No Demo for NBA 2K15

All along it appeared unlikely that 2K Sports would be offering a pre-release demo for NBA 2K15 after passing on doing so with 2K14. That has turned out to be the case with Operation Sports getting confirmation that there will be no demo for the game.

The NBA 2K series is in a position where a demo may not be a necessity but the decision can still be legitimately questioned. While companies have started to move away from the traditional demo (MLB: The Show was really the first and there wasn’t one for Madden NFL 15 either) with the thinking that they may do more harm than good there’s still an audience that can be reached through them. Even the biggest selling series worldwide every year in FIFA proved that a few weeks ago as 36% of poll respondents claimed they’re now more likely to buy after playing its demo. NBA 2K is also perceived as an increasingly complicated game and a tutorial of sorts could have been helpful to those intimidated by it and unsure about a purchase.

Unlike the situation with Madden – where at least some people could try it before it was out through EA Access or watch live streams and hear impressions from those who could – there won’t be any opportunity for that with 2K15. The concerns that consumers have voiced most about the upcoming game though would be related to the VC implementation and the online servers and those wouldn’t have been been answered through a demo anyway.