facebook rss twitter

Sony: Disc-based delivery system will fall

by Parm Mann on 20 June 2008, 15:42

Tags: Sony Computers Entertainment Europe (NYSE:SNE), Sony (NYSE:SNE), PS3

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qant7

Add to My Vault: x

Despite having won the original format war, Sony's Blu-ray format now finds itself facing a new foe; digital distribution.

We've previously stated that Sony's Blu-ray may have won the battle but is far from winning the high-def war, and it seems Sony now agrees.

At a developer conference held in London, David Reeves, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, made clear Sony's awareness of digital distribution and the growing threat to disc-based media.

Reeves stated that Sony has been staggered by the success of its Playstation Store, highlighting internal figures that show over 40 per cent of PS3 owners download games direct to their machines.

Accepting the inevitability of digital distribution, Reeves said that Sony is "proofing itself against the disaster the music industry has found itself in", and won't ignore the possibility of distributing games via other methods.

Speaking to MCV UK, Reeves added:

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.

Despite Reeves' comments, digital distribution faces obvious immediate problems. The sheer size of next-generation console games makes them largely unsuitable to digital distribution.

However, with industry giants such as Microsoft and Sony making plans for a digital future, we're highly likely to see the option of digital distribution sooner rather than later.



HEXUS Forums :: 15 Comments

Login with Forum Account

Don't have an account? Register today!
More high street shops shut and the level of obsesety grows parallel to the increase in digital convenience :)
I wonder how much of this is actually wishful thinking; currently, it seems to me that with digital distribution you frequently pay more than you would for the physical alternative from a supermarket or online store, and you get less, in the sense that it's encumbered with DRM, you don't get any nice packaging, and it's frequently a low-bitrate poor relation. Add in the fact that ISPs are seriously looking at a usage-charged model for connections and currently impose silly FUPs which downloading one SD, never mind HD, movie'd put you over, and I think they're jumping the gun a lot.
I personally like the Napster model where you pay a fee and get access to everything - similar to how Sky works - but you pull down what you want. Because right now the battle they face is some people believe that its not much of an incentive to not pirate content.

Also - I feel for the ISPs with all this data flying around…
DR
I personally like the Napster model where you pay a fee and get access to everything - similar to how Sky works - but you pull down what you want. Because right now the battle they face is some people believe that its not much of an incentive to not pirate content.

Also - I feel for the ISPs with all this data flying around…

Whups didnt mean to thank you then :confused:

There is no reason to feel sorry for ISPs AT ALL it has been quite obvious this kind of shift in distribution was going to happen sooner or later and they should have spent the time and money on upgrading their systems and pushing BT to upgrade now archaic twisted pair backbone.

I have no time for any ISP supporting, they are tying to make the most money with the least actual benefits to the consumer.
Works well for games though. Most people complain about having to swap discs or worry about scratching them. With digital distribution there's none of those concerns. Subscription services are already up and running too, so you can pay x a month and access a huge choice.