Releasing a demo can cut sales in half – Schell

Schell Games CEO Jesse Schell has said that demos can hurt the final sales of a product. He gave a talk during DICE Summit 2013 and it was one of the best speeches of the event.

I also agree with him in a way because I had the same feeling during Killzone 2 and how it went from having 1 million preorders to half the sales when Sony reported its figures.

Schell, in his speech, said that: “You mean we spent all this money making a demo and getting it out there, and it cut our sales in half? Yes, that’s exactly what happened to you.”

Releasing a trailer is more efficient in gaining consumer interest than a demo nowadays, he says. You can watch the full speech below.

Do you think he has a point? Have demos ever turned you off from buying a game or vice versa? Let us know.