Harrison confident young'ns 'will never buy a physical media product'
by Christopher Grant 
{ Dec 4th 2008 at 10:02PM }
In his position at Atari, Phil Harrison – former Sony figurehead and outspoken Blu-ray backer – is using his intimidating height to see clear past the competition and straight into the future. What does Phil see? First: We can only imagine he sees an Atari more deserving that "best opportunity" in the industry praise from earlier this year. Second: Phil sees "a generation of kids being born today and probably already alive" that "will never buy a DVD, they will never buy a CD, and they will never buy a game in a box."We know Atari's gambit is in online gaming, and we're sure Phil's dead-on in his assessment (we're surprised it's taken this long!) but now we'd just like to see how Atari is going to contribute to this new, disc-less media landscape. It's done with "huge-budget, single-player games," remember?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Alien Lord @ Dec 4th 2008 10:07PM
Did a DVD shit on his mom or something?
Mics @ Dec 4th 2008 11:50PM
Ah...confessions of an ex-Sony executive.
Now that Phil's free from the confines of the Blu-ray mothership, we know now what Toshiba apparently realized back in January: that they were pouring billions of R&D money into physical media when the future is going to be downloads. Phil knew this at the time but still had to keep singing the praises of BD for fear of making his company look bad/dumb by continuing to lose money for Blu-ray. And guess what? He surprises everyone by leaving Sony the same month Toshiba calls it quits. And now he's putting down Blu-ray (to be fair, all physical formats) as a medium. Coincidence?
I wished HD DVD had prospered, but it's becoming quite obvious that ALL physical formats are destined to be doomed what with Phil's admission, Netflix streaming, and VUDU, HULU, ROKU, etc...Hey Sony! FUKU!
Erik Stroud @ Dec 4th 2008 11:54PM
probably. I don't mind digital distribution. But nothing beats opening up the package of a game or anime for the first time.
Shagittarius @ Dec 5th 2008 12:41AM
I prefer the game package please. Not interested in collecting downloads.
Killjebus @ Dec 5th 2008 1:16AM
FYI
Mr. Clean said in an interview 3 years ago that he thought the PS3 would be the last console with physical media. Eventually, PM will go the way of the Dodo. And if you PAY ATTENTION to what he said, you would realize he is talking 10 years down the road, by then the PS4 will be getting old and the PS5 might be just around the corner.
So quick to flame, yet so slow to understand.
KeenCommander @ Dec 5th 2008 1:26AM
@killjebus: That doesn't make him any less wrong.
Killjebus @ Dec 5th 2008 1:34AM
I don't know how long it will take, but physical media will come to an end, the only question is when.
Haggard @ Dec 5th 2008 2:52AM
I've also been a fan of getting game boxes to stick up on my shelf for years, and I'm only 17..
When Harrison is qualified to know what young people want, then perhaps he can start saying things.
United States of Generica @ Dec 5th 2008 6:38AM
No, but European business Atari (formerly Infograms) shit on their European customers by not allowing them to buy the same games from Steam that their North and South American customers can.
Haggard @ Dec 5th 2008 8:56AM
Ubisoft do the same. I couldn't buy Beyond Good & Evil or Assassin's Creed off steam due to my heinous crime of living in Europe, so I bought them as physical media for about half the price.
Ironic? Yes.
rickjamess @ Dec 5th 2008 10:00AM
Here's the issue that I have with games that are digitally distributed.
This is obviously more in the interest of the business than the consumer since they can essentially cut out the middle man and sell games directly to the consumer. No more printing manuals or pressing discs. This will substantially increase their margin of profit that they will be making per disc.
So far this sounds good, right?
Wrong. You think that even though costs are going to drop that these games will decrease in price? If anything prices will stay the same or perhaps even increase. This smells the same way the music industry does in that both industries have been able to control prices of their respective 'services' for decades. I mean don't you think that when games switched to cd/dvd-rom from cartridges that the price should have dropped? Also, it wasn't until iTunes came out that music prices decreased--I mean MSRP of a CD was still at 18.99 a disc which is virtually the same price it had been since the early 80's when they were initially released!
This is the same issue I have with in game advertising. This is just another nuisance to deal with and no decrease in cost for the consumer.
SKI @ Dec 5th 2008 12:41PM
My biggest problem with digital distribution? In 60 years, my grand kids (or young neighbor kids) might hear me tell them about this awesome game called Metal Gear Solid 7:Rise of Pie for the PS5. They struggle to find the system only to learn that it was download-only and Sony has folded and the servers aren't up anymore. Now they can't get the game. :(
Haggard @ Dec 7th 2008 6:59PM
@SKI
Yeah, I worry about the same thing. Especially now that some PC games need to be activated online - the whole system of accounts, servers and online content seems to fragile.
In three years this site, and these words I'm typing might no longer exist.
ThePhoenixLament @ Dec 4th 2008 10:09PM
Hmm really?
I like OWNING my games as opposed to renting it from some online store from the ever ubiquitous skynet...
Sorry Phil but I think you're wrong on this.
Movies on the other hand I can sorta see going all digital. But again I would hate that because to me I'd rather own a disc that I know belongs to me and only me as opposed to "buying" and then downloading form some store on the web.
Hyams @ Dec 4th 2008 10:49PM
I can't believe I'm gonna say this, to you of all people, but ... I agree.
The Dark Wayne @ Dec 4th 2008 10:52PM
yeah i gotta agree with you there Phoenix. Everyone always says Digital Distribution is the way to go, but there's just so many problems with it. Besides just liking a physical copy, there's all kinds of troubles with digital rights, stuff like Securrom, or even just losing your hard drive and having to download every thing you own again.
What confuses me the most, is if Harrison doesnt think people will buy physical media, why did he support blu ray so much?
HitNRun @ Dec 4th 2008 10:56PM
Yeah, ditto. We'll have a digimal resomultion future when you can actually own the information, and it plays on all relevant devices.
These tech pajandrums keep honking off about the digital future, but none of them wants to take the step of getting rid of the DRM and promoting unified storage/usage. As of right now, the most popular media download service on the planet (iTunes) doesn't even sell songs, it sells single *downloads* of DRM-lathered files that can be played on some devices for a limited time.
As for videogames, Atari-man will be right when game systems can burn hard copies of downloaded games. Or when game systems are compatible with cheap and extremely stable storage devices that vastly outpace the space demands of current games. So in other words, never.
ThePhoenixLament @ Dec 4th 2008 10:58PM
@ dark wayne
Yeah there's a lot of stuff they'd have to figure out from a legal aspect and a consumer aspect before I'd even think about getting games this way. Like you said things such as DRM, how many times you can download the game, storage, privacy rights, access to the games, etc would all have to be worked out.
Right now it just seems like too much of a hassle and a the outlet itself is way to restrictive to me as a consumer.
I mean he's like most execs. They just say what they have to say for the company of they get fired.
As far as Bluray I'm behind it but reluctantly. At the first sign that it's failing I'm definitely gonna consider selling my player.
josh @ Dec 4th 2008 11:21PM
Games, I dunno, but I think movies will largely go the way of ondemand/Netflix streaming/etc. If you have access to every movie and every old tv show episode on your TV, for like $15-20 a month, i think almost everyone would subscribe. And once you can watch any movie ondemand instantly, you will probably buy alot less DVDs.
I think what will happen is that streaming/ondemand will eventually replace a large percentage of dvd sales, but people will still buy those 3-disc deluxe sets with all the extra documentaries and stuff for their favorite movies.
Matt @ Dec 4th 2008 11:41PM
I much prefer the digital distribution over a physical copy any day, as long as the terms are right. I have absolutely no problem buying a game over steam of XBL, as I know with those services I'm not actually "renting" the game as you call it, I'm purchasing the right to play this game.
Sure there are problems with some services with digital downloads right now, but there are problems with physical mediums too. If you have a physical disc, you aren't paying to play the game, you are paying to own a little plastic disc with some metal on it. If that disc gets damaged or lost, you are SOL. With Steam or XBLA, I can install a game, delete it, reinstall it, and pretty much play it whenever I want, regardless of if I have lost the disc or the instruction manual with the cd key in it.
@hit n run - itunes, zune marketplace, and pretty much every online music retailer now sells straight mp3 files with no drm on them. And your comment about Harrison being right does apply to the music stores, they allow you to burn a physical copy of your music.
Markez @ Dec 5th 2008 2:23AM
My CPU is neural net processor.
doom saber @ Dec 5th 2008 3:44AM
Imo, the problerm with digital distribution would be that everyone would have to have internet access and everyone would have to buy new DVD or BD systems that isn't a PS3 to be able to download movies onto their console.
Aside from that, one has to think what would happen to the movies once they would become digital. A lot of movies and games that are digital distribution are just bare bones(right term?) in regards to content. Now, if digital distribution becomes the only method of buyin media, would these extra content that were standard on a physical copy disappeared or would they be add on content that would cost extra?
Another problem with digital distribution is that it actually shuns away kids from buying movies and games despite what Harrison said. I am not sayin because just because but of common sense. I mean, imagine a thirteen yearold who saved up his allowence to buy mario 512 and realize he can't buy the game because he has to have a credit card. I realize a company could make prepaid cards but this would makes things more complicated for this fictional thirteen year old to go to the local mall to buy the prepaid card so that he can go home to purchase the game and wait an hour or more for the download to finish.
Also, a lot of retail stores, especially the mom and pop stores will go out of business. The use games shops can only go so far without new content and I would suspect if digital distribution becomes the norm, a lot of older used games would be more expensive
Brian @ Dec 5th 2008 8:38AM
Maybe not. It's better to have physical media, I agree hands down! I enjoy pretty packaging too, as much as the other guy.
But... it's not always US - the consumer that gets the choice. Remember cartridges? 0ms load times? Yet we were forced onto cds...then dvds... cos they were cheaper despite not being as good from my pov.
It'll probably be the same here. Prepare for overnight downloads when if u have rubbish internet connection speeds.
NukeAssault @ Dec 4th 2008 10:19PM
"You mean you have to use your hands?"
"That's like a baby's toy."
TheFury9898 @ Dec 4th 2008 10:43PM
hahah great reference! Oh back to the future...
vidGuy @ Dec 4th 2008 10:19PM
Digital distribution (dd) will never work for high-end content. dd is great for small content that is easily portable, MP3s being the best example. dd is not great for HD quality movies or games because the last leg of Internet connections aren't capable of handling the downloads, even for intelligent streaming. When the last leg is upgraded to handle current HD content, the high-end content of the day will be ten or a hundred times the size.
I also think DRM authentication hurdles will significantly limit the adoption of digital distribution. I'm already tired of having to log in to LIVE to get access to my downloaded Rock Band songs. How much of a pain in the ass would it be to be forced to go online, even to play a local game?
TheFury9898 @ Dec 4th 2008 10:44PM
Steam makes u go on-line to play a single player game... well i guess u can go off-line to play it to.. but u still have to go through steam
Just_a_guy @ Dec 5th 2008 2:24AM
you just pointed out why physical media will always win over downloads!
I also agree that if we were to move to an all download system, that it would not be a good thing at all. I see there being several huge problems: 1) what if the system dies? what do you do with all the games you bought? 2) I don't want to have my system on all night just to get ONE game, and have a chance that if anything goes wrong in that period of time, that I would be stuck in the "my file is corrupted, yet the server thinks i've already paid and downloaded the game"
oh and don't forget that even with T3 business class or even FIOS/fiber to the home, it still takes a long time for you to download 60 GB worth of data, and if you decide to use wireless internet, then no matter how good it is it won't be fast enough anyway...
Haggard @ Dec 5th 2008 2:51AM
Well, some of us have always-on fast internet - downloading a game off Steam, even a full sized 2-5GB game can be done in a matter of minutes.
United States of Generica @ Dec 5th 2008 6:46AM
"Steam makes u go on-line to play a single player game... well i guess u can go off-line to play it to.. "
Go on-line? WTF? Does anyone actually go off-line?
vidGuy @ Dec 5th 2008 9:00AM
@Haggard,
Sure, but even some Wii games are bigger than that. How willing are you to let a 40-50GB game download? By the time that size of a download is feasible, we will have physical media that can handle 200-500GB games. See the problem?
Haggard @ Dec 5th 2008 11:40AM
By the time the average game size is 40-50GB (it's been 8-10GB for the last couple of years), hard drives will be big enough to accommodate them and optic fiber internet will be fast enough. Devs can easily ensure things don't take up too much space on your hard drive. How come Crysis, the most technically advanced game ever made, can run without a disc and only takes up 8GB on my HDD? And Peggle amazingly only takes up only 15MB.
As has been said, Blu-Rays are usually filled by insane quality audio files (e.g. Stephen Fry's voice at the same bit-rate as your average DVD) or FMV's.
WiredKnight @ Dec 4th 2008 10:19PM
Hah, yes they will.
Superstar90 @ Dec 4th 2008 10:20PM
If there was ever a time for a "THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!"
VaultICEE @ Dec 4th 2008 11:12PM
I was just going to post that.
vidGuy @ Dec 4th 2008 11:24PM
"My what a huge budget you must have..."
offday @ Dec 4th 2008 10:20PM
That's a pretty bold statement coming from a guy in charge of a company who basically helped to start gaming. Granted, they really aren't doing much of anything now.
AoE @ Dec 4th 2008 10:39PM
He's not the president of a company that helped start gaming. That company died a long, long time ago (in the 80's) and it's name has since been bought and resold many times over. He's the president of an exceedingly poor (at least historically) developer/publisher, Infogrames, who changed their name to Atari because their previous name was associated with nothing but pure suck...
HitNRun @ Dec 4th 2008 10:40PM
Atari should be concerned with not sucking. Everything they've released in this decade has been either terrible or good despite them.
Actually, this aversion to hardware makes a lot of sense, considering all the corners Atari cuts on their packaged products. They might as well just wrap the disk in duct tape and write the name on it with a sharpie.
DangerMouse @ Dec 4th 2008 10:29PM
I mean...gross.
BananaBoat @ Dec 4th 2008 10:30PM
I prefer a game, movie, etc in a box thank you very much. What else will I fill my bookshelves with?
(wait for it......)
The Dark Wayne @ Dec 4th 2008 10:54PM
statues of Batman, cylons, Darth Vader, and master chief of course
Hyams @ Dec 4th 2008 10:55PM
... porn?
DWells55 @ Dec 5th 2008 12:13AM
A catalog of images printed from 4chan?
Strategy_Panda (the artist formally known as Titanium_Orchid) @ Dec 5th 2008 12:17AM
other people's earwax?
BananaBoat @ Dec 5th 2008 1:50AM
I've weighed my options, and I think I've got a plan. First, I build a fake cover out of DVD boxes, and put it on a motorized, fold away thing (like a garage door). The DVD box facade will lift to reveal a collection of Pron and Animoo figurines.
It will be a glorious day.
Pwnzerfaust @ Dec 4th 2008 10:32PM
I doubt it, if only because owning a tangible object feels more satisfying.
But who knows?
jonjon72 @ Dec 4th 2008 10:36PM
I refuse to purchase an entire library of movies, games or music then have it disappear when my HD goes poof.
Will they allow me to re download at this point? Sorry, I like to have something that I can physically see and touch.
Funny how Phil never mentioned this when he was at Sony. He jumps ship to Atari of all places. doh!
josh @ Dec 4th 2008 11:32PM
I agree I wouldn't want to purchase downloadable movies... but what about ondemand? Netflix streaming on 360 is amazing. If (when?) Netflix or another service manages to have EVERY movie and TV show, it seems like a LOT of people would subscribe, and would purchase alot less DVDs.
A streaming, on demand type model makes more sense for movies than a purchase model. And I think people will always buy deluxe physical editions of their absolute faves.
knighty (GT: ZeraKnight) @ Dec 4th 2008 10:39PM
Buying games digitally feels like I'm pirating to me...I know it's silly but when I've spent £40 I like to see something for that money. Plus, tin cases are ftw. I always buy special editions when I can for that reason.