Whether this is good news or bad news, you can make your own mind up, but EA have stated that in the "near future" they will be going 100% digital. As much as they say they are currently happy with retail, the EA Labels President Frank Gibeau believes that it won't be long before all developers go digital. He states: "If the gamer wants to get the game through a digital download and that's the best way for them to get it, that's what we're going to do. It has a lot of enhancements for our business. It allows us to keep more that we make. It allows us to do some really interesting things from a service level standpoint; we can be a lot more personalised with what we're doing."
Although Frank believes that the switch will happen in the "near future", he also believes that it is ultimately up to the gamer as to when this change needs to be made and that EA will continue deliver games however the customer/consumer wants. To conclude, Frank says: "For us, the fastest growing segment of our business is clearly digital and digital services and ultimately Electronic Arts, at some point in the future is going to be a 100 percent digital company, period. It's going to be their someday. It's inevitable."
'Boo hiss' is my verdict, but what do you think? Do you want digital or are you happy with how things are?
