Peter Moore: CD Distribution won't exist in Five to Ten Years

Guardian Interview with Peter Moore has been published with Part 4 talking about Moore's projections for the videogame business. Talking about the change from consumers heading to retail shops to buy games, Moore believes that this business model will not exist in five to ten years, because consumers will purchase games online due to bigger hard drives and faster broadband connections.

[Jamie Foxx]

be a mate and tell me what the lottery numbers are for next week,thanks dude

i agree downloads will become popular but there will always be people who want the material product,going into a shop and walking out with something in your hand,retail therapy

[elitewh0re]

right, tell that to the insane amounts of music,film and video game pirates all over the internet.

[Magnust]

tell that to the even insaner amount of people that buy stuff...

[Tacki]

Pirates do what they do because they can get things for free with those methods. I don't think for most of them it's actually about 'preferring' downloads. They can't afford and/or don't want to spend their money so they 'steal' it online.

Digital distribution will no doubt continue to grow in popularity... but I Moore saying that physical media will cease to exist is absurd. Especially in 5-10 years. There's still people out there who don't even have internet, let alone a high speed connection. That crowd won't simply be abandoned. There's likely to still be a market at retail for years to come even if digital downloads do really take off.

[dro]

not really...most people do not have credit cards or debit cards to pay online, i think downloading online will be big some were in the near future but they will also keep the option to go to the shop and pay cash fot the cd. look at the music industry for example, i tunes has pretty much started that but u dont see stores like hmv,dixons..e.t.c stop selling cds.

[HighDefinition]

Magnust`s comment was the BEST.

LOL.

BTW, this is why Peter Moore shouldn`t be involved w/ any console. He thought CDs would be fine for the DC, he thought DVD would be fine for 360. Know he think DD will be fine. See the pattern.

[omni_atlas]

not everyone has a freaking t1 line going to the house moore, you moron. I live in SE asia and the internet link to US sites are extremely slow. If you're more then happy to set up some servers in asia then we'll talk.

[beans]

You do realize that in 5 to ten years consoles and devices might all have satellite reception built into them. More then likely we will be connected in different ways and the people without it will be able to get on through this type of transmission. This is what i think though and not to far fetched.

[The Lazy One]

5-10 years =/= tommorow.

my broadband speed has more than doubled in the past 3 years, and that's on almost entirely existing infrastructure. Once we get infrastructure that's either updatable or can sustain advancements for a while then we'll start having some ridiculous speeds.

[BattleAxe]

As per the title of the article, I agree CDs will not be in distribution in 5-10 years, but Blu-Ray disc sales will be through the roof :)

[Tacki]

I realize that many things could happen. I'm certainly not ruling out the kind of technology you mention... but I was merely stating what I feel is 'likely' to happen.

I'll admit that your suggestion in no way sounds 'far-fetched' but I'm unsure if something like that will be here in 5-10 years. Then again I don't have the slightest clue as to what technology like that might cost. Or its limitations. At this moment in time I could only imagine it to be extremely expensive. We'll just have to see where the industry takes us (or where we take the industry). I do feel what you propose is interesting though.

No matter what we end up with I'm sure I'll still be there. Though I personally would prefer to stick with physical media as I'm one of those 'collector' types. Did it with movies, games, figures, cards... you name it!

[robotnik]

this guy is everywhere!
I wonder where he hides his crystal ball...

[MazzingerZ]

He wants SONY to hire him

[f789790]

I'm getting tired of Peter Moore says:_________

[Raoh]

i wonder what comcast, time warner cable and other companies looking to put download caps and charge extra for those who download more have to say about that...

[f789790]

Why because the instant you get more bandwidth its taken up instantly by things you didnt expect. Give one reason why any of the ISPs in the US should roll out fiber optic wires for us. There is none because they can continue making money off of you with current speeds.

[Jamegohanssj5]

This guy just doesn't shut the hell up does he?

TGSI

[CBaoth]

for anything but honesty. Blame Guardian for taking a single interview and breaking it into several pieces designed to generate massive hits due to its volatile nature - mission accomplished.

[Citizen Cook]

Not long now... The UK already has 20 MB/s

[Time_Is_On_My_Side]

Operating systems available only through downloads (no more sharing it with other computers), music only through downloads (can't share because you don't really own them), movies only through a downloading service (I wonder what will happen in theatres?), virtual texts books only (why have physical when you can just get digital?), and most of all if you have no internet you're screwed.

Remembering that the video game industry is a reflection of societies technology. HD (High Definition) TVs are available allowing gamers to experience HD gaming.

Did televisions replace theatre like everyone was thinking in the early 19th century? The answer is no because it can coexist, having everything online requires internet. So in order for my DVD player / digital distribution device to be of any use I need internet that costs money (remembering when streaming you need a constant internet connection).

Physical media provides a sense of privacy and freedom that digital downloads don't / won't offer. It's either they stream everything needing a constant internet connection or giving out really big hard drives. Since we're in the HD world and as it gets better we'll need a constant upgrade of hardware to support the resolutions.

[The Lazy One]

TV didn't replace theatre because theatrical releases are months apart from home video releases. If they were released simultaneously, a lot of people just wouldn't go to the cinema anymore.

Also, I can share my legally downloaded music just fine, so...?

[Time_Is_On_My_Side]

I should have said live action stage performances (theatre) because in those days theatre wasn't considered film . With films and the advancements with technology films made a great leap from theatrical stage plays. As the silent era was going we soon reach the sound era where news (was shared through radio), entertainment (was shared through radio as well), and motion picture films were taking off. People generally believed as technology advances motion pictures would replace the theatre (stage performances).

Resistance 2 demonstrates how news was distributed through radio in the setting it takes place in.

Resistance 2 Trailer HTML: http://www.gametrailers.com...

In reality it didn't and most actors/actresses prefer going back to stage performances. Unlike motion pictures, stage performances isn't a passive experience, there is more intimacy. What would you prefer Beauty and Beast theatrical (stage performance) or motion picture (film)? Another popular Walt Disney popular one was The Little Mermaid a musical broadway that made its way to motion pictures (film).

With music I'm pretty sure with you can only share with people on your network and not across the internet. There might different policies for different companies, but that was going to lead to piracy according to Itunes. Things like Kazza where people downloaded music was stealing, but nowadays companies are cracking down on things. I don't even think Sony allows you to share video or game downloads with other user account underneath the master account, yet if you bought a physical disc you would be able to share it with anyone.

[thereapersson]

Peter Moore is like Denis Dyack, in that they both are full of themselves and talk out of their ass like there is no tomorrow.

[juuken]

...Wow, this guy has seen the future!
Maybe he should tell us where the time machine is.

[Sir_Ken_Kutaragi]

...I'm the Only one who can see into the Future!!! ;-D

[juuken]

Yes Ken, you are. :3

[Sir_Ken_Kutaragi]

...He's working in McDonald's !!! ;-D

'LA LA, LA, LA LA, He's Not Lovin'it'!!! ;-D

[juuken]

Lol, McDonalds.

[Sir_Ken_Kutaragi]

When he has ruined McDonald's(He will!!!) ;-D he can go and work for KFC!!! ;-D

(LOOK!LOOK! Veronica is under me!!! I wish!!!) ;-D

[Quickstrike]

he isn't working @ Mc Donalds he is working at Burger King :P

[beavis4play]

it's not even close to the same thing at all. if games go to download access only; the industry will lose a huge part of the gaming public.

[yanikins111]

To Peter.

Shut up. Please.

[jojo319]

I personally could care less about this guy. But I'm curious why there are so many comments like "this guy is everywhere!" and "This guy just doesn't shut the hell up does he?" on all of his comments lately. But aren't these all from the same interview? Also, aren't these just his opinions? sheesh.

[The Lazy One]

He did an interview with them that they split into 4 parts.

[Sir_Ken_Kutaragi]

YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! ;-D

[azmanmanz]

Or maybe he has seen his own graveyard... talk much do less.. fck

[aiphanes]

Why would any company especially microsoft or EA want to solly distribute their software online? Sure they will save on packaging materials...but remember...games are not going to be DVD9 size in 5 to 10 years...they are going to be 50 to 100 GIGs in 5 to 10 years. How are we going to download a 100 GIG movies or game in a reasonable amount of time even on a 50 GIG pipe with bandwidth caps?

What are the poor people gonna do when they need just 100 GIGs hard drive space for one movie or game?

Everybody is going to need their own SAN installed in their house...what are you going to do when your harddrives crash?

Thats it...I am creating my own Physical Media will survive blog...

[crippler666]

Sorry but whilst there are download limits there will always be disks. When you consider games are getting to the point of nearly 15-20 gig in some places, the size of the HDD and the download limits?? I cannot see it happening any time soon.

[flOw]

Oh please, STFU Peter Moore!! Please!!

[Gorgon]

Make that 10 years.

[mirroredderorrim]

At least 10 years.

[Kratos Spartan]

This man is way ahead of himself. The more he tries to sound intelligent, the dumber he comes off. He should've stopped at the red light, but he sped up and drove right through it.

[Veronica Belmont]

To stop saying things you know for a FACT are not true, downloads will still be strugling to take over in 15 years time, people prefer owning discs its a plain and simple fact, if I give someone $60 for a game I like to have a disc and case and booklet I dont like to pay $60 for a piece of magical electricity that takes ages to download and not just with games but movies too, are download services good...yes they can be but they will find it extremely hard to take over unless theres a major advance in technology which allows for much faster downloads and much lower cost and a higher quality but even then it will struggle. So once again please stop talking bull for sake of being a tw@!

[Horny Melon]

He has launched two consoles with bad hardware choices.

[The Lazy One]

He launched 1. He wasn't in charge of dreamcast's hardware. You can blame Sega Japan for that one.

[Horny Melon]

marketing has sway over everything aside from accounting. Besides you can tell just by the identical mistakes that were made with each console.

[EnforcerOfTheTruth]

Sure buddy, that's why there are still music CDs in shops although songs take seconds to download and take little space ;)

[UnwanteDreamz]

I hate this little satan look alike called Peter Moore. I mean his name is peter nuff said. Switch it around and its moore peter.

[Tyetan]

Peter...SHUT UP!!!

[Pain70]

Now everyone will have to buy a brand new copy of everygame, no matter how old!! No used market. No retail mark up. No packaging. No shipping and handling. Same high price tag. Ba$$tards. Sounds like pretty good business.

[Enigma_2099]

... so he'll shut the hell up.

[Mad_Rhetoric]

hard copies will always be the primary format

[bgdaddy6780]

alright now we know the XBOXPURE 'PLAN' do everything online no REAL product and peter moore the only thing that i well EVER DOWNLOAD online is games that are under 12$s.

[jerethdagryphon]

yea digital downloads in 5-10 for everyone...... ok ill buy that so which company is picking up the net useage bills and whos gonna cover rebuilding the entire net so its all fiber optic

and as for satalite its not that fast you get good downstream horendus upstream as it goes through a separate box. and its stupidly expensive

[P_Bomb]

Another "death of physical media" topic!

Peter Moore comes across as the kinda guy who eats a chocolate bar with a fork 'n' knife.

People (who are not Mr. Burns aka Peter Moore) buy used movies, used games, used CDs, they trade in their old stuff for new stuff or extra $$$ all the time. Everyone here's probably at some point traded something in to EB Games or Microplay or Gamestop or Blockbuster or the locally owned mom and pop media shop, bought a rental copy or a used copy of something. You can't do that with an XBOX Live arcade game or PSN game.

Don't think that'll change in 5-10 years either. Without physical media, what are you gonna do, call up EB Games and trust everyone with your PSN account info and tell them to download the game directly from your hard drive? That is if the games aren't locked to your account or have a download limit. Heck, this almost encourages illegal bootlegging. If you have infinite downloads of a game, you could sell it a hundred times over and make more money off it than retailers, game creators would get no royalties. If you can only download a game once though, what happens if something crashes or wipes out your install?

Think of the businesses too. What's cheaper for EB Games, a dozen Madden '08's laying behind the counter at no extra charge, or having to constantly pay for more hard drive space to be able to store a dozen Madden '08's on a hard drive in the back, which may fail and would therefore require a backup of that as well.

It's not just an issue of whether the technology will be up to snuff in 5-10 years, it's if it's practical, affordable and realistic. Peter Moore says we're gonna "look back and laugh at the fact that we used to drive to the store to buy a piece of plastic with data on it". Really? Odds are in 10 years people will still be driving to stores to buy food, clothing, furniture, appliances, vehicles, literature, hardware, toiletries...so what on EARTH is so laughable about driving to the same store to buy a game?! Why would any sane businessman NOT want their videogame product on display on a Walmart store shelf?

LOL indeed!

[Quickstrike]

the more you talk the more fail that comes out of that mouth of yours plz do yourself and everyone else a favor and STFU

[bosels11]

All these idiots that think they are Nostradamus or something.

[snoopgg]

I think your wrong Peter, and I bet you that cds will still be around.