The publisher behind games like Mass Effect and Madden says it won't be selling its games at brick-and-mortar stores for much longer.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, EA Labels president Frank Gibeau said it won't be too much longer before the company goes completely digital:
It's in the near future. It's coming. We have a clear line of sight on it and we're excited about it. Retail is a great channel for us. We have great relationships with our partners there. At the same time, the ultimate relationship is the connection that we have with the gamer. If the gamer wants to get the game through a digital download and that's the best way for them to get it, that's what we're going to do. It has a lot of enhancements for our business. It allows us to keep more that we make. It allows us to do some really interesting things from a service level standpoint; we can be a lot more personalized with what we're doing...
For us, the fastest growing segment of our business is clearly digital and clearly digital services and ultimately Electronic Arts, at some point in the future... we're going to be a 100% digital company, period. It's going to be there some day. It's inevitable.
Hope you've got broadband.
EA is "going to be a 100% digital company, period" says Gibeau [GamesIndustry.biz]