So why don't developers demo releases to their advantage? Why not include easy-to-use feedback forms, to be returned via email, with a few competition prizes as inducement? The resultant data could be useful. As any gamer worth their salt knows, in-house testing departments seem to overlook brazen flaws in certain titles. If you've got a few thousand people saying, "Change the control configuration screen! It's horrible!" or "The handling mechanics are crap!" you're going to take a wee bit of notice, aren't you?

I suppose you're going to make some kind of conclusion, then...
Yep. Remember the Quake 3 'test' release? At a time when Half-Life - in Team Fortress and common-or-garden multiplayer guises - was dominating the online gaming scene, id's demo seemed as political as it was practical. On one hand, they got thousands upon thousands of testers, working gladly on their behalf. But, on another level, they said, "Remember us?"

Chucking out demos at the arse end of the development cycle always has the potential to do more harm than good. So why don't codeshops and publishers alike wake up to their true potential? Why not accord demos with the greater significance they deserve and, obviously, need?

Just think about it - better demos that present the software they're promoting in a more accessible, appreciable manner. And, by means of easy-to-use feedback forms, the finished games could be tweaked in subtle yet significant ways. Everyone would be happy, right?

Or perhaps we're being naïve. Why not pop along to the Forum and have your say?