Dead Rising demo here, Gears demo not coming
by Christopher Grant 
{ Aug 4th 2006 at 9:28AM }
You know what time it is, don't you? It's time to clear out your 360 hard drive, swollen from demo after demo, turgid and bloated. We've got yet another (Friday) demo, this time Capcom's new zombie-killing title, and she's a big girl. Weighing in at 1014MB, the demo might appear large, but with a 15-minute time limit, it's really just supposed to whet your appetite for zombie gore (just a taste, you're not supposed to swallow it). That's the good news.
The bad news: all that room we cleared out for yesterday's "BIG" announcement is gonna be used for the Dead Rising demo. Emergence Day was it, folks. There won't be any face-melting Gears of War demo coming out prior to
"I don't see any way we could do a demo before the game comes out. We've said that before. Demos take a long time to create and polish and we can't afford to get derailled like that if we want to have the game in stores by Thanksgiving."
What about that super-polished E3 multiplayer demo everyone keeps gabbing about? We'd settle for that, y'know.
[Thanks for all the tips!]
Read - Dead Rising demo on XBLM
Read - No Gears demo pre-release
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
OOOOPs @ Aug 4th 2006 9:33AM
Hahaaa...there's no demo because of all the hype built up around the game. This game wil sell on hype alone just like PDZ et al.
If they released a demo now, the hype is gone, the 'magic' of E-Day is gone, the mystic around the 360-saviour is gone, and because the hype is so gimongous, people will inevitably be let-down, thius lowering sales; no need for that.
livefirewire @ Aug 4th 2006 9:34AM
Happy zombie killing days are here. WooooHooooo. I know what I'll be doing all weekend:)
livefirewire @ Aug 4th 2006 9:39AM
Now if people would stop trolling on the gears news and just take what they give us at face value. Be gamers, take what you can get, and quit being a bunch of whiny pussies just because a news release isnt't what you expected.
Doc P @ Aug 4th 2006 9:41AM
GOW has super strong hype right now. There will be no demo since they have nothing to gain and everything to lose from a demo. Tons of people are going to buy it anyway.
Demos are best for titles that fly under the radar or would otherwise get lost in the mix.
That being said, there will NOT be a demo for Halo 3.
MosquitoControl @ Aug 4th 2006 9:41AM
He probably has a point. A demo wouldn't really add to any sales. I don't necessarily agree it would diminish sales much, but this will be a juggernaut. No reason to take the time for a demo. Just isn't necessary.
Is that Dead Rising time limit total, or at a time?
And that 20GB 360 HD is more and more of a mistake each passing day.
JimmyHACK @ Aug 4th 2006 9:42AM
fun little game... nothing living up to the hype...
load times blow..
but whatever fun free demo, check it out..
Cabrill @ Aug 4th 2006 9:46AM
It's sad that we have to clear up space on a console not even a year old to download a demo smaller than a GB on a system that never installs game data to the HD with the exception of one game. I'm with MosquitoControl on this...that 20GB(13GB in all reality) was a colossal mistake.
On the topic of Dead Rising, I've asked my wife to download the demo for me while I'm at work and after another 8 excruciating hours I'll be able to play it. Yay! Not that I think the demo is going to change the fact that I plan to rush out and buy it, but it'll be nice to give it a test drive beforehand just in case. Hmm...maybe the GoW guys have a valid point.
Phranctoast @ Aug 4th 2006 9:46AM
dont you mean 13gb xb360 HDD?
Nick @ Aug 4th 2006 9:50AM
The demo is pretty fun, I got to play it once so far before work. I had no idea what to do for the mission, so i just ran around and killed shat. That was fun but will probably get pretty old pretty quick. So when i get home im gonna actually try to do the missions and see if thats any fun....anyone done the mission in the demo?
Chris Taran @ Aug 4th 2006 9:58AM
Can someone enlighten me as to why it's a 13GB hard drive as opposed to a 20GB hd?
What exactly is taking up those other 7 gigs?
OtakuCODE @ Aug 4th 2006 10:00AM
Well, I guess that decides my lunch plans. Gotta run home and start the demo download!
And yeah, 20GB is far too small. I got my 360 5 days ago and I've already filled it and had to clear things off to make room for other stuff. And besides downloading videos and demos from XBLM, I've only ripped 1 CD to the 360 (erroneously thinking I'd be able to listen to it as soundtrack in PGR3... which is impossible unless I'm missing something).
I expect people to whine about Dead Rising to be repetitive, and that's fine. The people who play a game with no goal other than to be disappointed can obsess on the flaws however much they want. I want an over-the-top game where I get to destroy some zombies in creative fashion. I know I'm going to be getting my moneys worth.
xbox360dsPSP @ Aug 4th 2006 10:02AM
7GB reserved for backwards compatibility "goodness". They should allow you "opt-out" of backwards compatibility to reclaim that space.
KilgoreTrout XL @ Aug 4th 2006 10:07AM
OTAKUCode- you are missing something. ;) You can play whatever song or custom playlist you'd like during PGR3, or any game for that matter.
Press the guide button during the game, move down to select music, and you're all set.
As long as the game requires me to repeatedly kill zombies, repetition is cool with me.
Nick @ Aug 4th 2006 10:09AM
Its gonna suck when the bigger hd drives come out unless....you can transfer all your saves and you can like....um they give you money back for your old hard drive and put it towards a new one
Player1 @ Aug 4th 2006 10:15AM
To people complaining about hard drive space: Just delete your demos and videos when you are done with them. How many do you need on there? Do you seriously play ten demos every day? If the drive was 100 gigs you'd be saying the same thing once you filled it and you'd have to sort through 100 gigs of demos to delete. Plus, do you really think Microsoft wants you to just play demos instead of actually buying the games? Seems to me it was intentional.
polly @ Aug 4th 2006 10:24AM
7 gig for BC? That's insane!
Do these demos cost points too, or are they free?
Can a USB connected external hard drive work as extra space?
Player1 @ Aug 4th 2006 10:28AM
The demos are free, so you can delete them at any time and download them again later. Also if you network your 360 you don't have to store any music or anything on it if you want your own soundtracks. I have mine networked to play music and streaming radio through my Mac. The funny thing is, I think networking music from a Mac (with Connect360, a $15 app) is way easier than from a PC because you need to run the Windows Media Center OS.
Justin @ Aug 4th 2006 10:30AM
Do the load times on Dead Rising really blow that much?
LunarDuality @ Aug 4th 2006 10:37AM
The 7 gigs in not just for B.C. updates. It's for all kinds of behind the scenes code, updates, *caching* and such.
And seriously, it's not that hard to make room for a demo...I mean what the hell did you download that you *must* keep that's taking up all that space.
I download almost everything that hits the marketplace (videos, free pictures packs, demos, etc.) and I occasionally delete stuff that I'll never use/watch again...which is most stuff.
I mean I have like 5 demos, 15-20 videos and more on my HDD and I'm not full.
Back on topic, I'm excited to try the demo, as I'm afraid that the game may get boring...hope this helps me make a decision. And yeah, Epic has no real incentive to release a demo.
Abe @ Aug 4th 2006 10:38AM
Player1 - The funny thing is, I think networking music from a Mac (with Connect360, a $15 app) is way easier than from a PC because you need to run the Windows Media Center OS.
That's not true. You can use the free Windows Media Connect program on plain old XP to stream music. You only need a media center OS to stream video.
I think this should be the right URL to get WMC:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=e93a0ba1-1206-4df5-a3e7-f076691261ef&displaylang=en
Cabrill @ Aug 4th 2006 10:38AM
Hey, Player1, a lot of stuff is removed after being on XBL for a month, possibly to never be put up there again. Like the featured artist music videos, for example. If you like it and want to keep it, or just like collecting then "Deleting it when you're done with it" is not an option. Getting a hard drive larger than the equivalent of a digital thimble that would have been laughed at over 3 years ago for its insufficient size SHOULD be an option.
Lupos @ Aug 4th 2006 10:40AM
i dont think the 7 gigs isnt just for BC. there is space partitioned for streaming content as well. While games are not supposed to require the hard drive they are aloud to use it if its available. Also a good amoutn fo that space is filled with shit that comes on the system, like all the icons and wallpapaers and what not that u dont ever use. There are ways of removign alot of it i think, if i recal correctly u can get it down to like 3-5 gigs.
Carl Winslow @ Aug 4th 2006 10:40AM
I wasn't going to get Dead Rising, but after playing the demo this morning, it's become a must buy. It's just so ridiculous and over the top. I can't wait for the release next week.
pixelate @ Aug 4th 2006 10:41AM
@ 16
you don't need Media Center Edition unless you want to watch videos streaming from your PC. XP users just need to download an application called "Windows Media Connect" and the xbox will have easy access to MP3's and photos from the networked PC.
Scott @ Aug 4th 2006 10:45AM
I agree 100% with Doc. P. I also believe the 360 HDD size is its only flaw. I would like to be able to delete the 7 gig. BC content at least. (maybe they'll put that in a dashboard update.) I cannot wait to play dead rising when I get off work. Its gonna make the next 7 hours miserable...
Lupos @ Aug 4th 2006 10:47AM
fyi http://support.microsoft.com/kb/911593
acording to MS 2 gigs are for BC and 4 are for cacheing and the system has nearly 14 free but rounds down.
MosquitoControl @ Aug 4th 2006 10:48AM
Things that are really damn dumb about the 360:
1) HD size.
2) Needing Windows MCE to stream video. This isn't even sold in stores, or at least wasn't when the 360 was released. So you needed to buy a new PC or acquire MCE through grey-area channels to stream video.
3) Needing to pay for user icons. They're damn little crappy user icons. And you can't even preview before buying!
Other than that the system, for what it is, is pretty well done.
Player1 @ Aug 4th 2006 10:48AM
Thanks for the info on Windows Media Connect. Doesn't help me much, but I'm sure it will others.
geekinabox @ Aug 4th 2006 11:03AM
I agree with folks above.
GOW will sell on hype alone, and a demo could only hurt it. The only place where a demo could help is if the game delivers way above-and-beyond the already super-high expectations ... but, even then, they could just release a trailer at a fraction of the cost and get the same affect.
I predict no demo until at least January '07, after everyone has gotten their Emergence day and holiday copies, and perhaps they want to re-ignite sales.
joe @ Aug 4th 2006 11:23AM
the xbox 360 OS is only 2.5 mb big and fits in the BIOS of the unit.
the 20 GB HD is only 13 GB, the other 7 GB are for BC and for system cache. The BC files are all the titles supported for the 360 from Xbox 1,each game that is played on the 360, creates a small file which contains all the cpu and driver issues with the game. when the 360 was release the 4gb of data represented the 30-50 odd games that where BC. as the list grows the amount of space requred to maintain that BC is increased. which is why now when you put a new BC game on in the 360 it prompts you to DL a update for it which is a small file which contains all the stuff your 360 needs to emulate the game. this in itself is a problem becasue inorder for more games to get add to that BC list your going to have to kill more hardrvie space, which is why MS is dragging its feet with BC. becasue if they suddenly make everything BC, then you HD limited 13gb will be filled up very quickly.
But in terms of stoing music directly to your 360 it is not a good idea. the 360 from its inception is designed to be a streaming monster not a file server.
its simple MS is going at this sideways as well as verticaly
you use the WMC2005 for video/music/pics (only wma video) that connects to your 360 which you use connected to your HDTV. which then MS can supply you with content directly to your tv. and whatever else you want you can supply yourself provide your buy a copy of MCE2005.
The only downside is that MS is too big and going in a bunch of different directions all at once, so all of this is going to take awhile.
But i predicate in 2+ years MS IPTV will be a channel on 360. and they will work out a deal with media companies to stream content.
The only way i see a download and keep option going is if MS releases a 100gb HD, which is most likely in the cards but will require time for the install base to grow.
I think once they hit 10 million consoles online, a get many more things will come out of the R&D labs at MS, also by then windows live and Zune/Xboy will be in full swing.
as with anything it just takes time.
MS had to choose between lower entry point price or from the get go storage solutions. they chose the lower price point. becase they new down the road they could and would get more sales through add ons.
I can't blame them tho i would prefer a 20Gb HD for $60 and use that as my travel HD bring it to othe 360s and then a 100 or 200 gb main drive which will permentinly dock to my 360. agian that opens new accessory the Xbox 360 HD transfer kit....
ah i should work for them.
Darth Pixel @ Aug 4th 2006 11:28AM
Dead Rising, a game for no brains.
Bashing zombies in any way possible between 2 gopher missions/quests gets old very very fast.
RP @ Aug 4th 2006 11:44AM
I tell you what--I was smiling like that n64 kid when I figured out how to heat the skillet up and fry some zombie flesh. Life's too short to waste it complaining.
MosquitoControl @ Aug 4th 2006 11:52AM
"Dead Rising, a game for no brains.
Bashing zombies in any way possible between 2 gopher missions/quests gets old very very fast."
Which is what Saint's Row is, only instead of zombies it's gangsters.
Which is what GTA3/4 is.
I'm extremely tired of the games in that setting.
But I love zombies. And I love the variation of the weapons promised in Dead Rising.
So while I expect to steer clear of Saint's Row (which fixed all my complaints about San Andreas, yet still felt tired to me) and GTA4, I'll probably get this.
Lucipher @ Aug 4th 2006 11:55AM
"Needing to pay for user icons. They're damn little crappy user icons. And you can't even preview before buying!"
MosquitoControl, you can preview all themes and gamer pics at xbox.com.
VampireHunter Z @ Aug 4th 2006 12:02PM
I didn't plan on buying this game because I'm not too big on all that mindless blood spilling. (I do love RE though) But last night I downloaded the Webisodes and they are so hilarious that I want to see more. Have anyone been watching the webisodes? The supermarket owner had me rolling. The guy at the gun store had me cracking up too.
I'll clear out one of my demos off my harddrive and download the demo later.
BIGGEN @ Aug 4th 2006 12:24PM
how about not bitching about HDD space and either clearing some of that crap out of there that you KNOW you never watch, play, or listen to or add some damn space for crap's sake:
http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/mods/USB%20Hard%20Drive%20Mod.htm
i don't condone modding per se, but this isn't really like taking your case off and soldering stuff to the boards. this is simply a way to shut you all up that HAVE to bitch about the 360 HDD space. you have plenty of space on there. but if you must keep every trailer, demo, whatever, try the above.
Cabrill @ Aug 4th 2006 12:46PM
Biggen:
Where does my wireless adapter plug in if that spot is being taken up by a third party hard drive? No, this is sticking your finger in a leaking dam and screaming it's fine the way it is, and working as intended. It's a problem. 20GB was adequate in 1998 for light usage, but it hasn't been since. Especially when system overhead takes up 35% of that minimal space (BC updates, cache, whatever.) Sure there are extreme patches to hide the problem such as the one you kindly linked, but having a ill-fitting patch doesn't mean there's not a glaring flaw underneath it.
joe @ Aug 4th 2006 12:50PM
also for expanding the HD on the 360, its been figured out. llama is a start, but in a nutshell.
open your 360 HD case, take out the 2.5 notebook drive.
attach your 2.5 New 60gb+ harddrive via the SATA connection, and close it back up and attach to 360.
all you need is a HD formated to Fat32, you plug in SATA and your set, a samsung or whoever makes you 360 HD is best.
its really easy to add more hard space, but you void you warranty which is worth dick anyway.
I am going to try this once my HD dies or if i just run out of space.
You can also back up and move files from the HD via a standard SATA connections to your PC.
the 360 likes for you to think its not a computer but the HD is FAT32 and you can mix and match parts provide they are OEM on the 360 to bring with, IE you can swap out your 16x DVD for a 24x DVD(does that exsit?) as long as it a samy. the 360 will detect as "generic samsung dvd" and work. same goes for HD, its the driver not the amount of space which the xbox 360 looks for.
Ciaran Gallagher @ Aug 4th 2006 1:11PM
I would like a bigger hard drive or a second one but I would not be willing to fork out £80+ just so I can keep more game videos and demos stored.
I'm happy enough with 20gig! :)
Zsavior @ Aug 4th 2006 1:21PM
It always bothers me when the gaming public starts saying "NO DEMO NEEDED TAKE IT AT FACE VALUE!" This idea works nowhere else in society, yet gamers will recommend to other gamers, to shut their mouth and just BELIEVE in what they are going to get. WHAT THE HELL, seriously did I miss the memo? This isn't a religion, why are so many so willing just to believe when you're paying for a 50 dollar product.
IF a freaking Car company gives its potential customers 30G vehicles to Test drive with no certainty that a sale is final, how can we be denoucing a Demo because the product has excellent PR. That is all the more reason you ask for a demo because there is no press speaking against GOW, call me a idiot or a troll, but how can this just be ok. We have to start being more discriminating as gamers, are sooner or later, we are going to be foaming and happy with pictures.
Bottom line face value shouldn't be selling games, and we should give a good damn how a demo will affect the company. Because if that game is a steaming hunk of crap, Cliffy B. won't be offering you one dime back. It shouldn't be what's better for epic and MS it should be what is better for us, and how that game company makes it happen. Face value is for tarot cards, and prayer beads, not for video game consoles, and their software.
Tiago @ Aug 4th 2006 1:43PM
I've made a comic about dead rising, you can check it here:
http://www.consolewarscomic.com/index.php?comicID=20
LaughingMan @ Aug 4th 2006 1:52PM
Delete stuff? But what if I want to watch the 720p trailer for "Soul Plane" (I AM NOT WATCHING THE 480p VERSION **** THAT!!!)
(sarcasm off)
I do think that the HDD is a tad small, but cmon, you can't delete anything off your HDD? Really? It's not like it's gone for good once you get rid of something. So you might have to go without your "Tomb Raider" demo for a couple of days to make room for the latest demo.
Pc @ Aug 4th 2006 2:23PM
Hell yeah !!! I've been waiting for the Dead Rising demo for a while now. I will be playing this thing all day...well, that and SF2HF, and also the saints row demo. :)
MosquitoControl @ Aug 4th 2006 2:24PM
Hey, I know, let me void my warranty because the company didn't provide what was sufficient.
Yes, we can always delete.
But admit it, there's something uncomfortable about downloading a demo that's roughly 10% of your available HD space.
Gianni Gotti @ Aug 4th 2006 2:39PM
The lack of a GOW demo proves that they are scared it won't stand up to the hype.
After all, Namco's KillSwitch wasn't a very successful game and all they have done is added new graphics to that formula....
Yash @ Aug 4th 2006 2:45PM
Wow Microsoft has really been loading stuff up on marketplace lately..It's kinda nice.
OtakuCODE @ Aug 4th 2006 2:50PM
You guys saying "just delete stuff!" obviously don't understand the pain that causes digital packrats like myself. If I had the money, my house would be filled with hard drives holding every byte of information I could get my hands on. Don't ask for a reason, there isn't one. It's much closer to a compulsion than a good idea.
And yeah, what's the point of the 480p videos? Get rid of those stupid things. Anybody who doesn't have an HDTV who bought a 360 might as well spend their days taking a nailgun to their face anyways.
KilgoreTrout XL: Hey, thanks! Like I said, just got the 360 5 days ago, so I haven't discovered all of its nooks and crannies.
OtakuCODE @ Aug 4th 2006 2:56PM
joe: No, you are wrong about the DVD drive. Don't go spouting off things you half-heard during recess. The DVD-ROM drives in the Xbox 360 are special models with, most importantly, special firmware. There has even been a lot of activity lately in the hacking scene with manipulating this firmware, showing that you don't even bother reading around on the subject. At least drop by xbox-scene.com every once in awhile if you even want a chance of pulling the wool over your classmates eyes, but if you think you're going to get away with it on Joystiq, you better bring better game than that.
zachary @ Aug 4th 2006 5:53PM
Interesting... I'm fine with my 10gb drive. just delete what you dont need. as for the ridiculous comment about 7 gb for bc - something must be wrong with your xbox. mine takes up a gig or two. Dead rising is awesome and the load times are nothing.
click the link for some amazing shopping cart action!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syxfy8kCg6k (like the outfit?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyHynoZNcSI mmmm pie and soda
codemule @ Aug 4th 2006 6:19PM
Ok, I've been playing the demo for about two hours straight now.
Quite simply, this is THE game that justifies my Xbox 360 purchase. Absolutely amazing quality, the depth of the title is unreal (anyone else try combining foods in blenders and microwaves to get power-up foods?)
The demo hints (and spoils) some of the plot which also seems really damn cool. Can't wait for Wednesday to pick up the full game.