Complete digital transition 'some way off'

[wraggster]

In the latest video feature from Scott Steinberg - The Future of Digital Distribution - industry executives have addressed the topic of digital distribution, with solid consensus that while a complete transition away from boxed product is some way off, the total transformation is inevitable in time.

"I think the [videogame] business was always moving towards a services business, and so I think that getting rid of the physical media was just a natural step," said Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, as the rate of change in the games environment gathers pace.

And Chris Petrovic, GM of digital ventures at US-based retail chain GameStop admitted: "What you're doing is avoiding the necessity of going to the store to buy something, but still having to experience the pain point of waiting however many hours or minutes or days that it takes to download that piece of content.

"I think the convenience is outweighed by some user experience hurdles that we still have to get through, but we're pretty convinced that with technology continuing to advance that this will only get better."

In terms of timescale, only Wedbush Morgan senior analyst Michael Pachter was willing to put a solid number on the deadline for a complete transition.

"Digital distribution will become the norm and completely replace package products in about 20 years, maybe 25," he said. "22 per cent of all households in the US don't have cable or satellite, so if they don't have cable or satellite they probably don't have high-speed internet - and they're probably not about to download all their games."

And Graham Hopper, executive VP and GM at Disney Interactive Studios, broadly agreed: "Digital distribution is very much in the early days right now.

"I think we're at a point where all the threads are in place, and we will soon get to the point where there will be a tipping point where a lot more people will be comfortable with it, you'll see more types of content being made available digitally, and it'll become a bigger and more important part of the business."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...n-some-way-off

[John Vattic]

i'll say so, i just bought 2 umd's today!
1 umd movie, and 1 umd game. i have over 30 umd's, bought over 20 since psp go came out! and you know what, when people come over, they can see my nice stack of games, and it gets conversation going.

My brother has every single survival horror game ever made on his case. from sweet home to the newest resident evil.(even the gameboy color resident evil :P). digital distro advocates have no understanding of what collectors feel for the art of game making, and the final product.

i'll never pay for a digital only game. that will be when i quit gaming. i'll just play old games, and am content with that.

I've seen the future and it's gayer than the past.