Words Worth Knowing: Demo
Words Worth Knowing was a vertical I wrote weekly explaining key pieces of gaming jargon to parents, guardians and teachers, as part of the larger overall GameHub outreach effort. The column ran for nearly two years and resulted in around 60 WWK articles. GameHubHQ.com closed in late 2017. This piece originally appeared on Dec 12, 2016.
What It Is: Demo = Demonstration version.
What It Means: A scaled down version of a game, eg the first few levels, offered for free to allow players to try the game out and decide if it's for them. This term applies primarily to the PC and console markets. Popular in the 90s and 00s, demo versions are not as commonplace as they once were.
Why You Care: Demo versions allow players to get a taste of a game and see whether they enjoy it before committing to a full purchase. For console games, which may RRP at around £40-60, this makes financial sense and can reduce or resolve family tensions over game purchases.
