Simultaneous digital, retail PSP releases could be standard in five years
SCEA's John Koller acknowledges that simultaneous retail and digital release is the way Japan and Europe are going; however, it's not the direction North American is heading towards. Well, not now anyhow. Koller says that day-and-date UMD/digital launching is something that's a "mid-term" goal, not something SCEA is aiming for in the short-term and it could take up to five years before it becomes standard business
"In North America we haven't made a firm decision if and when we're going to launch day and date, retail and digital ... we're looking at the opportunity," said Koller in a GDC conference (via GamesIndustry.biz). The real question now is: Will the PSP be around that long for us to see this business model take flight? Perhaps, we'll have to wait for Sony's next portable gaming device.
