PopCap: Digital distribution not quite there, retail still important

Speaking to GI.biz, PopCap Games CEO Dave Roberts shared some thoughts about casual games, digital distribution and the importance of retail. In spite of the recent fervor over digital distribution, Roberts said that PopCap has actually been expanding its retail efforts, even going so far as to become one of the top twenty publishers in North America according to NPD. When asked about digital distribution -- something getting a lot of buzz at this year's GDC -- Roberts said that there is "comfort" in purchasing a retail disc, noting that a "a large percentage of Wal-Mart customers don't even have credit cards." Roberts also believes that brick-and-mortar retailers are looking for ways to expand into the online market. As a successful example of this, Roberts cited pre-paid subscription cards for World of Warcraft, a retail product that's only usable in an online space.

Regarding Apple's App Store, Roberts said that it may be getting too large for its own good, stating that Apple will have to "curate" the store in order to make things easier to find. He says that the App Store "will tip itself over if they don't figure that out."

Finally, Roberts discusses PopCap's Wii efforts -- the company does have something in the works -- and explains why PopCap games won't be appearing on Amazon's casual download service. Hit the source link for the full interview.