Monday Tip-Off: Making The Case for Basketball Game Demos

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off by making a case for releasing basketball video game demos.

It’s strange how when I think of basketball video game demos, they feel like such an antiquated concept. That may be because video game demos in general have fallen out of vogue – much as shareware did – but it hasn’t actually been that long since we had a demo for an upcoming hoops title. The last NBA Live demo came in 2018, while we had a small preview of NBA 2K21 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Now, that is indeed going back a few years at this point, but for some reason those demos don’t immediately come to mind. Instead, demos seem like a relic of the 90s and 2000s.

Of course, one could very well argue that that’s when basketball game demos were far more relevant. There was legitimate competition between NBA Live and NBA 2K right through to the end of the decade. The preview season for both games began around June, and there was a steady stream of information as they competed for attention and pre-orders. There was value in both companies dropping a demo a few weeks before the full version was released, to show off a few key improvements and possibly change some minds. Even with NBA 2K’s virtual monopoly over basketball gaming, however, I maintain that there’s still value in providing a pre-release demo.

Let’s begin with the obvious benefit: an early hands-on look at the game. Considering that an annual release is aiming to get basketball gamers to buy a new game every year, providing us with a preview of what to expect demonstrates goodwill, to say nothing of confidence in the product. The purpose of video game demos is obviously to advertise the full version of a title by giving us a tantalising taste of it. Naturally there’s risk in this – the NBA Elite 11 demo is a prime example here – but for a series like NBA 2K that’s in much better shape, it’s more likely to impress. If improvements have been made, it may also win over gamers who were ready to skip the next release.

From our perspective, it allows us to make an informed choice as consumers. Granted, this isn’t what the suits want! They obviously want as many people as possible to buy and preferably pre-order the game without a second thought, year after year. Anything that might interfere with that – say, a demo that doesn’t line up with the wonderful things that the previews are promising – isn’t something they’ll want to do. Once again though, giving us a small taste of what to expect wouldn’t just demonstrate the game, but also goodwill. That’s something 2K has been steadily losing since NBA 2K18. It may not be reflected in the sales, but user scores on Steam and Metacritic back it up.

I don’t think a pre-release demo would’ve hurt the sales of any recent NBA 2K games. If you’ll forgive my cynicism, it’s usually at least two weeks after a game is released before many gamers are willing to acknowledge both new and legacy issues alike. Furthermore, with some of the changes to gameplay mechanics in recent years, giving users a chance to adapt to and master them before the full version is released would probably result in a more positive reception. It might also yield valuable feedback that allows the developers to implement fixes that will be available in the inevitable day one patch. Basketball video game demos can absolutely be mutually beneficial.

Although I’m picturing a “traditional” demo here – NBA gameplay, the previous season’s Finalists (or two other fun/interesting teams), and shorter quarters – there’s also value in the MyCAREER previews 2K provided with the Preludes. The ability to scan your face, upgrade your player’s attributes a little, and progress through the early stages of the story, were a fun head start for MyCAREER gamers. It made that first look at the game meaningful, since we could actually make progress that carried over into the full version. Exhibition games were fine and helped us form an opinion pre-release, but the Preludes provided us with something we could use post-release, too.

To that point, it’s a clever sales pitch. “Hey, you’ve already had fun and are on your way to being a star player. Why not continue that journey in the full game? Pre-order now!” If you’ve already pre-ordered the game and enjoyed that head start, it’s only going to heighten your anticipation for launch day. Admittedly I don’t have all of the numbers at my disposal, nor do I work in marketing. Still, simply judging by the sales figures for NBA 2K games that had a demo, I’d suggest that even if the risk of putting it in gamers’ hands early didn’t significantly increase sales, it didn’t hurt them, either. The goodwill and excitement from the key demographic was surely worth the risk.

So, that’s NBA 2K; a game that is successful enough and good enough to risk giving its audience a hands-on preview prior to release. What about NBA Live? I mentioned the NBA Elite 11 demo, which was incredibly destructive to the brand. With that in mind, and also taking into account the generally unfavourable reaction to NBA Live on the eighth generation, demos were necessary to stand any chance of winning over a sceptical crowd. Releasing a more traditional demo, along with a Prelude-like head start for its career mode and connected experiences, was the right move. EA had to show confidence in its product, but also allow hoops gamers to try without buying.

If NBA Live does return – and I hope that it does, increasingly sceptical as I may be – then it will need to adopt the same approach. Yes, there are gamers who will buy it regardless because they grew up with the series, or because they’ve grown weary of NBA 2K (or both), but it’s been a long time since NBA Live was a trusted name in sim basketball games. As Dee and I have discussed many times on the NLSC Podcast, if and when NBA Live returns, it really needs to impress. That begins with a demo that immediately proves its dormancy wasn’t in vain, and that its return is worthwhile. It can’t possibly win everyone over, but it can help rebuild confidence in the brand.

Even though NBA 2K is in a much better position, it wouldn’t hurt to do the same. I know I’m older and some degree of cynicism is therefore perhaps inevitable, but the preview season has been lousy since NBA Live collapsed and NBA 2K became such a juggernaut. There’s arrogance in opening up pre-orders weeks before even showing it in action, or revealing further details about what to expect, and not giving gamers a chance to try before they (pre)-buy. It also invites speculation that a studio is hiding something: new tech that wasn’t quite ready for primetime, legacy issues that still aren’t fixed, or an even pushier approach to all of the recurrent revenue mechanics.

It’s not as though we haven’t seen this before with basketball game demos. We also know that some of the Preludes have been fine-tuned to make our players feel far more powerful than they’ll be in the retail version, because it leads to a more positive first impression. As such, in making the case for basketball game demos, I should also note that it’s vital that they’re as honest a depiction of the final product as they can be. Sure, some things are bound to change, in some cases due to feedback following the demo. As I noted, that’s one of a demo’s potential benefits. Pulling the strings so that a demo is deceptive is considerably different to showing off an earlier, but stable build.

Sports games remain a genre where a demo version is feasible. You can give gamers a fair taste of the full version by including exhibition play and a few teams, access to avatar creation for the career mode and its connected experiences, and the ability to make some progress that will carry over into the retail game. Provide us with a taste of those aspects – much as the NBA Live 16 demo did – and if we like it, we’ll keep playing that until we get our hands on the full game. This is where the Preludes have admittedly fallen short. There’s a definite end point, after which we’re basically locked out of continuing to do anything with them, and have to wait for the retail version.

That’s not to say that the concept couldn’t evolve beyond the traditional basketball game demo. Subscription services such as EA Play allow gamers unlimited access to titles for a set duration, after which they must purchase it to keep playing (sometimes with discounts). Any progress made during the trial period carries over, just like 2K’s Preludes or the NBA Live demos from the past generation. This may be the new way to provide video game demos. Presumably these trial versions would be available post-release, so there’d be no trying before you pre-order. It could still drive sales soon after launch though, winning over sceptical gamers with a title that impresses.

I’m sure that most gamers who are on the fence would gladly forego any pre-order bonuses to have a few hours to make an informed decision. Publishers benefit too, since they’ll undoubtedly pick up extra sales (and in turn, possibly recurrent revenue too, not that I’m advocating for that). They’d have to be careful, especially on PC. I remember the mods way back in the day that disabled the timer in the demo version of the original Grand Theft Auto. EA and 2K aren’t going to be keen on offering people an easy road to pirating their games, but considering the online and live service content in modern titles, there’ll still be incentive to buy the games if you like them.

There’s a tendency to look down on some ideas because “that’s in the past, things are different now”. Some concepts are evergreen however, even if they do have to evolve and adapt to changing times and technology. I believe that basketball game demos are a concept that’s still relevant. Once again, it wasn’t that long ago that we were getting them in some form for both NBA 2K and NBA Live. Moving forward, I’d love to see those demos return. They’ll be a necessity for NBA Live to make its mark again, but even NBA 2K could benefit from giving us a hands-on preview. Goodwill, a head start, and a game that impresses, could have us all looking forward to launch day.