Andre Yoskowitz
19 Oct 2009 13:40
Electronic Arts Sports president Peter Moore, speaking at the PLAY Digital Media Conference this week, made some interesting comments as to the future of disc-based games, going as far as to call the current business model a sinking ship.
"Look at the platform we're on, it's a burning platform," Moore stated, via IGN. "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."
He continued: "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 .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."
Moore did note however that EA's distribution channels still heavily rely on discs, and that the company ships about 130 million per 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 concluded. "More content will be delivered daily, weekly, or monthly, and less will be of the old model of cartridges and discs."
When asked about how far into the future he sees the all-digital revolution beginning, Moore said it could be up to 10 years away, with Microsoft likely leading the next generation of consoles into all-digital territory.
"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?"