According to those in the know, we should start to see downloads outselling boxed games sometime
around 2012/13.
Industry analyst Nick Parker emailed all the big players in the games industry to ask them when they saw the games industry having its “iTunes moment” and a whopping 11 of the 18 that answered 2012/13.
How is this going to happen? More powerful hardware in the next generation or a shift from graphics intensive games towards software that can be delivered faster are both possibilities however Parker was quick to point out that no-one really knows.
The big factor that revolutionised the music industry was the entry of Apple into the market with iTunes and the iPod and the launch of services like Spotify. We may find that somebody new entering the marketplace might shake things up, just like Microsoft did for for online gaming with the original Xbox.
Rumours surrounding an Apple games console and the launch of services like OnLive and Gaikai could prove to be the catalysts for the change but with the limited broadband capabilities in the US and the UK especially hampering progress it still remains to be seen how much of a impact any streaming services would have.
If they do have an impact then former SCE Worldwide head honcho, Phil Harrison’s, predition of a PS4 with only a hard drive may be closer to the mark than we think. All we know for now is that change is coming and soon…
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