PS Premium's Limited Game Trials Are Demos In The Worst Possible Way

thegamer.com:

There has been a lot of excitement about the recent PS+ Premium reveal, the sort of Game Pass competitor that's actually more of a Nintendo Switch Online competitor, and with good reason. There will be over 400 PS4 and PS5 games at launch, although since there are around three PS5 games, it's basically 400 PS4 games, plus an as-yet-unknown number of PS1, PS2, PSP, and PS3 games. I'll be going to bat for a couple of my favourites in the coming days, but amidst all the buzz, there are two details worth examining. First, there will be no new games at launch, but I already mentioned that gaping hole in Sony's strategy when I compared it to NSO. What also came out today though is that the platform will feature limited game trials, a feature that sounds good on paper but has never really worked in reality.

There are three tiers to Sony's new program, and the most expensive tier will include these limited game trials. If you're not sure what a limited game trial is because of the marketing jargon, they're demos. Usually, they start at the beginning of the game and give you X amount of hours of access, or access until you hit Y plot point. Ideally, your progress then converts into the main game should you choose to buy it, meaning you won't need to repeat it. EA Access used to offer something similar, often a few days before the game launched properly. With EA Access though, it wasn't so much a trial as a little taste after you'd already ordered. It was that first sip of wine the waiter poured. Technically, you can still send it back if it's not to your taste, but no one really does that.

Related: GTA Online's Cash Grab Over Subscriptions May Change Gaming For The Worse

PS Premium's trials are different - they are bona fide 'try