I remember reading something about the Joker terminally effected by those crazy ass chemicals from the first game.

Edited your title for spoilers. Feel free to change it if you want, but keep any spoilers out of it.

Thank you, I wasn't sure wether or not I should put it as spoilers or not, since it was announced in the very demo of the game, put in there by the very developers. It wasn't an unofficial leak or a secret as such, they put it right there for everyone to see, and from what I understand, it has made a massive ragestorm amongst fans...

True, but there are fans who purposefully stay away from news about games they're anticipating to avoid spoilers.
Anyway, to be honest, I recall Mark Hamill saying that this would be the last time he'd portray the Joker, so killing the character in the game kind of makes sense. Let the best Joker they had be the last and that's it really.

The departure of an actor really isn't a good reason to kill off a character that has endured for seventy years. That's ridiculous. Quite possibly why he isn't going to die, as well. You could never count it out, but the Joker has had more than his fair share of brushes with death. If it's in a demo, you've got to think there's plenty to come in the Second and Third acts.

Especially seeing as they changed Harley Quinn's voice actress for no apparent reason.

Remember that Arkham City is run by Hugo Strange.

There is more to it than "Joker's Dead for the lulz".

I was pretty shocked when I saw that he dies, but knowing the Joker, it is all probably one big stunt to finally get back at Batman. Also, seeing that Talia al Ghul is in the game and the devs have been pretty hush about her role in the game so far, I wouldn't be surprised if they used the Lazarus Pits as a way for Joker to come back.

I agree that it isn't a good enough reason to kill off the Joker permanently, and he will probably return MK style. ^^

Oh, and maybe I didn't explain it properly, but from what I understand, it was a written spoiler that took place after you had beaten the demo, saying "The Joker will die!" or something like that. It wasn't part of the actual in-game playable demo...

If they're killing him off in a video game series, which is independent of the comics anyway, does it really matter? There are other bad guys in Batman's gallery that could get the spotlight too if they make a third Arkham game.

They probably like good concepts and making money. Could be wrong.

Wha, I thought they weren't releasing a demo?

There isn't a Demo coming for Arkham City.
I believe Jaded-Raven is referring to one of the many 'demos' by Rocksteady showcasing the game at major events like E3 and Comic-Con. That or one of the several Youtube walthroughs of the game. Yes it was released early by some retailers over the world and was also leaked onto Torrent sites for the Xbox 360 version.

Pirate bastards....

there will always be piracy. Online passes will eliminate this for consoles at the expense of the used games market. PC markets will always be affected but with more DRM comes more support for piracy. I support it occasionally for just that very reason. though it hasn't gotten so bad that I have needed to use it yet. I never bought spore or anything like that but if others follow in their path I might be screwed.

TY, Ty!

Thinking of Joker's permanent death is a real downer... ironically, with no humorous undertone.

Implying that every other character has no chance of being a 'good concept' or 'making money'? Could be wrong sounds right.

When your main villain dies in a demo, you know he's NOT dead.

Ah, the blissfulness of the non-comic-book-geek. I wish I still had that.

No one ever dies in the world of comic book fiction, even if it's a video game.

I'm happy to stand by that, despite being blisteringly wrong when speculating about what happens in the game.