Sony Talks Digital Distribution And The Shift Away from Physical Retail

SCE President Andrew House talks digital distribution and the shift away from physical retail occurring this generation.

At Sony’s Investor Relations Day 2015 presentation, House spoke about the improved network features of the PS4 over the PS3 and believes that it’s one of the drivers for the shift. He also pointed out that having earlier and more accessible access of digital releases are contributing elements now that download versions arrive on the same day with retail copies and can often be pre-loaded.

House also talked about the impact on profit, noting that regions will be affected differently based on technology and user preference.

“Anecdotally the new console generation has certainly marked a shift to digital distribution in my opinion. Pre-loading, more competitive pricing and day and date access are the big factors for me, plus the requirement of retail releases to install and often download day one patches negates the speed factor of retail purchases.”

In recent times, both Sony and Microsoft have embraced flash sales and discounting of online products.