Sony Interactive Entertainment boss Jim Ryan has revealed that the video game industry’s shift from physical to digital has greatly benefited PlayStation, and contributed to building a player base of over 100 million people.
Speaking to GameIndustry.biz, Ryan said that it’s natural for people to resist change but the impact of the shift to digital has been “entirely divine” for Sony.
“I would point to the fact that the transition from physical distribution to a networked world has led to PlayStation being able to build this amazing community of 100 million people within this generation, and at the same time enjoy considerable business success,” explained Ryan. “That shift from physical to digital, five or six years ago, was viewed with great nervousness and trepidation. But, as far as I can tell from those who play games and for us, the impact of that transition has been entirely divine.”
Ryan is of the view that the games industry as a whole is in for a “rollercoaster ride of constant evolution” that’ll see companies change their distribution and organizational models to keep up with the times.
“The cloud is probably the most visible and topical manifestation of that,” Ryan continued. “Because if you foresee a world in five years time where a significant amount of gaming content is distributed via the cloud, and games are made in a way that takes advantage of the cloud, then clearly organizational models that support that distribution scenario are going to be different to the organizational models that support physical products or digital downloads.”
What do our readers think of Ryan’s comments?
[Source: Games Industry]
