physical-retailers

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  • Jagex CEO predicts the imminent demise of physical game retailers

    by 
    Justin Olivetti
    Justin Olivetti
    02.21.2012

    Brick-and-mortar outlets, be warned: your days are numbered. Or so says Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard, who told an audience at BAFTA Question Time that physical retailers were living on borrowed time -- and that before long, such stores would be "museum pieces." Gerhard says that these retailers, such as UK's GAME, will be gone within a decade. "The writing has been on the wall for quite some time," he said. "I think, 10 years out from now, we'll be talking about [physical] retail nostalgically, as a museum piece." He sees this as a positive development for the industry, saying that retailers take a slice of profits away from studios and make it hard for indie games to succeed. "People are still playing games. They're still doing business; they're just doing it in a different place. If you don't adapt you die. It's as simple as that," he said.