Free Trial for GW2?

[Derah]

Lol much faster them that I am already tired of the MoP expansion I feel like I already did all there is too do in the beta and there is no point to do it all again on live...

People who are on the beta < People who are not on the beta.

Just putting it out there.

[barackopala]

People who are on the beta < People who are not on the beta.

Just putting it out there.

plus keep in mind that most people didn't even do 30% of the total possible content in the game, like 15% at most.

[Zilong]

Not necessarily. You guys seem to think that Free Trials are nothing more than a desperate move from a game that is bleeding customers. They're not. More often than not, Free Trials are a great way to advertise your game, allowing you to play a tiny sample of it to get the ball rolling and encouraging you to buy the full thing.

Besides, as others pointed out GW1 has a free trial.

To th OP; this game WILL have a free trial, I'm fairly sure of it, however, don't count on it arriving this year. Free trials are generally offered after several months have passed since launch. The earliest we can hope for a GW2 trial would be December. (So that other people can taste how the game is like, and then use the Christmas money to buy it.).

Honestly, it would be a smart business move from Anet to provide free trials, as they are often the best way to advertise your game. Something gets "lost in the translation" when you watch gameplay videos on youtube, or "Lets play" sessions. its never the same as actually playing the game for yourself.

Honestly I dunno why some people have this mentality that a free trial is something that only happens due to desperation. If that was the case, then single-player games would never offer demos available on the internet. The idea behind those demos is precisely so you can have a small sample of how the game is like, and be encouraged to buy the full thing. Same principle is behind free trials for online games. But obviously during the first months of launch is when servers are the most full as new players arive and start playing. Some of them will find the game fascinating and stay, while others will find its not their cup of tea and leave. If on launch you have actual clients and then people on trial, the chaos would be HUGE.

While I agree with you that Free Trials may be beneficial, I think what's tainted in people's mind is how usually is to try to convince you that the game is worth it when he is not anymore (meaning it is a little late for that). Which gives them the perception of the "Games only do that when it's bleeding". But that's just my opinion into other people's mind, specially in the MMO market.

Now GW1 has a free trial alright but when I got it (probably around early 2009) I'm not sure I saw a trial at the time. Took long enough for a non-sub game to get it rolling right?

Now yes, Anet will probably do it but I would guess way later. And at some point it will be beneficial, but on a game where the primary reason for the hype is the actual gameplay and how much fun you get from it, considering we are talking about a MMO with no sub fee. I think it's only "natural" that players will take up the risk, I mean I'm pretty damn sure people took bigger risks in gaming history for much less.

And as far as single player demo's go. A established company will not release a demo. Now a new company or a more.. exotic title might give out a demo depending of the strategy but most companies (assuming they fit one of those 2 points I said) WILL wait at least 3 months to give a demo because that's when they make most money from sales. Taking a look at Anet (and NCsoft) and specially the huge success that Gw1 was they do not meet those points. So I think it would take a fair amount of time to get a demo going, with so many hype, marketing strategies and much more to come I think they have long ways away to have a major benefit from a demo, specially with the "involuntary" media out there like gameplay steams and stuff, which might not be the same as playing the game but hell if you don't feel itchy about getting to it. (Hell I own the game and I feel it).

Thats what I think tho

[Deleted]

I wrote in an earlier thread that GW1 has got a free trial but I dont know how long it took after release until they added that feature. Even with so many people saying they were strong GW1 players I dont think anyone replied to when it was added in game :P Because I would guess it to work quite similar to GW1.

[Derah]

While I agree with you that Free Trials may be beneficial, I think what's tainted in people's mind is how usually is to try to convince you that the game is worth it when he is not anymore (meaning it is a little late for that).

But WHY? Again, Trials are used for advertisement, not for desperation. Its the same principle behind free samples of soap and shampoo, if Head&Shoulders gives you a tiny mini-bottle of free shampoo are you gonna say "wow, they're really hitting rock bottom" or would you rather just test the shampoo and then decide if you want to buy more or not?

It makes no sense that people now consider advertisement to be an act of desperation. Games need to be advertised, otherwise how is people supposed to know them? and while trailers and videos can show you what the game looks like, playing > watching someone else play ANY DAY OF THE YEAR.

Now GW1 has a free trial alright but when I got it (probably around early 2009) I'm not sure I saw a trial at the time. Took long enough for a non-sub game to get it rolling right?

Maybe back then it didn't had a free trial, but eventually it did. Same will happen here. Its not a matter of "if" there's gonna be a trial, its just a matter of "when" there's gonna be a trial.

Now yes, Anet will probably do it but I would guess way later.

Mileages may vary, its impossible to know when they will do it, at least not till they announce it, could be 6 months, could be a year, could be 5 years, but it's gonna happen. Yes or yes. No buts.

And as far as single player demo's go. A established company will not release a demo.

Wrong. Bioware released demos for Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3, Dragon Age 2, and even a bit of Dragon Age 1.

And bioware is not a fledgling or indie company trying to make it in the world of competitive gaming, they're an old company with over 15 years of experience in the market.

Valve released demos for Half-Life and SWAT 4, and this is also another mainstream company.

Now a new company or a more.. exotic title might give out a demo depending of the strategy but most companies (assuming they fit one of those 2 points I said) WILL wait at least 3 months to give a demo because that's when they make most money from sales.

Again, wrong, the idea of a demo is to advertise your game, give a free sample, kinda like teasing, let them see just barely enough to wet the appetite, and then snatch back, and wait for them to see if they wanna take the next step. Deus Ex Human Revolution released a demo of the game several months before launch, and it was so good, at launch that game sold like hot cakes. Ditto for Half-Life (Won multiple awards with its demo) and the same goes for Mass Effect 3.

For the last time, free samples are for advertisement, not a scream of "HELP WE NEED MONEY NOW!!!!". Anet would be very dumb if they didn't released a trial later on. Though as has been said, its unrealistic to expect a trial any time soon. IMO we wont see one at least for 5 to 6 months min.

[Karizee]

While I agree with you that Free Trials may be beneficial, I think what's tainted in people's mind is how usually is to try to convince you that the game is worth it when he is not anymore (meaning it is a little late for that). Which gives them the perception of the "Games only do that when it's bleeding". But that's just my opinion into other people's mind, specially in the MMO market.

Now GW1 has a free trial alright but when I got it (probably around early 2009) I'm not sure I saw a trial at the time. Took long enough for a non-sub game to get it rolling right?

Now yes, Anet will probably do it but I would guess way later. And at some point it will be beneficial, but on a game where the primary reason for the hype is the actual gameplay and how much fun you get from it, considering we are talking about a MMO with no sub fee. I think it's only "natural" that players will take up the risk, I mean I'm pretty damn sure people took bigger risks in gaming history for much less.

And as far as single player demo's go. A established company will not release a demo. Now a new company or a more.. exotic title might give out a demo depending of the strategy but most companies (assuming they fit one of those 2 points I said) WILL wait at least 3 months to give a demo because that's when they make most money from sales. Taking a look at Anet (and NCsoft) and specially the huge success that Gw1 was they do not meet those points. So I think it would take a fair amount of time to get a demo going, with so many hype, marketing strategies and much more to come I think they have long ways away to have a major benefit from a demo, specially with the "involuntary" media out there like gameplay steams and stuff, which might not be the same as playing the game but hell if you don't feel itchy about getting to it. (Hell I own the game and I feel it).

Thats what I think tho

Streams are going to be HUGE:
http://www.gwden.com/
http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/c...n_offering_of/

With over 1.5 million presales from the Official site alone, plus sales from all the other online sites and the brick and mortars - GameStop sold out of Collector's Editions almost a month ago (bet they are kicking themselves! haha), they really don't need to do a free trial or demo at this time.

Athene is going to play GW2, heck - even Lore from Tankspot declared on Legendary yesterday that he will play GW2 on MoP patch day.

[Lane]

So have friends that will play GW2 (I'm certain you've got at least one). Have them tell you first hand their experiences with it post-launch, and get it then. The game's not going anywhere.

I don't, surprisingly. I have two friends on the fence and the rest are either diehard WoW players or have quit MMOs entirely.

I'd say just go for it, and don't bother waiting for a trial. Take a chance on $60. Worst comes to worst, you just paid for a single-player game.

I'm an extremely poor gamer. I don't have the luxury of buying new games very often so, no, I'm not willing to gamble $60 when I'm not even sure I'd make it out of the starting zone (which has happened before in other games). This is precisely why I wanted to try it first. As long as I know I'll get a decent amount of play time out of it then I'd consider it a sound purchase worthy of my small entertainment budget.

With over 1.5 million presales from the Official site alone, plus sales from all the other online sites and the brick and mortars - GameStop sold out of Collector's Editions almost a month ago (bet they are kicking themselves! haha), they really don't need to do a free trial or demo at this time.

What company these days isn't interested in making more money? I'm not saying GW2 ever has to have trials, but if they don't then they're willingly not tapping potential customers. I can only speak for myself, but (including myself) I know of 3 potential sales they're not getting right now because we weren't able to try out the game. Two of them are now more likely to buy MoP and possibly never buy GW2. Maybe that doesn't mean much to you or the other person who said they're glad there are no trials, but it's still profit not gained by them not reaching out to as many potential customers as they could. I just have a difficult time believing anyone in this business is saying, "We've sold too many copies, don't entice anyone else to buy the game!"

[Shostie]

But WHY? Again, Trials are used for advertisement, not for desperation. Its the same principle behind free samples of soap and shampoo, if Head&Shoulders gives you a tiny mini-bottle of free shampoo are you gonna say "wow, they're really hitting rock bottom" or would you rather just test the shampoo and then decide if you want to buy more or not?

It makes no sense that people now consider advertisement to be an act of desperation. Games need to be advertised, otherwise how is people supposed to know them? and while trailers and videos can show you what the game looks like, playing > watching someone else play ANY DAY OF THE YEAR.

This gives a whole new perspective on grocery store samples. The next time I see Jimmy Dean sausage fanboys handing out samples at the local grocery store, I'm totally going to taunt them because their precious sausage company is full of fail.

[Deleted]

But WHY? Again, Trials are used for advertisement, not for desperation. Its the same principle behind free samples of soap and shampoo, if Head&Shoulders gives you a tiny mini-bottle of free shampoo are you gonna say "wow, they're really hitting rock bottom" or would you rather just test the shampoo and then decide if you want to buy more or not?

Except that everyone needs to buy shampoo, they are just trying to get you to switch to a different brand of a type of product you were already purchasing. The shampoo company is hoping to get customers in the long term, people who will buy their brand for years to come.

With entertainment it just doesn't work the same, people's spending habits are much more irregular. The goal of the marketing department of the shampoo company is to get customers for life, while the (main) goal of the marketing department of an mmo company is to get people to buy the box.

[Lane]

Except that everyone needs to buy shampoo, they are just trying to get you to switch to a different brand of a type of product you were already purchasing. The shampoo company is hoping to get customers in the long term, people who will buy their brand for years to come.

With entertainment it just doesn't work the same, people's spending habits are much more irregular. The goal of the marketing department of the shampoo company is to get customers for life, while the (main) goal of the marketing department of an mmo company is to get people to buy the box.

My first thought is it doesn't seem outside of the realm of possibility that any given game company coming into the MMO market hopes to lure customers away from the competition. It might be more common for P2P MMOs though as I don't believe maintaining multiple subscriptions is typical.

As far as trials are concerned, it's tough to say without seeing any statistics. Using the example of the store samples I can honestly say that there have been products I never would have bought without those samples. (Not shampoo, but definitely some food items.) Based on zero evidence whatsoever :P I would assume that the amount of people who are 'forced' to buy GW2 to play it because there's no trial is smaller than the amount of people who would willingly purchase it if they could play it first. I would think that would be especially true given the current economy. I mean, the video game industry is suffering as a whole and I suspect at least a part of that is simply due to people not having the disposable income they used to have to spend on entertainment.

[Deleted]

I'm an extremely poor gamer. I don't have the luxury of buying new games very often so, no, I'm not willing to gamble $60 when I'm not even sure I'd make it out of the starting zone (which has happened before in other games). This is precisely why I wanted to try it first. As long as I know I'll get a decent amount of play time out of it then I'd consider it a sound purchase worthy of my small entertainment budget.
"

Well, with all info available out there about GW2, and vids on youtube. If you check all that and still think you might end up quitting in the starting zone then why not wait until trial is in place? Doesn't seem like you find it that appealing then.
No rush, the game isnt going anywhere and there are plenty good f2p games out there that doesn't cost anything to try even if you quit in the starting zone.
Because most likely there will be a trial eventually, in a year or two. I think you will feel better if you wait if the info you got on the game so far still made you as sceptical as you seem to be. I know I wouldn't mind waiting if I watched info about the game and assume that game would end up in nothing more than a starting zone to me. Then I would check out other games and find something that made me feel a bit more interested in the game

[DrakeWurrum]

I'm an extremely poor gamer.

If I can pull it off making only $50 a week by being a soccer referee on weekends, I'm sure you can manage.

[Lane]

Well, with all info available out there about GW2, and vids on youtube. If you check all that and still think you might end up quitting in the starting zone then why not wait until trial is in place? Doesn't seem like you find it that appealing then.

I'm not the type that's able to glean much from watching others play. It looks interesting, but then so did other games I've tried and didn't like. I'm also wary since there's a lot of hype surrounding this game. I'd already planned to wait until at least a month after release to see how people who'd had an adequate amount of time to play it felt.

I mean, if there's not going to be any trial before the end of the year there's nothing I can do about that other than to say it's disappointing. I can definitely say that "in a year or two" I will not be interested in trying GW2.

[Markluzz]

I'm personally hoping there IS NO FREE TRIAL until a year has passed

personally am delighted that there was no open beta

so here's hoping my delight will be continued

Don't see why those two things bring people to the game, unless you just don't want more people playing with you. I personally am not sure if I want to play GW2 or not, and a free trial or open beta would have helped me decide. Now i'm just stuck in that 'Looks interesting but I'll pass for now' state. A free trial or demo could help them a lot, most games have them to some extent not just mmo's.

[DrakeWurrum]

I'm also wary since there's a lot of hype surrounding this game.

Silly reason to be wary. Hype is nothing but attention, which is very much good for a game. More hype means more people looking at the game which means more people paying for it and playing it. GW2 hasn't even gotten it through shady advertising and CGI trailers like certain sci-fi MMOs did, they've garnered their hype through word-of-mouth and social media, spread by people with actual gameplay experience.


Also, serious question: did you ever ask for a free trial of Skyrim? Assassin's Creed? Diablo 3? Starcraft 2? Bioshock? Half Life 2? Mass Effect? Any of the Halo games?
I'm just saying, this game costs just as much as any of the great single-player games that have come out over the past few years. What makes it so different?

[Speedlance]

Since this game has no subscription fee, I doubt ANet will give out free trials anytime soon.

They will give free trials later, nobody will buy a game for like 55$ just to test it

[Deleted]

They will give free trials later, nobody will buy a game for like 55$ just to test it

i bought the game without testing it? i am nobody ?

[DrakeWurrum]

They will give free trials later, nobody will buy a game for like 55$ just to test it

I did. Because I looked up information about the game mechanics, watched related gameplay videos, listened to what other people were saying about it, and it sounded like it's worth a shot.

And it totally was. Already got my money's worth just from the betas, and I've barely touched the game.

[Lane]

Also, serious question: did you ever ask for a free trial of Skyrim? Assassin's Creed? Diablo 3? Starcraft 2? Bioshock? Half Life 2? Mass Effect? Any of the Halo games?
I'm just saying, this game costs just as much as any of the great single-player games that have come out over the past few years. What makes it so different?

The only one of those I bought was Skyrim and I had played it via a friend's Steam account. I honestly can't remember the last game I bought that I hadn't tried in some capacity first.

If I can pull it off making only $50 a week by being a soccer referee on weekends, I'm sure you can manage.

While I probably should have left this alone, I resent you making assumptions about my financial situation when you know nothing about my life circumstances. But hey, everyone's got a sob story, right? The fact remains that buying any new game for me is a luxury and one I have to sacrifice and save up for, which I'm simply not willing to gamble on for a game I have never played. This shouldn't even be up for debate other than it's a pet peeve of mine when others assume money is no object.

At any rate, if I never get to play GW2 then it is what it is. All I was saying is I was disappointed there was no open beta for people like me who were undecided.

[DrakeWurrum]

I resent you making assumptions

Then don't make the assumption that I'm not poor and that getting new games is not a luxury for me, and that your case is particularly special or different from anybody else who's in a financially bad situation. =\