Sony has recently filed a patent for something it calls, Degradable Demo’s, which at first I thought meant the demo stopped working after a certain amount of time…
But no it’s way cooler than that.
The way they envisage it working is that the demo can be distributed on physical media, maybe with a magazine or a cupcake? And then you get to experience the full game for the first couple of times that you try the game.
Then it begins to degrade, so for example your weapon could become a little weaker. The number of enemies could decrease or the colours could start fading out along with that awesome background music.
Think of it this way, they release Gran Turismo 5… stop laughing it can happen… anyway so they release the game and at the same time they release a degradable demo with all Happy Meals purchased from McDonalds.
For the first 2 games you get to play all the cars and all the tracks along with everyone who bought the game, then the cars start detuning and the number of tracks start to disappear.
This gets annoying as your friends want to race around Kyalami and all you have left is Silverstone, but then you quickly tap in a few credit card numbers and walla the entire game is reactivated and you get to keep on going.
I could see how this could really work in their favour, let’s just see if the patent actually gets granted without Nintendo, Valve and Microsoft having an issue with it.
Source: Siliconera
Last Updated: March 5, 2010
RSA-Ace
March 5, 2010 at 15:30
“Think of it this way, they release Gran Turismo 5… stop laughing it can happen…” I literally burst out laughing.
PO7H3AD
March 5, 2010 at 15:32
I would love to believe that this would work but I can’t help but think that this would make piracy easier. one crack and the game no longer degrades, its like giving out free games…
Geoff
March 5, 2010 at 15:37
That’s exactly what I’m thinking. “Here! Take this full copy of the game, the only thing that makes it function less than the retail copies is some software”
That’s UNPOSSIBLE to bypass!
It also stabs distributors in the eye with a dick.
RossiRSA
March 8, 2010 at 12:27
And that’s different from regular pirating how?
Milesh Bhana ZA
March 5, 2010 at 16:09
So, in theory, if you’re really fast you can finish the game before the demo starts degrading ?
uberutang
March 5, 2010 at 16:15
I like it. Down with distros!
Fox1
March 5, 2010 at 16:49
It can actually put you off from the full game :devil:
Nick de Bruyne
March 5, 2010 at 17:09
This does sound awfully crackable… Also, I think they will base the degradation on time and distance into the game, so even if you get to level 5 or whatever in an hour, it will start removing assets
mitas
March 5, 2010 at 21:06
Mmm… software is easy to crack , ubisoft i think has that ddr thing where you have to have a constant internet conncetion , it got cracked in 24hrs , this well this just sounds too risky
lans
March 8, 2010 at 12:28
Guys there is a new GT NIGHT TIME TRAILER WITH 2 MIN NEW FOOTAGE AND UPDATED DAMAGE SYSTEM PLEASE CHECK IT OUT!!!
http://www.gtplanet.net/hd-video-screenshots-from-gt5s-gow-iii-trailer/
LazySAGamer
March 8, 2010 at 13:46
Apparently this trailer is from last years E3 build and as such isn’t an accurate representation of the damage system… but nice find as the last 2 I found were taken offline pretty quickly by Sony