BioWare’s Anthem is a game that we’re all anticipating with bated breath. We’ve seen some gameplay being shown at E3, but with the game being delayed to next year, that’s about all we can expect. Until recently that is, since PC Gamer reported that BioWare announced a VIP demo for Anthem coming 1 February 2019, for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
And that VIP part is key, as only those who pre-ordered the game or are subscribed to EA’s Origin Access or EA Access, will have access to it. The report does state that non-VIPs may be able to access the demo via other means, but BioWare has decided to drip those details down at a later date.
A demo is supposed to be a small, introductory piece of an upcoming or recently released game. The purpose of these are usually for publishers to convince potential customers to buy the game. And yet, the only ones who are assured to get it are people who have already decided that they want the game, and those who will get early access to every EA game anyway.
In a world where multiplayer betas have become the norm, it’s a little nostalgic to see demos returning to the gaming scene. And terribly ironic that BioWare and EA are trying to convince those who are already convinced to buy the game.
The role of demos have been mostly been taken over by the aforementioned betas, gameplay footage, and trailers trying to sell the game to potential buyers. That said, the implementation for Anthem’s demo is counter-intuitive by any definition of the word ‘demo’.
For those of us who are looking to get an actual demo – one that’s trying to convince fence-sitters to get the game, we’ll have to wait until BioWare announces other methods to get to them.
Anthem is set to be released on 22 February 2019.
(Source: PC Gamer)
