Sony: Digital retail is confusing

SCEE president Andrew House has deep reservations over digital downloading.

He acknowledges that digital is becoming an increasingly important part of the games market, but believes it still has significant challenges to overcome.

The reason retail has been around for thousands of years is because it works really well at showing you a range of content, having experienced store staff that can find the game you are looking for, tailor choices to your needs and up-sell you something you hadn’t thought of,” he said.

Digital, for me, still has a challenge in that it doesn’t have the equivalent of that. Browsing is a little overwhelming and too confusing, and that’s the challenge that makes me think there’s a strong role for physical media for years to come.”

His comments echo that of SCE CEO Kaz Hirai, who told MCV in August that a digital-only future was ‘over ten years away’.