Quote from UncleBenny :

how is it "fair" that they give away something for free which they spend all of their time developing? i don't think the devs owe us anything, especially not to the people who play the demo and aren't charged anything for it.

The devs obviously agree that its fair too, otherwise they wouldn't "give away" the fruit of their labour. Duh!

I'm sure the whole deal will change when and if they want it to, but I think they've got the balance just right for the moment. LFS has something of a cult status due to the demo - that kind of cultural capital is useful in many ways, especially in maintaining an active brand image over the period of LFS' uniquely long and drawn out development process.

Its taken the music industry a long time to appreciate the fact that free downloads aren't a loss. Quite the opposite, they generate excitement, and consequently demand, for a product. Stamping your feet and sqawking about how its so unfair that people are getting something for free, (ie. unnecessarily restricting the nature of currrent demand) is the best way of wrecking the 'indie' status already aquired by the development team.

Quote from nihil :

Its taken the music industry a long time to appreciate the fact that free downloads aren't a loss.

ooooooooohhhhhhhooooooooooooo.... maybe not money-wise for the labels themselves, but it sure had an effect (i'd say a negative one) on
newcomers and quality in general.

Quote from Bandit77 :

ooooooooohhhhhhhooooooooooooo.... maybe not money-wise for the labels themselves, but it sure had an effect (i'd say a negative one) on
newcomers and quality in general.

Maybe, maybe not, that's arguable - I know that I listen to much more new music than I used to and not relying on established review outlets (cultural gatekeepers) to filter and decide for me, has meant that I've spent money on stuff that would never have even passed my way beforehand.

But I think that'll take us OT - primarily, my point was this: given that LFS trades on its image as being an independent and conscientious team, with an enthusiasts eye on the product rather than an accountant's, feel free to suggest a better way to maintain momentum and interest in the project.

It just seems to me that the demo works very well for the team at the moment, and I don't see how restricting it would produce any greater benefits.

wow, well put nihil