Steam looks to game trials

Advertising in video games is a pretty big industry nowadays. In order to properly get the word out on a game, money gets spent in all sorts of places. But does anyone remember the days of shareware, where you used to be able to try it for a while because your buddy gave you the disk...and it wasn't illegal?

Well, Valve does...and rather than let Steam be only for purchased games, the company has given a bit of a nod back to the old days. Steam has allowed trial versions of games before, but they're usually limited to preview weekends. These free-for-alls allowed anybody to play a particular game during that time, with the account being disabled after the allotted period.

Now, Valve wants to have gamers share the love again. A closed beta of the system is being tried this week, but the end result will allow you to send free time-locked trials (ten days is the figure currently being discussed) to your friends. Want to get them in on a game of CounterStrike? Send a trial...if they like it, they can then purchase it when the trial expires.

The system has tonnes of potential to it, and greatly increases Steam's role as a genuine distribution network. What if a small credit was given to the referring person if his or her friend bought the game, good for his next purchase? Or perhaps a small discount for those who were referred by friends, in order to get everyone playing together?

Would you put this system to good use? What do you think about the possibility of referral discounts? Are there other things you could see that would improve on it? Tell us your ideas in our forums.