Sony Convinced Retail and Digital Versions of Games Can Appear at the Same Time

Sony is quite convinced that its current and future platforms can accommodate both retail and digital versions of its games that should be released at the same time, like on the PC for example, because gamers benefit from having more choices.

While digital distribution has become a mainstay of PC gaming, as platforms like Valve's Steam are offering digital versions of games right when they reach stores, on consoles like the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, things aren't so good for people who don't like retail games.

While Microsoft is waiting several months before making titles available on its Games on Demand section on Windows Live, Sony has tried to make more strides in this area, at least according to Sony Computer Entertainment Europe boss Jim Ryan.

"What we did on Infamous 2 [which launched simultaneously at retail and on PSN] was very much a test. When we launch Vita all of its games will be available for download. And the bigger ones will be available in a physical form. It’s something that’s coming," Ryan confessed to MCV.

The Sony European executive continues to believe that retail business will still prove to be quite popular, in the near future at least, but gamers are expecting digital downloads to become much more popular, so a choice needs to be offered to them.

"Our hope is that you expand the overall pie. We want a business where all our stakeholders prosper. And retail is a big part of that and will be for the foreseeable future. There is no real reason digital has to cut physical retail out. Vita is a connected device and people will expect downloads. But you still offer things in a physical form because of the size of them. It’s just easier for some to go into [a store] and buy it."

Many companies are now modifying their future strategies with a bigger emphasis on online connectivity and digital distribution, including Electronic Arts, which recently deployed its Origin service on the PC, or Nintendo, which promises that its new Wii U is going to have a fulled pledged suite of online services.