EA Exec Predicts the Looming End of Retail Game Sales

[ElPatron]

"Look, I am a vice president. However, I am wearing a t-shirt and skater shoes, so that you know I am still cool and not just a boring suit. I also have my feet up, so that you know I'm laid back. I'm standing up for you!"

I hate him now.

Digital will never kill retail until everyone is able to get good internet connection. Somehow I think that won't happen in 10 years.

 

[mad825]

So long as there's still demand and supply there's always Amazon.

 

[Apollo45]

Stupid of them, really. The only way I buy EA games is through retail since they've pulled their games from Steam and Origin is a steaming pile of crap.

On top of that, didn't they just respond to the same-ish question saying that retailers are a big part of their business and they don't see the industry going full-on-digital any time soon?

 

[gim73]

Sorry Douche-bag, but retail will never die. If I'm gonna pay sixty bucks for a game, I want something physical and tangible. Call me crazy, but I like OWNING something.

I personally predict the looming end of EA sales due to them being parasites that devour great developers and turn their content into feces. It's just another case of a horrible company wishing a crappy future on the world. Screw you EA, if you want to see this dreadful future you speak of, just stop physically producing games and release them solely digitally. We'll see exactly how much your sales drop.

 

[Sotanaht]

I'm not a big fan of digital games I like having physical copies of the games I own.

Im a BIG fan of digital games and I HATE having physical copies of ANYTHING. They get in the way, get lost, get damaged, require far more effort then absolutely necessary to keep track of and even swap when I want to play a different game. Enough so that in the days when everything was physical it would very often put me off of playing anything not already in the drive. And to be clear, I don't just hate being forced to use physical copies, but I don't even like having them at all, since that necessitates physical storage, hand sorting and other things I never have to worry about with purely digital games.

I do miss the manuals, but it's not the paper I miss just the content. That isn't a problem inherent in digital games, but instead in the way game companies are publishing digital games.

As for physical retail going out of business, the next 10 years isn't a bad guess. Fact is it doesn't matter that there will still be people who can't get games any other way due to poor or no internet services, what matters is if enough of them are still buying at retail to keep up the profit margins. Sorry to those who get screwed out of buying games if gamestop etc closes, that's just economics.

 

[shemoanscazrex3]

What will get me to move to digital sales is a few things. If you could actually own a digital game and if prices went down similar to physical counterparts then we might be in business. Also when internet speeds allow me to download the ever growing big games at a much quicker time I'll think about it.

 

[BeerTent]

I feel it's relevant to say this...

In my town, HMV stopped selling games, Gamestop is down to the mall outlet, and EB games is prettymuch done for. (At least, I haven't seen them.

There's a place called the 2nd Last Gamestore Around, and he takes a different approach by buying the games that sell. It's pretty fucking obvious, isn't it? But we're talking games from 2 or 3 generations ago, that still sell This, apart from lucking out in a Wal-Mart Bargain bin, is the only guy who will sell the DSi games I want. You can sell 300 copies of Daiblo 3, Or you can continue to find antiquated games and continue to sell them. Aside for their trade-in system. (2nd last also does this) EB and GS don't seem to get this, and they're stuck with 200 copies of Gears of War clogging their back room still.

In my opinion, Brick and Mortar stores can still survive, if their owners are gamers who know the market, and not just businessmen selling entertainment.

 

[weirdee]

They know they're right, because they're actively trying to destroy all interest in the retail market.

 

[kurokenshi]

Look it's that EA article again.

Sorry EA but I refuse to rent games from you in the future.

 

[Valanthe]

Heh, funny, did your stock price look a little shaky there Patrick? Had to convince the suits that Origin wasn't an ill-thought cash grab that hasn't replaced Steam like you thought it would. And so now you have to try and impress upon them that you "Totally know what we're doing guys, just give it ten years, you'll see!"

Nice try, but unfortunately I'm a touch smarter than that.

You know... looking at my game shelf, it's depressing the turn this company has taken, back in the late eighties, they released some amazing games (I was a little young to experience them first hand, but my dad introduced me to them) even into the 90's, I played the -crap- out of the Command and Conquer series (Up until Red Alert 2) and the Sims, even the old Need for Speed games have plenty of memories (Hell, especially Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit, I spent many hours cramped beside my friends, sharing a keyboard as we mastered our amazingly terrible driving skills.)

I used to go out of my way to buy EA games, even if they weren't -actually- made by them, simply because it used to be a mark of high quality gaming. These days, I see that little emblem on a box and I can't help but sigh, and more often than not, unless it's a game I've really been wanting, like Mass Effect 3, I'll hang onto my money if I see they had anything to do with the game, simply because I'm just tired of dealing with them and their hair-brained management who are convinced that I'm just an ATM who has no will or choice but to buy their games, and I am down here thinking, "actually, I don't really need this that badly."

 

[DTWolfwood]

When that Google internet is available nationwide, retail will die. Until then, retailers have nothing to fear.