So, let's say you want to play the Beautiful Katamari demo. Perhaps you've heard that, like other demos, said demo is only available in the latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine. "But print is dead!" you say, "I get all of my infoz from ze intarwebz!" In such an assertion, we would agree there are valid points. There are some people who just don't buy gaming magazines anymore. With the advent of Xbox Live Marketplace and ever vigilant news blogs like this one, many just don't see the value in magazines. Now, every once in a while, OXM scores an exclusive demo, which leaves internet-only types out in the dust. It looks like the folks from OXM have come to a similar realization, as they have announced the creation of OXM Digital, which will be available each month on Marketplace.
OXM Digital will contain the exclusive demos found on the OXM disc as well as exclusive content like interviews and videos. The monthly package will set you back 200 MS Points, which adds up to $30 a year, about $5 more than the print subscription. Dan Amrich of OXM points out that both the magazine and its digital counterpart will contain content exclusive to each medium, so OXM Digital is not meant as a replacement.
It doesn't seem like a bad idea on the surface, as we're sure many people occasionally plunk down the cash for OXM just for a demo. It doesn't hurt that 200 MS Points is also cheaper than the newsstand price of the print mag, either. Of course, we're also sure that there will be users that cringe at the thought of paying for demos, regardless of the extra content that comes with them. Let your voice be heard in the comments below.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
7-26-2007 @ 12:03PM
player said...
Wow, this is really stupid. I'm definitely not going to pay for demos, exclusive or not. They're demos, not full games. Seems just more of M$ trying to milk more money out of the gamers.
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7-26-2007 @ 12:03PM
dunnypop said...
they usually have free gamer pics with these packs, so 200 points isn't too bad.
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7-26-2007 @ 12:03PM
ANt said...
Not a bad idea, provided they don't include old demos like they usually do.
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7-26-2007 @ 12:10PM
Rees Clissold said...
I thought the idea of demos was to sell games? Surely that would mean getting them into as many peoples' hands as possible as quickly as possible to get the word out. Charging people for early access to demos doesn't make a lot of sense.
If, like dunnypop in comment #2 says, you get extra stuff like gamerpics and other goodies thrown in, it might be worth it. 200 point isn't exactly a lot in real world money.
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7-26-2007 @ 12:12PM
Maurice M said...
Knew MS would try and charge for demos too eventually. They love selling you things you used to get for free. Surprised it took this long.
Not buying!
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7-26-2007 @ 12:15PM
Joshua said...
If they think I'm buying demos they can eat my backside. Now, if they offer a good amount of video content on top of everything else than I'm a little bit more okay with charging.
Not that it makes exclusive demos cool however since I have a Gold account and Xbox tells me that gives me the ability to download new demos.
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7-26-2007 @ 12:19PM
Project Ekim said...
i already have oxm and i love it yes thier are blogs out there but everyone has there own opinion and i like to see everyones thats why i get PSm Electronic gaming, nintendo power,GFW, OXM, And game informer. :) i love gaming
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7-26-2007 @ 12:26PM
OXM BLOWWWWWWZ said...
Name says it all. Poorly edited articles. Information that is outdated or irrelevant. Shitty reviews. Added to the fact that their U.S. website is STILL down...they blow nuts, plain and simple.
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7-26-2007 @ 12:28PM
JrezIN said...
For the love of...
SOMEONE TELL THEM WE'RE NOT COWs!
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7-26-2007 @ 12:28PM
tony said...
well if you buy the magazine youre paying for demos already because a magazine alone usually only costs around the ball park of $5-$6 for most, unless its porn. lol. so why is it a bad idea to make you pay like $2-$3 just for the demos instead of the whole $10 youd pay for the magazine and only play the disc and not even read the magazine but a few times. i think its a good idea because actually this is saving the people who only buy the magazine for the demos alot of money actually. youd be saving like $8 and issue if youre in it just for the demos. although microsoft does need to get on the ball and give us much beter demos on the discs instead of shit we can come back home and download for free. thats how they loose money. tryin to charge for what is on marketplace already. give us demos of games that arent out already instead of games that have been sround for a year or so. i wanna know if the games coming out soon are even going to be worth ,my $60 or more before i wste my money.
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7-26-2007 @ 12:31PM
Malleus said...
Well this is nothing new, people have been paying for demo's included with magazines for years. So basically they are just giving you the option to get it digitally. So I wouldn't get all high and mighty about it and say that they are trying to screw consumers and make them pay for demos because many magazines have been doing that for years. Again like any content you feel is a rip off just vote with your wallet and pass on it. Simple as that.
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7-26-2007 @ 12:53PM
ji said...
OMFG this is BS im selling my fuggin 360 for a ps3 now, this is the last straw! OXM take your 200 points and shove them up your stupid p.chute! No one reads your moronic little mag anyway. I swear, If I have to put up money to play a demo of a game that I'm actually interested in, I'll literally punt my 360 down the street.
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7-26-2007 @ 12:56PM
xenocidic said...
@12 don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.
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7-26-2007 @ 1:02PM
bearxor said...
@13: Indeed...
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7-26-2007 @ 1:10PM
ANt said...
@13 @14 Ditto.....
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7-26-2007 @ 1:13PM
grady said...
LOL.. Well for the people who think going over to the PS3 camp because MS charges for demos.. hate to burst those bubbles, but Sony also charges for some demos as well. Enjoy!
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7-26-2007 @ 1:27PM
JJ said...
Well i haven't paid for a demo on my PS3 or 360 yet and i sure heck aint about to start... i dont care if its only 200pts, why should i pay for something at all when the demo should be free? or i can RENT the full game when it comes out to "demo" it?
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7-26-2007 @ 1:31PM
PS3 said...
@16, which demos, specifically? Because I haven't yet found a single DEMO that COSTS MONEY on the PS3.
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7-26-2007 @ 1:40PM
Brooks said...
I won't pay for demos. And I won't buy a game without playing the demo. Of course, Microsoft et al. have every right to remove me as a potential customer for some games -- which they've been doing with exclusive demos in print mags for some time.
But it seems like if someone was rethinking the whole arrangement, the obvious top priority would be to get more demos out there so people buy more games. Continuing the idea of limiting access to demos is just strange thinking.
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7-26-2007 @ 2:02PM
Jcarpio said...
I think some people are missing the point here. Microsoft is not all of sudden charging for demos. They just gave someone the ability to sell the demos they paid to have exclusive on their Marketplace.
As far as leaving the 360 to go to ps3.. good luck in getting a demo before you buy a game. Few and far in between.
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