Remedy: sooner we go digital, the better
Alan Wake dev won't miss retailers.
The sooner the games industry abandons physical media and goes download-only the better, so says Alan Wake developer Remedy.
Speaking in an interview with Edge, CEO Matias Myllyrinne explained that digital distribution is opening up exciting new possibilities for developers.
"Certainly we're looking to embrace more of the digital stuff," he pledged.
"I'm really excited about PSN, [Xbox] Live and some of the stuff on Steam, because it really allows you to directly engage with your audience. All these opportunities are opened up that you couldn't do before – there wasn't a model you could work around."
Myllyrinne went on to explain that he didn't see a digital-only future as a death knell for big-budget AAA blockbusters.
"I don't think the big, huge experiences are going anywhere, but the sooner we go digital as an industry, the better for everybody. Better for consumers, better for the developers and publishers."
He admitted there would be one casualty – high street retail – but that he wouldn't mourn their passing.
"Maybe [it's] not so good for retail," he admits, "but then again if you're selling our games as used copies and incentivising people to do that, then I don't really feel sorry for you."
The Finnish developer hasn't confirmed its next project yet, though has recently been hiring motion control experts.