From GayGamer: Sony Prophecies Death Of 'Disc-Based Delivery System'
While Sony's vision of a downloadable future for console game sales is nothing new, the level of certainty about the disc-less future appears to have skyrocketed.
I remember that Phil Harrison waxed rhapsodic about the topic at GDC 2007 when he announced that several PS3 games would be available on both Blu-ray disc and for download over the PSN, and now SCEE president David Reeves has come out with a full-on prediction:
The key to the future is the PlayStation Network, Games put straight onto PSN are the big opportunity.
We do believe that the disc-based delivery system will fall as the power of the network base rises. At the same time, the overall industry growth will continue to go upwards as we push out into emerging markets.
What we don't see is an overall decline in the market. This is a golden era of video games.
With Reeves reporting that 40% of PS3 owners are downloading games, these predictions sound fair - although since there aren't many games out yet that are available for purchase via both delivery systems - disc-y and disc-less - it's a bit early to start trumpeting the demise of the optical format.
But it is probably only a matter of time - take a look at the PC market, which is really the only place where gamers have been given this choice - the success of Valve's Steam, of Direct2Drive, and of boutique online stores such as those in place at SOE, NCSoft, or EA (Spore Creature Creator, for example), and it becomes obvious that at the very least, physical media face a serious decline in both importance and desirability.
Sony says that the 'disc-based delivery system will fall' [Dtoid]
tiny dancer
Posted to Hot Stuff, In the News on 20 June 2008
· Comments (1)
Other stuff like this: david reeves, disc-based delivery system will fall, downloads, optical media, physical media, scee
sure i could see the disc dying and downloading games being the new thing... HOWEVER that is if the internet stays the way it is... but with more and more ISP putting some kind of restriction on bandwidth or charing more for people to use more bandwidth... i don't see many people wanting to waste soon to be "precious" bandwidth on download a game they could go out and buy at a store... plus you would have to fork up more money for a bigger hard drive to store all of these games... plus i think its sad that people are now shopping online instead of going outside in the real world to interact with other humans... even if its with a snobby sales clerk. the only reason i would buy a game over the internet vs. at a store is if its cheaper because of not having to write it on a dvd or blue-ray disc... but they will still keep it at a 59.99 price tag.