Peter Moore had some interesting comments about the disc based gaming business model that he gave at a conference panel about digital delivery.
Source: http://uk.games.ign.com/articles/103/1036254p1.htmlIGN said:EA Sports president Peter Moore has painted a grim picture for the future of disc-based videogames.
Speaking at the 5th annual PLAY Digital Media Conference during a panel about monetizing video games through micro-transactions and subscription-based services, Moore stated the core business model of shipping packaged gaming media as a platform is "burning."
"Look at the platform we're on, it's a burning platform," Moore stated. "As a concept, do you stay on the platform and face certain death, or do you jump into the water and face probable death? Most of you would choose probable death, so you start moving towards a hybrid model of digital distribution."
When asked if he was saying the consoles could become sinking ships, Moore reiterated his statement.
"I'd say the core business model of video games is a burning platform. Absolutely. We all recognize that, and we'll recognize it 10 years from now when we tell our grand kids," he said. "We'll tell them we used to drive to the store to get shiny discs that have bits and bites on them and we'd place them in this thing called a 'disc tray,' and it'd whirl around and they'll go 'What?'"
"So, the concept of physical packaged discs and the core business model that is video games as it currently stands is a burning platform."
Despite looking ahead to an all-digital future, Moore stated Electronic Arts' primary distribution channel is still disc-based, and that the company ships between 125-130 million discs each year.
"As digital distribution becomes more and more, we'll continue as an industry to work with retail and to ship discs, but more and more of the content will be in the 'cloud.'" he added. "More content will be delivered daily, weekly, or monthly, and less will be of the old model of cartridges and discs."
Moore also said he believes Microsoft will be the first of the three major hardware manufacturers to release an entirely digital-based gaming console, but that movement is still years away.
"As an industry, I still think we may be as many as a decade away from saying goodbye to physical discs," Moore added. "The important question is, what does the next console look like? Does it actually have a disc drive?"