Tech demo
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A Tech Demo is a computer and video game industry term referring to short applications designed to gauge interest in an upcoming product or to demonstrate hardware-specific features. Tech Demos have various levels of interactivity, ranging from real-time videos to short but fully playable demonstrations. Tech Demos are rarely intended to be turned into fully fledged commercial products, though their ideas and concepts are sometimes reused. Tech Demos are not to be confused with Vaporware, a commercial product which presumably started development but never got released.
Due to its status as Nintendo's flagship franchise, the Mario series has been the subject of or has been featured in many tech demos. The following is a list of them.
| Game | System | Description and Related Works |
|---|---|---|
| Mario Demo | Virtual Boy | An animation sequence to show off the console's stereoscopic 3D effect. |
| Luigi's Mansion | Nintendo GameCube | Originally intended to be a tech demo, but Nintendo later reworked it into a real game.[1] |
| Yoshi Demo | Game Boy Advance | Loosely based on Yoshi's Story, this was a little more than an experimental game. However, it's not known if Nintendo would turn it into a game.[2] |
| Super Mario 128 | Nintendo GameCube | A series of experiments originally intended to be a sequel to Super Mario 64. The concept of this game was used as a basis for the game Pikmin.[3] |
| Peach's Castle | Nintendo GameCube | A tech demo included in a revision of the GameCube Software Development Kit, created to show developers the graphical capabilities of the console.[4] |
| Mario Kart for Nintendo GameCube | Nintendo GameCube | A seven-second clip featuring Mario and Luigi driving karts using Super Smash Bros. Melee models. It was most likely reworked into Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. |
| Balloon Trip | Nintendo DS | A Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island-themed minigame making use of the Nintendo DS's touchscreen and dual screen setup. It ended up forming the basis of Yoshi Touch and Go.[5] |
| Face to Mario | Nintendo DS | A tech demo featuring Mario and Wario's heads, that could be squeezed or stretched in various ways.[6] |
| New Super Mario Bros. Mii | Wii U | An experience tech demo loosely based on New Super Mario Bros. Wii appearing in E3 2011. It served as the basis for New Super Mario Bros. U. |
| Chase Mii | Wii U | It features Miis in Mario-themed costumes playing a game similar to tag. A refined version of this demo appears in Nintendo Land under the name Mario Chase. |
