Pre-purchasers can download the demo now, but don't expect to play it just yet...

The much-anticipated Left 4 Dead 2 demo will be hitting Xbox 360 and Steam (PC) tomorrow. No doubt anticipating high demand, in an unusual move, Valve has elected to allow Steam users to download the demo now, which will then become magically unlocked tomorrow morning.

Some might say that if we can have it now, why can’t we just play it now? But the ability to preload before release – of anything from demos to full games – has to be the way to go. The kicker of course is that unless you pre-ordered the game, you’re going to be swimming in the mire of popular file download. A reward then, but perhaps one that should be considered for everybody in future? After all, the purpose of a demo is to allow consumers to make a better informed purchasing decision. The notion of offering first dibs on the demo to those who have already committed to buying it then strikes us as just a little bit daft.

As we wind our way inescapably towards a world where digital delivery is the only means to play games, allowing users to download early will be a useful stopgap while broadband speeds catch up to provide us with near-instantaneous play.