Alone in the Dark demo plans revealed

By Ellie Gibson Published 29 May, 2008

It'll be out a week before launch.

Infogrames president Phil Harrison has revealed when we can expect a playable demo of Alone in the Dark to arrive.

Speaking to Eurogamer last week he said, "There's an Xbox Live Marketplace demo which'll be up a week before the game comes out."

That'd be some time around 13th June then, seeing as Alone in the Dark for Xbox 360 is out on 20th June. PC, PS2 and Wii versions will be released on the same date, with a PS3 game to follow in the autumn.

When asked whether we can expect any downloadable content in future Harrison said, "We've not made any announcements on that yet."

However, it doesn't sound too likely. Later on in the interview, Harrison said he doesn't reckon the games industry will make many more "beautifully crafted single-player game[s]" like Alone in the Dark, explaining, "I just don't think consumers want to be playing games that don't have some kind of network connectivity to them, or some kind of community embedded in them, or some kind of extension available through downloadable content.

"Now, that's not to criticise Alone in the Dark," he continued. "It's just to recognise the industry is changing, and the role we play as creators and publishers has to reflect those changes. I don't think I'm alone in having those views, either."

For more from Harrison, read the full interview.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (24) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • syphaa #1 4 years ago

    Sweet!
    Good news as I am still undecided that all this talk of cool new features/mechanics isnt just a load of spiralling PR mumbo jumbo [always wanted to type that!].

  • RedPanda #2 4 years ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • Grunk #3 4 years ago

    Single player games are great, don't stop making them

  • septimus #4 4 years ago

    I wish for better story driven single player games to.

  • space_ace #5 4 years ago

    yes, finally an interesting demo!

  • ZuluHero #6 4 years ago

    we all want beautifully crafted single player games! There is still a market for them Phil!

  • DUFFMAN5 #7 4 years ago

    Same as you guys. I like story driven single player games, esp in third person

  • Darren #8 4 years ago

    "Harrison said he doesn't reckon the games industry will make many more "beautifully crafted single-player game" like Alone in the Dark, explaining, "I just don't think consumers want to be playing games that don't have some kind of network connectivity to them, or some kind of community embedded in them, or some kind of extension available through downloadable content."

    Speak for yourself... I have very little interest in multiplayer/online gaming and much prefer these kinds of single player games, with or without DLC! The day games go multiplayer online only will be the day I put my controller down for good.

  • Darren #9 4 years ago

    Just to elaborate... I prefer story-driven games that have a beginning, middle and end so single player games like BioShock and Alone in the Dark naturally appeal to me. I actually find most multiplayer games far too repetitive, particularly online shooters, doing the same thing over and over outside of a storyline on the same few maps just bores me senseless, I just can't understand the appeal at all. Racing and sports are better but I'd much prefer to play an RPG or action/adventure game like Alone in the Dark or GTA IV. I just wish there were more of them.

  • SteveB #10 4 years ago

    I love single player games too and it annoys me when a game's single player element is compromised by it's multiplayer aspects. Halo 2 for example.

  • miiiguel #11 4 years ago

    Agree with Darren, 100%, but I do try to socialize..., I really try. But I'm not very good at it...
    Edited by 1 at 29/05/08 @ 16:27

  • layleeloo #12 4 years ago

    Do you know, it's probably true what the guys says and it well pisses me off. Yeh, all you get nowardays is "no online mode", no downloadable content etc. To some of us people, none of that matters. I used play PGR3 online on the 360, and a couple of other bits, and have never even bothered playing anything online on my PS3.

    Games were never criticised or marked down 2 years ago for no multi player shit, and now full games are suffering because of it. Yeh times change, and so do people opinions, but i winds me up that yet again due to popular trend, the die hard people get left out. Alone in the Dark my be one of the last of a dying breed - but if any bloody reviews mark it down for any lack of multi player or anything like that, they want shooting. No game should lose points for lack of things like that, cos some of us dont give a toss about that, it doesnt make the single player any less unless like Halo 3 where it was wank due to the devotion to multiplayer!

  • Darren #13 4 years ago

    I must admit that I do feel a sense of despair at buying a new game only to find out its single player mode lasts less than 10 hours (a recent example being Haze) because the developers have added an online mode. Granted they have set budgets but sometimes it feels like the multiplayer is the focus and that just doesn't seem right to me. That pretty much accounts for every first and third person shooter released in the last five years except for BioShock which was so refreshing because it lasted me in excess of 30 hours and I loved every second of it. Far Cry 2 will apparently have a long campaign that can last upto 50 hours apparently but also features online gameplay so maybe that'll be the game to buck the trend?

  • bad09 #14 4 years ago

    I don't need a demo I'm sold already. :)

    I Think that single player stuff is rubbish (Harrison talking rubbish surely not?). Sure we all want some MP action in our games but that just wouldn't work with a lot of games. I, like everyone here, still love SP games. SP games are still in demand Phil, take your bull back to Sony.

  • penhalion #15 4 years ago

    Wait! It's out in June! Frak! So that's Metal Gear 4, Ninja Gaiden 2, Alone in the dark ... Why don't I just mail half my wallet to Sony and the other half to Microsoft and save myself some effort......

  • bad09 #16 4 years ago

    @ penhalion

    I know what you mean! Part of me is secretly actually wishing for the old summer droughts!

  • YourMessageHere #17 4 years ago

    Harrison, don't you dare prophesy the end of SP gaming. I tried MP, loved it for years, and now I'm bored to death of it. For all that I enjoy shooting random strangers over the phone lines, I much prefer a good storyline and/or sense of universe to a 'game experience' in the most literal sense of simply performing repetitive actions. MP can be very amusing, but unless you are immensely competitive and/or unnaturally skilled, it's also incredibly frustrating and frequently unrewarding, while singleplayer games give you a sense of progression that MP cannot hope to. For all the added challenge that human opponents give, now and again someone pays sufficient attention to AI to make you realise that even in this respect it's possible to create challenging but fair and fun to play against AI in SP games, but usually nobody bothers using the resources that are there for them. If I play anything MP, it's co-op 9 times out of 10.

    However Harrison does have the germ of a point. I don't give a damn about multiplayer any more and the whole "game community" idea is usually nothing but a hollow idol, but I certainly don't see why demos and DLC can't be commonplace for SP games. And by that I mean on other consoles and PC too; what good is a demo on only one format?

  • sd99 #18 4 years ago

    Excellent news. This game is on my watch list, but I'm reluctant to preorder yet due to the Atari factor - which usually means it has a big chance of being crap. This'll give Atari a good chance to change my mind about ordering the game.

  • sargemat #19 4 years ago

    I cant wait for Alone in the Dark but i think he is woring to say we will all play multiplayer games soon.

  • layleeloo #20 4 years ago

    i am SOOOOOOOOO pleased I am not the only one who feels like this as I wrote above! All my mates just go online etc and dont get why I get so bored of it. Theres only so much you can do and its a different style of play - more fun than engrossing, and even then the fun stops due to idiot wankers, who although I know you can block or bad, just ruins the experience. I was a believer in the debate that SP and MP should be 2 separate entities, especially with things like halo 3. SO one of the best pieces of news ever to me was Metal Gear 4 is 2 spearate games for SP and MP. Just how it should be. Admittedly its more expensive if you want both, but then you will get 2 games, twice as good as they would have been if they were all done on the same package, therefore being better value for money rather than 2 half assed attempts.

    Some games like Motorstorm (only game on the PS3 ive bothered putting online) and the like are good on MP, but I still only play games MP about 5% of the time. So come on industry - dont cast us SP fans aside, because the industry wouldnt be where it is today if it wasnt or us die hard SP fans - therefore giving you the money to produce MP and casual games which is where you think the future is. If so - the future is very bleak.

  • Chaote-Imagicka #21 4 years ago

    Harrison said he doesn't reckon the games industry will make many more "beautifully crafted single-player game" like Alone in the Dark, explaining, "I just don't think consumers want to be playing games that don't have some kind of network connectivity to them, or some kind of community embedded in them,

    I completely agree, I have no intention of buying Alone in the Dark because without foul mouthed twelve year olds screaming in my ear it's not a game so much as a chore. I need other people present to play games the same way I need someone in the room when I "play with myself".

  • beckyh #22 4 years ago

    I have very little interest in online features/multiplayer games. I just want decent single player experiences. I wonder who these companies actually ask when doing their research? Just because online gaming is at an all time high, it does not mean that single player games are dead. I would bet my bottom dollar that more gamers actually enjoy single player games than play online.

  • SomaticSense #23 4 years ago

    "Harrison said he doesn't reckon the games industry will make many more "beautifully crafted single-player game" like Alone in the Dark, explaining, "I just don't think consumers want to be playing games that don't have some kind of network connectivity to them, or some kind of community embedded in them, or some kind of extension available through downloadable content.

    What a massive twat.

    /looks forward to every Infogrames/Atari game having a shit tacked on multiplayer segment that cuts into the dev time spent on the SP portion and lessens the quality

    I'm a bit appalled he is the head of a gaming company, as it's going to be the downfall of the gaming industry as we know it with people like him in charge.

  • benstarkie #24 4 years ago

    HE LIES!