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Sony: Downloadable Future In Gaming Is Over 10 Years Away

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News Posted: Mon, Aug 30 2010 12:45 AM
Here's some interesting fodder to chat about at the water cooler. Sony, the company responsible for producing a disc-free PlayStation Portable game console, is apparently not too keen on going the all-download route in the home console space. In a recent interview, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai said that a digital future in the game market is over ten years away. So, is this revelation due to the PSPgo being a general flop?

It's hard to say, really. Kaz stated: "We do business in parts of the world where network infrastructure isn’t as robust as one would hope. There’s always going to be requirement for a business of our size and scope to have a physical medium. To think everything will be downloaded in two years, three years or even ten years from now is taking it a little bit to the extreme." We are on the same page with some of that, but not all. Particularly the part about "always" being a requirement for a physical disc. That sounds like someone else we've heard of saying that a certain amount of RAM will "always" be enough for the PC consumer.


We definitely think that physical discs will fade someday. It'll probably take 50+ years for the entire globe to get to that point, but considering that Sony already produced a portable game console that cannot accept physical discs, it's sort of surprising to hear that same company say that their next home console (in theory, anyway) won't be download-only. Maybe they learned their lesson, after all?
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sackyhack replied on Mon, Aug 30 2010 10:39 AM

I hope they can coexist. I absolutely love Steam. Less clutter, fast downloads, auto-updates, and all the sales. But once in a while a game comes along that I'm totally hyped for, and nothing beats having it in my hands, like the Collectors Edition of Dragon Age or God of War 3, flipping through the manual, looking at the extra stuff, etc. I'd feel like these special games would lose a certain little thing that adds to their personal value for me if they were just download only.

But if download services are going to thrive internet speeds need to improve, and with all the net neutrality nonsense that seems in jeopardy right now. I don't mind setting up a 10GB download in Steam to run while I'm asleep, but I know some people will want something even more instant.

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animatortom replied on Mon, Aug 30 2010 7:34 PM

Just think of all those people who will be out of work that make the discs, and the packaging, then the distribution and the sales:P

Does that mean they will pay the game makers more? Ha yeah right:P

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3vi1 replied on Mon, Aug 30 2010 7:49 PM

Someone needs to get this guy a Steam account. LIKE 25+ MILLION OTHER USERS ALREADY HAVE.

Wait... was that my outside voice? The point is, digital distribution will be the norm much sooner than he thinks. The PSPgo didn't suck for being download-only, it sucked because it's too damned tiny for the hands of anyone except the chinese children building it.

What part of "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" don't you understand?

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realneil replied on Mon, Aug 30 2010 8:57 PM

Sony, like Microsoft, seems to think that market share equals ownership and they want to own how the world does it's gaming. So solly Sony!

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.

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Nyaa replied on Tue, Aug 31 2010 6:34 AM

He's right to some extend however, there's still a large market for downloadable games.ie:...do I have to say it? Steam!!!. Yeah, there will always be people who prefer hard copies of things (more in the console market) but from what I see downloadable games are becoming more popular.

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AKwyn replied on Fri, Sep 10 2010 10:56 AM

With the rising internet speeds, I can't see how this is surprising. Eventually everybody will be able to download a game within a few minutes.

 

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acarzt replied on Fri, Sep 10 2010 4:17 PM

Lately I have been using steam a lot. But it still takes a whole day to download a large game.

Also, i somewhat miss the satisfaction of opening a game case and flipping through the manual, :-(

I don't miss the price tho lol

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