It is really quite simple. With the PSStore and Xbox Live giving out free demos to anyone with the systems online more people will play more games which in turn will sell more games. I think we have seen the begining of this trend latly with the 360. 3rd party software is selling like crazy on that system. Now that you don't have to be a fanboy and get the offical Xbox or PS mag to get the demos, a lot more people will be trying games they otherwise would have not payed attention to. I think this is part of the reason that MS has said Live is more important to gaming than the Wii. If everyone that bought an Xbox or PS2 last gen goes out and gets a PS3 or 360 and they start playing new games. Then they will give everyone that sees them play a larger veiw of what games are. In turn it will sell consoles to more people cause their kind of games will get more showcased. I hope I am making sense.

The just of it is people will try new games, like them, buy them, and show them off. People that new them that wern't into games may perhapps see a game that the person played the demo of and in turn bought, and think I did not know they made games about such and such. Then that person goes and gets a console and the trend continues. 

LOL wishful thinking.

PS3 will have better attach rate than PS2 because PS3 is at the moment impossible and in future ver hard to mod. Combine that with blue ray format it is very expensive.

There is some logic in this ... and yes it will help consoles gain a batter attach ratio , but Im not sure if it will be enough to pass that 9-1 that was last gen ( correct me if Im wrong I just read that some time ) .

I'm really not seeing how this effect isn't already present in the current data. Your logic that people will see and buy if they like is true, however people have been playing games for years and I just don't see how a demo is going to all of a sudden institute new rapid growth of people who previously were not playing/buying.

It will spur growth in current players yes but I'm not seeing new players being something that these demos really produce since you have to own the console to see the demos. The number of people who meet the criteria of "have a friend with a 360 or PS3", "watch them play it on a regular basis to see a steady stream of new demos", and "not already interested in gaming" is pretty small to begin with when you consider that they are watching them playing games when they aren't that interested in the first place. But to then take the next step and actually buy a console for themselves or the game for themselves...thats going to be a very small number of people relative to current lifetime sales...let alone final lifetime sales.

@Cobretti

I don't see why this is wishful thinking. I have said before on these forums that I don't care for 360 at all. I have played it a lot cause my freind has one and we are room mates, but I think the system is garbage. I am not Fanboying about how live is the best thing ever created. I am a PS3 fanboy, but I have to give credit to MS for doing it first. Take it as you may but Live demos have sold more games this gen than every piece of marketing combined last gen.

@hunter_alien

9 to 1 dosn't sound to unachevable. I think we will see something like a 15-20 to 1 ratio by the end of the generation, and that is low. I think this is going to be the generation where games become as popular as movies, people will have the demo to play which is like the theater and then they will go pick up the games that they liked. I guess my Slogon for this gen is "The more you try, the more you buy".

I was thinking the same about downloadable demos. Some games that I have downloaded from the psn, have made me reconsider buying them or at the most renting them. Plus... no need to buy the mags anymore :P I have a whole box full from 1997...

15-20 is a bit much IMO ... maybe it could happen if hardware sales would be down ... I mean really down , but that wont happen neither . I agree that it could pass the 10-1 ratio , but not with much ...

i reckon the 360 might be able to manage 9 or 10 games per console, which is quite phenominal really, but unless you include Live downloads as purchases it wont make 15-20.

ps3 i reckon might end up about 7/8 which is still really good.... i mean in Jp it is still under 2 games per system, US is good atm with just under 4, Eu i imagine is about 3.

thing is its generally systems that sell fewer hardware units that get higher attach ratios, which is why i expect 360 to be highest this gen.

tell you what... an ultimatum. I reckon if ps3 manages more than 40mil units WW it's ratio will definately not exceed 10.

Yea I told everyone that Xbox Live is just the beginning with Microsoft! :P

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