Sony Boss Downplays Digital Future

Logan Westbrook

Transform, Roll Out, Etc
Feb 21, 2008
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Sony Boss Downplays Digital Future


Sony Computer Entertainment boss Kaz Hirai says not to expect download-only consoles before 2020 - at the very earliest.

It's a pretty safe bet that the time will come when the idea of going out and buying a physical copy of a game will seem incredibly quaint, but according to Hirai, that time is a long way in the future. He not only ruled out the next Sony console being download only, he also said that there may never be a totally digital PlayStation.

Hirai said that, for Sony, there would always be a need for a physical medium, as it did business in parts of the world that lacked the infrastructure to make downloading games feasible. He thought that any predictions that suggested that a download-only future was imminent were taking things to extremes, and that it could be more than ten years before that became a reality.

It's going to take a long time to get consumers used to the idea of downloading games rather that going to a store to buy them. Even that ten year guess might be optimistic, and a totally download-only console may never come. As Hirai says, there will likely always be a place for physical media, not just because of slow internet in certain places in the world, but also because some people just prefer it.


Source: MCV [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/40618/Hirai-PS4-not-download-only]


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Baldr

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Jan 6, 2010
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I'm guessing he means an "download only" console from Sony. OnLive works, it is not for everybody, but I like it and use it and can't wait for the microConsole to hook it up to my bigger HD television.
 

Kapol

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May 2, 2010
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This comes from the company that had the brilliant PSPgo idea... Which I guess was the first download only console.

Maybe they're just making up an excuse for that failure.
 

Nova5

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Sep 5, 2009
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Not too surprised by this, given that they just tried a "download only" platform and failed miserably. (For those of you who haven't been paying attention: The PSP Go [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSP_Go].)

On a side note, this may be the latest post (in terms of time of day) I've ever seen on the Escapist.

Edit: Crap, ninja'd. Oh well.
 

Fensfield

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Nov 4, 2009
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Kapol said:
Maybe they're just making up an excuse for that failure.
Or maybe they're just stating what they learned from trying. Which is, y'know, the more obvious possibility.
 

Draksila

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Feb 10, 2010
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Call me a fogey, but I still take some comfort in owning physical copies of things. Games, movies, books... yes they can all be downloaded, but we're not yet in an era where computers are so infallible that you can't lose or corrupt one of the files you download. As such, though the goal of a download only console is interesting, I think we need to continue working on the goal of a BSOD/RROD-less computer/console first.
 

Nova5

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Draksila said:
Call me a fogey, but I still take some comfort in owning physical copies of things. Games, movies, books... yes they can all be downloaded, but we're not yet in an era where computers are so infallible that you can't lose or corrupt one of the files you download. As such, though the goal of a download only console is interesting, I think we need to continue working on the goal of a BSOD/RROD-less computer/console first.
Man, I haven't had a BSOD (or any form of crash) on any machine I've used in... years. More than I can remember. And RRoD isn't the problem either.

The idea of the 'cloud' is a big issue. Entrusting our ability to play a game to a company with no vested interest in a game's continued usage after a certain period of time just seems like a bad idea.

For example, Mercenaries 2, which is no longer playable while online (period) thanks to EA closing down Pandemic. EA elected to no longer maintain the servers, which creates an error causing the game to freeze after it first starts while connected to XBOX Live (and, I assume, the same for PSN).
 

Mr Pantomime

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Theres alreading a console that was released in brazil and mexico tht is download only. It downloads via cellphone networks. The idea is to stop piracy
 

Socken

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Jan 29, 2009
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If physical media become obsolete, so do all my game and CD shelves. Which would suck hard.
 

Jared

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Jul 14, 2009
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That seems more realistic than alot of the estimates that some people have been coming out with...
 

Denamic

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The entire market for physical copies might not be dead for some time yet, but I believe the option to buy most if not all games digitally will come much sooner than 2020.
Draksila said:
Call me a fogey, but I still take some comfort in owning physical copies of things. Games, movies, books... yes they can all be downloaded, but we're not yet in an era where computers are so infallible that you can't lose or corrupt one of the files you download.
Huh?
So what if your download gets corrupted?
Just download it again.
What if your physical copy breaks then?
Your argument is entirely reversed.
 

McClaud

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Nova5 said:
Draksila said:
Call me a fogey, but I still take some comfort in owning physical copies of things. Games, movies, books... yes they can all be downloaded, but we're not yet in an era where computers are so infallible that you can't lose or corrupt one of the files you download. As such, though the goal of a download only console is interesting, I think we need to continue working on the goal of a BSOD/RROD-less computer/console first.
Man, I haven't had a BSOD (or any form of crash) on any machine I've used in... years. More than I can remember. And RRoD isn't the problem either.

The idea of the 'cloud' is a big issue. Entrusting our ability to play a game to a company with no vested interest in a game's continued usage after a certain period of time just seems like a bad idea.

For example, Mercenaries 2, which is no longer playable while online (period) thanks to EA closing down Pandemic. EA elected to no longer maintain the servers, which creates an error causing the game to freeze after it first starts while connected to XBOX Live (and, I assume, the same for PSN).
captainfluoxetine said:
Steve5513 said:
Physical copy is superior. The day that game companies stop producing them is the day I go on a rampage and kill they ass.
I agree in both content and delivery.

I buy into DL games to some extent as I have a steam account with quite a few titles on it. But I consider my PS3 to be more 'physical' than my PC. My PC has tons of downloaded stuff, my PS3's stuff are all games I've brought with no additional DLC. Cant explain why really, i just wuite like having a physical copy of what ive spent my money on.
While I agree that digital download only content is a long way off, it is inevitable that one day, there will be no physical copies.

How video games are distributed goes along with how the rest of the entertainment media is distributed. For example, for the longest time, my buddy refused to let go of buying movies on DVD in favor of his Beta machine. But eventually, the DVD format took over distribution, and he was forced to buy a DVD player. Video games converted from their CD format to DVD format shortly afterwards. Same with CD music - as more and more people are converting to the MP3 digital music format, physical CDs are slowly losing ground and reporting declining sales. Not everyone owns a digital music player, but companies care less and less about the outlying populace. Even in the face of making money. Look at the cellphone companies for a good example of that (most are "convert or GTFO" policies). Plus physical copies create a waste cost to companies that is being looked at closely today.

When movies slowly transfer over to a purely digital format - regardless of whether a portion of Americans/Europeans can affort to buy the appropriate machines to watch pure digital movies - then console/computer games are not far behind. The saved cost of digitalization will win out against the costly physical copy. It may not be 2020, but it will be within the next 50 years. And the luddites (I'm sort of one of them) will be forced to convert, sitting in their living rooms with their old XBox 360/PS3's fuming about the future (and not being able to play Modern Warfare 6 online with the rest of the world).
 

Pendragon9

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As much hate as this guy gets, he's right on the mark with this. Download only consoles and PC games would be disastrous for people who want and need physical copies.
 

GonzoGamer

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Draksila said:
Call me a fogey, but I still take some comfort in owning physical copies of things. Games, movies, books... yes they can all be downloaded, but we're not yet in an era where computers are so infallible that you can't lose or corrupt one of the files you download. As such, though the goal of a download only console is interesting, I think we need to continue working on the goal of a BSOD/RROD-less computer/console first.
You know that a console that doesn't have a disc drive has a lot lower chance of breaking. As for the overheating I'm sure less moving parts mean a cooler run as well as more space for circulation.
As much as the service is a rip-off, I'm betting that the Onlive box will probably be the most dependable "console" to come out since the SNES.

I think Kaz is just speaking for himself. Sure it's not an optimal model for the whole world but if it can mean cut-prices (for consumers and publishers), the media-less system could catch on.