14 DAY TRIAL // Despite the increased interest in digital distribution solutions, both on the PC and on home consoles, one major Japanese developer believes that the retail market will continue to exist, although it might be forced to evolve in order to maintain its domination.
Akira Yamaoka, who is the chief operation officer and composer working at Grasshopper Entertainment, has told Siliconera that, “I don’t think that packaged games will die out, but Steam has a lot of potential since it works with different hardware.”
Grasshopper is currently working on the development of Lollipop Chainsaw, which is expected on the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 during June, and on Black Knight Sword for the iOS devices.
After the two projects are complete, the developer plans to take a better look at Steam and what kind of games it can develop for it, although Yamaoka has mentioned that the company is unlikely to re-release its back catalog.
Recent rumors have suggested that Valve was working on a so-called Steam Box that would allow titles on the digital distribution service to be played without using a PC.