Designer of the Fable series, Peter Molyneux is not a fan of game demos. Don't freak out just yet — he has a good reason why.
"Now, I hate demos," Molyneux tells website Edge Online. "I think demos are the death knell of experiences. Over the years I've done demos and they've either completely ruined the game, given too much to the player, or they've confused people, so I said that we should give away the very first 45 minutes of the game, completely free, and just before you get to Bowerstone up comes this message saying, ‘If you want to continue playing press this button, but if you want to buy the rest of the game, press this'. So people that are interested but don't want to commit to the full purchase can play more, and people that are into it can buy all of it, and they don't lose experience or gold they've collected."
Instead of a separate demo, it sounds like Molyneux would rather allow players to start playing the actual title. If they like it, they can buy the game. If not, they can stop and be done with it. Kind of like flipping through a book in a bookstore, but without the ability to sit in said bookstore all day and read the book free of charge. Dammit.
"If you think to the future I think you can see a world in which the close relationship with the customer that digital affords is going to completely change the way players pay for games," adds Molyneux. That future, argues the designer, should be fairly priced so that players are "second mortgaging [their] house" every time they're buying an episode.
Interview: Peter Molyneux [Edge]