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E3 Predictions: Microsoft & Sony Talk Day One Digital Sales
Download sales have been a hot-button issue for years. Could this year be the year that Sony and Microsoft make a big digital-download push?
For decades, futurists and sci-fi authors have dreamed of a world where all of our entertainment is only a few mouse clicks away – a world where we no longer need to run out to a store and buy a physical copy of a movie or book or game. It seems like we’re headed towards a future that could look a lot like that, but how quickly will we get there?
In April, Nintendo announced a digital initiative that will allow Wii U owners to download games directly onto their system's SD memory cards on the same day that those titles are released to retail stores. This could be the start of a major shift in console gaming. Granted, the 3DS and PS Vita already allow players to download games onto their system and Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners have been downloading countless DLGs and indie titles for years. However, boxed retail titles still make up a large part of the market, and many of these retail box copies can’t be downloaded onto consoles. Even when modern console games do become available for download, they are typically months – sometimes years – late. BioShock 2 (originally released in February 2010) only recently became available on Sony’s PSN Store, for example.
Industry analysts have speculated for years that Sony and Microsoft’s next consoles will allow players to download every game they play onto their console. The PC market has already seen a major shift in downloadable sales, and games like Mass Effect 3 (which released for download on PSN on day one) have already started to experiment with the model, so it’s not hard to imagine a world where gamers will be able to download games onto their console the day it releases, but will Sony or Microsoft announce such an initiative this year?
It’s likely that these two companies will feel compelled to keep pace with Nintendo and announce that its new consoles will allow day one downloads at this E3, even if they don’t show off consoles in any other capacity. Additionally, neither Sony nor Microsoft want to seem like they are a step behind Nintendo. In an effort to beat Nintendo to the punch, it’s even possible that these two companies could announce day-one downloads for their current consoles, beginning a push that would allow day-one downloads for titles releasing later this year.
On the other hand, Sony and Microsoft might want to hold off on an announcement of this kind. Day-one downloads might be a major feature of the next wave on consoles and if these companies are waiting to show off their next consoles (as it appears), then both companies might want to keep their cards a little closer to their chest.
There is also the possibility of retailer pushback. Large game retailers make a lot of money selling physical copies of games, and they might be resistant to having all the major console manufacturers start to release their games via download. Certainly, game retailers will be able to stock game codes and sell special edition boxes with goodies that would be absent from downloads, but it’s hard to imagine that day one downloads wouldn’t cut into retailer sales. Sony and Microsoft might want to work out this new retail market with game retailers before they announced day one downloads.
Another issue is that current systems lack the required hard drive space to house a large collection of retail titles. National broadband penetrated and lengthy download times are a few other kinks that might need to be ironed out before Sony and Microsoft really make a push for day one downloads. These aren’t insurmountable challenges, and they’re less of a problem if gamers can still go purchase items from store like they’ve been doing for years, but they are hurdles that Sony and Microsoft will have to jump over once they make a run for downloading games on day one.
For our money, Sony and Microsoft are bound to make a push for day-one downloads sometime in the near future, but this year’s E3 might be a little soon. What do you think? Could this be happening this year?
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