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The idea of shipping video games on disc will be completely dead in around a decade.
That’s according to Take-Two president Karl Slatoff, who told the Credit Suisse Technology Conference that a purely digital future will arrive before too long.
"I think over the long-term, it will be 100 per cent [digital]," he said, as reported by Games Industry. "I just can’t predict whether that’s five years, 10 years, or 20 years. It’s probably less than 20 and maybe more than five, but I think it ultimately gets there. That’s the zeitgeist. Things are moving in that direction.
"Sony and Microsoft have done a really nice job with their services. You’ve got more people on Xbox Live, more people on PSN, and it helps. The friction is going away at a quicker rate because these platforms have been really well developed, and the consumers love it."
Slatoff also acknowledged, however, that for the time being, physical still represents the bulk of its business.
"The truth is physical retail is still the majority of our business, and very important partners of ours," he added. "And we want to do everything we can to support that environment. And we do. They’re very strong marketing and distribution partners for us. But again, it’s out of our control. Whether we want it or not, it looks like it’s going to happen eventually."
Indeed, Activision earlier this month revealed that digital sales of Destiny 2 on consoles accounted for over 50 per cent of its total, setting a new record for the company.
EA CFO Blake Jorgensen at the same time told investors that the company was “very pleased and a bit surprised” at the strength of digital downloads for both this year’s FIFA and Madden, adding that “it’s great to see the movement towards digital”.
