Left 4 Dead pre-orders to grant early demo access

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Oct 28th 2008 at 5:25PM }

Though we'd normally exhibit moderate hesitation before hurling ourselves and our easily gnawed-off limbs into a zombie apocalypse, Valve's cooperative multiplayer shooter, Left 4 Dead, demands a more impetuous reaction. Those looking to mow down monsters and make the undead deader would do well to pre-order the game, either on Steam or at "participating retailers," and net themselves early access to a demo.

"Early access" translates to November 6th for both the Xbox 360 and PC demos, which feature single-player and co-op modes for one to four players. Skeptical folk will have to wait for a general release on the 11th, or the full game's North American debut on November 18th.

[Via press release]

Tags: Brains, Demo, Left-4-Dead, Steam, Valve

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Arturo @ Oct 28th 2008 5:29PM

Sweet, I just hope I can afford this after having been shown no mercy by October releases.

syrik zero @ Oct 28th 2008 5:30PM

Yeah, I have Dead Space (just the last boss to go through now) and Fallout 3 on the way and I have Fable 2 to pick up after that. I have no time for demos...

CaramelZappa @ Oct 28th 2008 5:52PM

After the Orange Box got early access to the TF2 beta for preorders, I knew they had to do SOMETHING for l4d preorders.

Ben! @ Oct 28th 2008 5:54PM

This seems kind of strange to me. Play for just under two weeks and then lose all of your progress to play the full version?

Erik Stroud @ Oct 28th 2008 5:56PM

By all progress you mean 1 level? Not to much to me. But, Im going to wait for the demo before preordering. I can wait the extra 5 days.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 28th 2008 5:57PM

Glad I preordered it when I did.

Dirty @ Oct 28th 2008 6:04PM

I left my wallet for dead.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 28th 2008 6:12PM

Well I left my wallet at el segundo.

Jake11 @ Oct 28th 2008 7:12PM

A Tribe called Quest FTW

ExMcCloud @ Oct 28th 2008 7:16PM

Are they still taking off 5 bux for pre-orders?

Tango Charlie @ Oct 28th 2008 6:09PM

DEAR MASTERS OF LOGIC: Early demo access for everyone might result in more people pre-ordering the game.

Haggard @ Oct 28th 2008 6:38PM

Really?

Because that's not really an incentive to click the pre-order button.

007craft @ Oct 28th 2008 6:53PM

Yeah I thought the point of a demo was to help convince possible buyers to purchase the game. I personally am waiting to play the demo to decid if the game is worth a purchase. Granting people who pre-order the game (already buying it) early access to a demo to try and help sell the game makes no sense at all.

Haggard @ Oct 28th 2008 6:58PM

Ah, I see your point, but it co-exists with mine; people who were on the fence may have more incentive to take the plunge in order to gain the early access.

Ihavepants @ Oct 28th 2008 8:16PM

Well I've already pre-ordered it but I feel that allowing the DEMO of the game to be played by as many people as possible, as soon as possible will result in more pre-orders. Kind of an odd choice.

WRE @ Oct 28th 2008 6:12PM

I feel like I'm making a mistake by not picking this up, but I have way too much to play as it is. What with Rock Band 2, Order of Eclessia, Dragon Quest 4, Saints Row 2, Far Cry 2, Dead Space, Fable 2, Fallout 3, LBP, Gears 2 AND a brand new baby, it's hard to find the time. Plus, I have yet to finish Mass Effect, Fire Emblem: RD, Super Mario RPG or World of Goo. So many games, so little time...

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 28th 2008 7:31PM

hmm well I might be out of line for saying this, but don't you think it would be smarter to hold off buying all those games, and use the money for the baby?

WRE @ Oct 29th 2008 1:46AM

lol. Yeah, I see where you might think that that was a problem, but believe me, it's not. Together the wife and I pull in a little over $100,000 a year and are basically debt-free, so the baby is well taken care of.

Blazur @ Oct 28th 2008 6:21PM

You had me at "Left".

Vcize @ Oct 28th 2008 6:29PM

Amazon has it for $48.99 with free shipping too.

FSK405K @ Oct 28th 2008 6:40PM

What's the difference between Nov 11 and Nov 18 for L4D? Does the demo get released on the 11th to non-preorder-ers and the game on the 18th?

Haggard @ Oct 28th 2008 6:40PM

Hmm, I hate these types of things because while it's always very clear where to pre-order from if you're in the US, you literally never know in the UK unless you browse every single online retailer until you find the one going on about the offer.

And even then you have to know that there actually might be a pre-order incentive.

Ihavepants @ Oct 28th 2008 7:02PM

Steam.

Haggard @ Oct 28th 2008 7:08PM

I was going to mention that I like having boxes on my shelf but somehow got amnesia halfway through typing

PojoMofo @ Oct 28th 2008 6:55PM

I hope this is true for the PS3 version as well, ohhhh thats right, Gabe Newell is a douchebag and didnt make a PS3 version.

Do I sound bitter????

Haggard @ Oct 28th 2008 7:00PM

http://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=valveownsmc2pj7.jpg

Scythe @ Oct 28th 2008 7:01PM

Yes. Yes you do.

007craft makes an interesting point. Is a demo's purpose to woo undecided buyers or is it fanservice?

I, for one, am looking forward to the demo so I can convince my GF that it's worth picking up. She and I had much fun playing Serious Sam co-op so I think it'd be a good fit, but we're going to have to wait for the later date until we can actually play together. I'm caught squarely between the "woo" and "fanservice" camps.