Digital Distribution Summit: iPhone is the platform of choice

Mike Bantick
Friday, 02 October 2009 11:16

Your IT - Entertainment

The Summit concluded with a panel discussion, Rob Murray returning to chat with Rob Walsh, CEO of Krome Studios and Kursten Leins, Head of Multimedia Strategy at Ericsson.  The discussion was moderated by Electronic Arts Partners Outreach Director Jamil Moledina, with the aim of discussing the future of digital distribution.

The panellists all reiterated the danger of noise pollution in the digital space, and whilst the potential target audience has broadened, developers and publishers must still consider their demographic, not try to produce a product that is all things to all people.

Whilst piracy and the second hand market - both banes of the development community - are problems tackled with a digital distribution model, it is clear that hardware still needs to be distributed via traditional retail.  Hence, companies such as Sony, who, with the PSPgo are pushing into this market, are asking retailers to take a significant hit on their income to carry hardware and then not see any returns on software sales.

Looking ten years into the future, the panel members believed that device convergence will continue, with portable devices being as powerful as today’s home consoles.  All digital content will be delivered from major blockbuster studios as well as an indie channel.

There was a fear that telecommunication companies will increasingly want a stake in this world, striving to be more than simply bandwidth providers.

Whilst Leins was patient as other panel members discussed the merits of rival Apple’s App Store and device integrations, he mentioned the Ericsson vision for 2020 included 50 billion connected devices worldwide, no docking for content that can be paid for and enjoyed immediately.

Whilst Blu-ray was seen as the final physical distribution form, it was agreed that retail stores will remain for the foreseeable future.  There is a role for retail, and that sector has show how adaptive it can be.  The panel saw this role moving to a gift card model, providing for the sheer number of people that will continue inhabiting shopping malls.

Add to this the tangible challenge of digital distribution in breaking the perceived consumer value of holding a real book or game box.  Murray believes that there is a new type of consumer coming through the market, one that does not have this perception.

Finally, it was clear that for the developers on the panel, and in general discussion on the floor, that in today’s market, despite the sheer weight of numbers crowding the App Store, that the iPhone and iPod Touch are the target platforms for success in the digital distribution market.