The world runs on money. IMHO the $15 I spent on Pico-8 is the best and finest investment I ever made to date. For one thing this includes updates for LIFE. And there have been many updates - he could've charged $15 for every update but didn't.
Still, an idea for a demo version might be the following:
Running the demo enters Splore only, main editor and immediate mode are not included. Full access to all games through Splore. Once game comes up all keys are disabled except START. But this still lets you see every demo and what is possible to code with it.
No .p8 files are saved anywhere on the HD, running is internal only. Must have internet connection to run Pico-8 demo engine.
Menu in engine always points to Lexaloffle for purchase when guest has seen enough and ready to buy it.