Looking forward to Resistance 3? Don't want to subscribe to PlayStation Plus? Well, you might be out of luck when it comes to playing the demo. While US users can access the demo by purchasing SOCOM 4, the only way Europeans can play is to have PlayStation Plus.

“If you’ve checked out the US Blog, you will see that the R3 multiplayer demo will be accessible to SOCOM: Special Forces (aka SOCOM 4) purchasers in North America," said Euro product manager Elliott Linger. “In PAL, this demo will be opened up to PlayStation Plus subscribers at exactly the same time – additional info (such as how and when) will be unveiled in due course."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't demos used to exist for the purpose of helping consumers make purchasing decisions? When did they become, instead, these things that publishers could hold to ransom in order to make people who already decided to buy the game jump through hoops and spend more money?

Seems to undermine exactly what a demo is supposed to be, but then, that's why I'm not in marketing.

Resistance 3 Multiplayer Demo Coming To PlayStation Plus; Get In The Game Winners [EU PS Blog]