http://kotaku.com/5486262/sonys-degradable-video-game-demo-patent

It is, to say the least, an interesting idea for demo structure. Personally I think it is stupid but what do I know.

There is some scuttlebutt (I love saying that) that this demo structure is part of Sony's current anti-piracy experiment which began with the release of the PSP game: SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3 (I think was the titles name)

Eeeh, sounds like a bad idea to me. When does the “clock” start on the content? When you start playing, or when you open the case?

I know some collectors like having demo discs (some go up in value especially if they're limited promo items)…I would assume the value there is that it can be played. Personally, I like hauling out demos every once in awhile; I'll also lend them out to friends who aren't sure whether they want the game but don't have time for the full version.

I remember a similar patent was attempted for rental DVDs (the data is irreversibly corrupted after 48 hours of breaking the seal)…I haven't heard any more about that nor run across one of these discs in the wild, so the idea might have died out.

I think you've missed the idea of the product. It'll basically be a complete game packaged for the demo, and then the more hours you rack up playing the thing, the more it limits you. They'd have to work out a way for the playtime information to be stored securely so that people couldn't just reset the play time and carry on playing the game.

I personally think it's too prone to exploits. Plus games would be 10Gb instead of 1Gb to download over XBL or PSN and that's huge.

The size aspect doesn't bother me. And as far as the 10GB demo thing is concerned you got to remember that average full Xbox 360 game downloads via the XBL Games on Demand are already are 6GB in size and considering the “demo” is essentially the full game…that's not that much of a change.

Nah, you're not alone JamesCGamora, I also think it's a stupid idea.

Size doesn't bother me either, it's quota free for me.

I mean, the more you play of the demo, the less you'll likely buy the game if it only has a little bit more content than the demo? Or am I missing something?