Sony: Discs "strong" for "years to come"
PS3 has a Blu-ray player don't you know.
Developers may predict a disc-less next generation of consoles, but PlayStation maker Sony isn't as keen.
Discs, declared Sony Europe MD Andrew House, have a "strong" part to play for "years to come".
"The reason retail has been around for thousands of years is because it works really well at showing you a range of content, having experienced store staff that can find the game you are looking for, tailor choices to your needs and up-sell you something you hadn't thought of," House shared with MCV.
"Digital, for me, still has a challenge in that it doesn't have the equivalent of that.
"Browsing is a little overwhelming and too confusing," he added, "and that's the challenge that makes me think there's a strong role for physical media for years to come."
Conveniently, those sentiments sit politely with what Sony Computer Entertainment boss Kaz Hirai told the world in August: that a digital future was still 10 years away.
In October, Blitz Games shared a vision of a future with Eurogamer in which Wii HD, PS4 and Xbox 720 - or whatever they're named - had no need of physical discs. Not only is there no need, Blitz boss Andrew Olver told us - it also makes better business sense.
"When they produce their next console - let's call it Sony Next, it could be any platform holder Next – if they make it only a digital store, they absolutely control everything. Pricing, their margins, you can't trade it second hand," Oliver told us.
"Their logistics and overheads come down considerably. The cost of manufacture of the original console comes down considerably. The reliability goes through the roof because there are no moving parts. Why would they not?"
Of course, Sony's reluctance could stem from the PSPgo, its digital-only version of PSP that didn't set the world on fire.