Sony: Move Away from Retail in Two Years

Shuhei Yoshida talks turkey

Posted 12 Sept 2008
Shuhei Yoshida
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Sony's President of Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, may have come close to breaking the hearts of game retailers in an interview with IGN recently. As well as talking about how uncomfortable Sony was with PS3, and calling Team Ico the 'Olympic Team' because it always seems to take an age to develop anything, he's also put a timetable on the move to direct game sales.

When asked how important the PlayStation Network is the PS3, his response will send shockwaves through a few boardrooms:

"...and not just for the PlayStation 3 but it's important for the future of the industry. It's a progressive shift from a retailer based business, so it won't happen in a year or two."


This may well come as a shock to US retailer GameStop's CEO, Dan DeMatteo, who only last month was explaining that competition from digital delivery is "insignificant".

Also in the interview, Yoshida-san in a surprisingly sober, candid and decent manner waxed realistic with regard to Sony's feelings about the PS3 last year.

"This year, yes (Sony is comfortable with PS3), but last year we weren't so sure. Last year we were very concerned about things that were not happening that should have been happening."

The full interview is over at IGN.

Comments

Spammer? All posted links are "nofollow", every spam post is edited or nuked.

Humans Rule OK

1/9
schnide posted on 12 Sep 2008 15:30
Well that's going to enamour GAME to push PS3's sales through the roof and ignore the 360 and Wii for sure. More amazing PR triumphs from Sony!
2/9
Rutabaga posted on 12 Sep 2008 16:31
Sometimes you're a bit misleading with your headlines. It's amazing how you've extrapolated
"It's a progressive shift from a retailer based business, so it won't happen in a year or two."
To state that Sony are moving away from retail in two years.
more comments below our sponsor's message
3/9
Tim Smith posted on 12 Sep 2008 17:51
Rutabaga wrote:
Sometimes you're a bit misleading with your headlines. It's amazing how you've extrapolated
"It's a progressive shift from a retailer based business, so it won't happen in a year or two."
To state that Sony are moving away from retail in two years.


Okay, hands-up that was my fault entirely and it did need a question mark in the headline. I was, however, pulled up by the stark admission that there is a definite strategy to shift from retail. That kind of statement is usually either not made or is couched in snow.

Point taken though.

tim
4/9
DoctorDee posted on 12 Sep 2008 21:05
Tim Smith wrote:
That kind of statement is usually either not made or is couched in snow.

It is possibly consiered impolite before you disembowel someone and eat their entrails, to point out that you are going to dismbowel them and eat their entrails.

Retail for movies, games and music is f**ked. And the SEEM to be ingoring the fact completely. How HMV, GAME and BLockbusters shares aren't in the toilet I will never understand. OK, the whole stock-market works on the bigger fool principle. But anyone who buys shares in those doomed companies is a bigger fool then I can imagine.

5/9
Rutabaga posted on 12 Sep 2008 23:50
There's one flaw that I can see if all this media moves to download only and kills the retailers. Where will we buy our Playstations/Nintendo's/Xboxs from?
6/9
jj posted on 13 Sep 2008 00:00
This is just a fight back by large corporations to clamp down on games trading and piracy, but I am certainly not going to accept it, I don't trust big corporations especially Sony. So all our games will be digitally distributed, so basically we don't actually own the games we pay for, it's more like they are licensing games to us.

what happens when your console breaks, or when the next gen console comes out, I doubt they will freely let you transfer these games onto your next machine without paying extra....look at the Spore fiasco where you buy the game but you are only allowed to install it 3 times then it's useless, or you can call a premium rate number to try and sort it, legal consumers are getting screwed by DRM.

If it's a choice between only digital distribution or Piracy, I'll choose piracy everytime, better to be doing the screwing than getting screwed, isn't that what capitalism teaches us?
7/9
Free PS3 posted on 14 Sep 2008 01:01
The giveaway network would like to SPAM your Forum because its management and marketing people are too ignorant and cheap to advertise.

Thanks from the giveaway network!

[15 Sep 2008, 09:18: Message edited by 'TimSpong']
8/9
Captain Chaos posted on 14 Sep 2008 20:47
^^ w****r
9/9
john masters posted on 14 Sep 2008 22:47
Who wrote this article? The quote does not, in any way say Sony is moving away in two years. So...wtf is with the title? How do you go from "it won't happen in one or two years" to "move away from retail in two years"? Seriously...dumb.

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