De gode, gammeldags fysiske spilbutikker finder det sværere og sværere at generere tilstrækkelig profit i at sælge spil, og butikskæder som GameStop får størstedelen af sin indtjening andetsteds fra. Dette skyldes hovedsageligt, at de digitale butikker er gået hen og er vigtigere i løbet af denne konsolgeneration. Al data lader til at foreslå, at hele branchen løbende digitaliseres, og Take-Two foreslår nu, at gaming kunne gå hen og blive 100% digitalt indenfor de næste par år.
For nylig deltog præsidenten for Take-Two, Karl Slatoff, i et interview med GamesIndustry, og her kunne han afsløre, at han forventer at branchen bliver 100% digital indenfor 5 til 20 år.
"I think over the long-term, it will be 100% [digital]. 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.
"Why I think it's a little quicker than people imagined is honestly, 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."
Dog er de fysiske butikker stadig der hvor spiludgivere får størstedelen af deres salg fra, så de har ikke i sinde at forlade det fysiske marked lige foreløbig.
"The truth is physical retail is still the majority of our business, and very important partners of ours. 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."
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