Why no demos?

Producing a demo takes time away from the actual game's development and money in both labor and server costs. It also has to fit in within the particular publisher's marketing strategy

 

^ Eh? Most demos are cut portions of completed games and require neither dev time or money to put out. Also Isn't the money made from Gold subs covering said server costs?

 

Publishers still have to pay a fee to get demos up in the Marketplace. And this isn't exclusive to Microsoft - Sony and Nintendo do the same in their respective online stores.

I'll let you research why producing demos take up dev time.

 

I agree with Shigurui. They send demos to the magazines to preview. Why can't they release them?

 

^They don't send demo's to magazines or sites like IGN. They bring in people from those outlets and let them play specific portions of the game while under their supervision. In some cases the people only watch a dev play the game.

 

I stand corrected then. Still, the demos would be nice. But at least you have reviews and sites like Twitch, Youtube, etc. to see them in action.