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Platform holders’ desire to gain complete control of the software retail chain will mean that the next generation of home consoles will not include any capacity for digital media, developer Blitz Games Studios has stated.
Let’s be honest, a lot of us have got smart phones,” CEO Philip Oliver told Eurogamer. I can’t remember the last time I went into a shop to buy an iPhone game, and I haven’t missed it. In fact I’ve got lots of iPhone games and I’m quite happy.
But the next range of consoles that will be out in the next five years, why would any of those need physical media? Why would they want physical media? If you’ve got it physically and you trade it, the hardware manufacturer just lost out, big time.
When they produce their next console – let’s call it Sony Next, it could be any platform holder Next – if they make it only a digital store, they absolutely control everything. Pricing, their margins, you can’t trade it second hand.
Their logistics and overheads come down considerably. The cost of manufacture of the original console comes down considerably. The reliability goes through the roof because there are no moving parts. Why would they not?”
