download. Ooook. Here's a game I won't be buying then....

Well, in their defense, no one does a demo nowadays. They didn't take anything away from PC gamers and gave something to console gamers. It's not new content or anything, just a demo. I find it hard to complain.
Avatar 56211
29.
 
Re: On Sale
May 3, 2017, 14:49
29.
Re: On Sale May 3, 2017, 14:49
May 3, 2017, 14:49
 
So those of us that have bandwidth caps get f'd in the end by not having a demo which could be less to download. Ooook. Here's a game I won't be buying then....
28.
 
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo
May 3, 2017, 14:34
28.
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo May 3, 2017, 14:34
May 3, 2017, 14:34
 
Gadzooks wrote on May 3, 2017, 11:54:
I hope tons of people buy, and then refund on steam, and totally screw up their metrics for sales after this.
It will mess up their metrics system so bad that they will start using the Imperial System.

Or maybe they will only count total sales past the 2 week refund period using something like programming and metrics.

What exactly would messing up their metrics entail, do you think that they would pour a bazillion dollars into making Prey 2 and then realize in 2 weeks after the 2 people who did this that they would not be able to recover.
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27.
 
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo
May 3, 2017, 14:24
27.
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo May 3, 2017, 14:24
May 3, 2017, 14:24
 
Porn-O-Matic wrote on May 3, 2017, 14:09:
What happens if it's actually fun and they don't want to refund it? Hey, it could happen. Maybe.
I can't tell if you're just joking or not
Steam: SpectralMeat
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26.
 
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo
May 3, 2017, 14:09
26.
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo May 3, 2017, 14:09
May 3, 2017, 14:09
 
Gadzooks wrote on May 3, 2017, 11:54:
I hope tons of people buy, and then refund on steam, and totally screw up their metrics for sales after this.

Are you hoping they refund it just to mess up their metrics, or because they actually don't like the game? What happens if it's actually fun and they don't want to refund it? Hey, it could happen. Maybe.
25.
 
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo
May 3, 2017, 14:08
25.
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo May 3, 2017, 14:08
May 3, 2017, 14:08
 
I'm sure there was some legit reason for this. As a developer there are often times when you can't meet consumer demands due to reason X and Y, especially when a publisher is also in the mix.

That being said, it would be interesting to know the reason why there wasn't a PC demo.
- Boppa
24.
 
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo
May 3, 2017, 14:00
24.
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo May 3, 2017, 14:00
May 3, 2017, 14:00
 
Ah this over hyped Deus Ex rip off is off to a good start!

Enjoy kool aid drinkers!
23.
 
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo
May 3, 2017, 13:14
23.
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo May 3, 2017, 13:14
May 3, 2017, 13:14
 
I've only refunded one game on Steam because it didn't have any way to change mouse sensitivity nor change the FOV and the devs had no intentions of adding either one. (Nope, not even through a config or ini file.) I've stopped pre-ordering games (though I have no issue with anyone who pre-orders, it's their money, not mine) and instead have just fallen back to the age-old solution of waiting for proper reviews and Let's Play videos on Youtube before making an informed purchase decision. Sure, I could "demo" it for 2 hours, but really, 2 hours in almost any new game goes by quicker than you think.
22.
 
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo
May 3, 2017, 12:59
22.
Re: Arkane: Steam Refunds = PC Prey Demo May 3, 2017, 12:59
May 3, 2017, 12:59
 
Jagacademy wrote on May 3, 2017, 11:33:
Refunds increase revenue, not vice versa.
I know. But tell that to paranoid nerds in charge of sometimes big companies, who have no knowledge of retail, of customer behaviour or economic dependencies.

But since the world hasnt ended after Valve finally offered refunds ... may be some of them learned a valuable lesson.
61 Replies. 4 pages. Viewing page 2.
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