Most research showed that game demo's on the whole decreased the amount of sales that a up and coming game would get. Which is why some companies started to release demos a few months after the game had come up.
The problem here is gamers... on the whole buying a game is built on hype and those first two weeks of sales are ever so important to the overall sales figures. So for example I have a feeling I want Need for Speed, I internalise it against a number of things, release date, cost, competition. If all of those things are good, then I go out and buy it day 1. After I get the game I might play it for 1-2 hours and then thats it. Rinse repeat.
Now the problem with a demo or something like EA access is that you can download the latest games, play for a few hours, then the hype to actually buy the game is gone. Thus sales will drop and then the normal "Water Cooler" conversations with friends won't happen, and other people don't buy because it's basically killed the hype for the actual launch.
I would expect EA Access to start to focus on older games rather than brand new releases if the idea is that it is costing them too much.
As for need for speed, some people said you could actually complete the game in ten hours, so why would those people even want to buy the game, the people who would play it for more than a few hours. Absolutely stupid system imho.
Making an indie game : Dead of Day!
