To be clear, Jorgensen wasn’t trying to push an agenda or make a profound statement; he’s just the company’s financial officer making clear the state of the company and industry. It’s video game purchasers who are changing the industry on their own, but Jorgensen does have a theory as to why consumers are shifting away from retail:
Jorgensen goes on to equate the shift to the book, television, and film industries, where digital consumption is higher than ever. While Jorgensen sees digital overtaking retail within the next five years, he makes clear that retail is still king for now.
Last fiscal year saw digital sales grow to 25% of sales overall, and Jorgensen estimates that this year’s digital slice of the pie will be closer to 30%. Going by his estimates, that means EA’s digital sales are likely to continue to increase by around 5% each year.
In the mean time, Jorgensen makes clear that Electronic Arts is dedicated to retail no matter the state of digital sales:
Jorgensen did note that some of Electronic Arts’ games skewed more towards digital sales and others more towards retail. While Jorgensen didn’t specify which games were which, it’s interesting to think about what they may be. For instance, Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2 are likely retail kings, as they were released in a window to maximize holiday and Black Friday sales. Alternatively, Plants vs. Zombies 2 targeted digital sales through free weekends and DLC offerings.
Microsoft’s original plans for the Xbox One were to release a digital only console, but ultimately Microsoft canceled those plans, perhaps because digital sales remain much smaller than retail sales. If there’s evidence to show that that might be changing, it will be huge publishers like EA saying that it’s changing. In 5 years, maybe consumers will be more open to the idea of a digital only console.
Source: GameSpot
