The Ultimate PS3 / PlayStation 3 Demo Collection
Demo discs are a thing of the past, but luckily, some of us preserved them. I’ve been collecting demo discs since the early ’80s, so people can still try them today, or whenever they want.
DEMO HEAVEN…
An era has truly passed. The PlayStation 3 entered the market with a rocky start, and many believed it would spell disaster for both gamers and Sony. Yet, against the odds, the console managed to recover—thanks to smart promotional pushes and, more importantly, a steady flow of quality titles. In the end, the PS3 went on to outsell most competing formats.
The early years were far from easy. Marketing missteps during the launch period and the following three years left many unaware of the console’s real potential. Features like the online shop and digital marketplace—offering games, demos, and content—were poorly communicated to the wider audience. Sony’s strategies often failed to inform or excite potential customers, making it harder for the system to gain traction.
Publishers also faced hurdles. High fees for network traffic and demo distribution discouraged them from releasing demos unless they were confident of recouping costs. On top of that, the shift to Blu-ray brought new complications. Gone were the days of easily bundled “CD demos” in gaming magazines. Instead, publishers had to deal with steep licensing costs for disc production and additional fees for releasing demos, further reducing their willingness to invest.
HDD FULL?…
Over time, gamers gradually became more familiar with Blu-ray and the growing library of downloadable demos. But soon another challenge emerged—one that both Sony and OPSM magazine quietly hoped users would figure out for themselves: the dreaded “hard drive full” problem. Since Blu-ray demos required installation on the system’s HDD, the 20, 40, 60, and even 80GB drives filled up quickly. Enthusiasts knew how to manage their storage, but casual users often ended up sending their consoles to repair shops, convinced something was broken.
Firmware issues added to the frustration. Many Blu-ray demos required system updates that weren’t included on the disc. This forced players to either install updates from another game disc or wait until they could connect their console online—a clunky process that often broke the excitement of simply popping in a demo to play.
To make matters worse, a surprising number of demos were flat-out broken. At least ten shipped with glaring problems: some would lock up on the main menu if no disc was in the drive, while others wouldn’t even recognise Controller ID 1, leaving players no choice but to switch over and use Controller ID 2 instead.
THE END…
These recurring issues likely played a big role in the decision to discontinue demo discs, with OPSM dropping the concept just a few months ago. Personally, I’ve managed to collect every single PS3 demo disc ever released—and I suspect the set could become quite valuable in time. We’ve already seen PS1 and PS2 demo discs become increasingly rare and sought after by collectors. While I doubt the PS3 versions will ever reach sky-high prices, I’m not taking any chances—especially when you consider how much the legendary Final Fantasy VII demo disc goes for today.
I’ve also updated my collection site: PS3 games, PSN titles, and demo discs are now organised under a single tab, with more refinements on the way. It’s a huge task, so thanks for your patience as I continue the updates.
Updated.
Hi, is there any chance you could make some .iso images of these discs and upload them to archive.org?
I could but I got no bluray drive on the computer.
Hi there, did booting up these discs take you to a UI where you could play the numerous demos like PS1/PS2 or did it simply install the individual game demos separately onto the console instead?
They appear as uninstalled on the PS3 MENU ( XMB ). VIDEOS and Pictures etc too.
Click on them to install