While Sony is quick to acknowledge their new love affair with digital distribution, they're also adament that they'll never leave the old ball-and-chain that is the retail channel. When asked the question "how long until Sony does away with retail?", PS3 posterboy, Philly "Cheesesteak" Harrison replied, "Never - we're not going to do away with retail. A game that somebody buys at retail is the beginning of our relationship with the customer, not the end."
Translation? Sony will use the retail channel to make the initial sell and then milk that investment with micro-transactions out the ying-yang. Of course, if Sony were to begin the transition to full-on digital distribution, they're probably not going to go and upset the apple-cart by admiting it... yet.
[Via Gameindustry.biz]
