EA Exec: 'Games retail will be gone in 10 years'

Games retail as we know it will cease to exist in the next decade, according to EA Games vice president Patrick Soderlund.

Soderlund predicts that downloaded content will soon be the main source of revenue in the games industry.

He told CVG: "We know that packaged goods work today, and the majority of our current revenue comes from that. That's still a viable business model. But in the long term we'll see more and more people gravitate to downloaded content."

Soderlund claimed traditional games retail would die out in the very near future.

He added: "I think it's going to be sooner than people think. I think it's going to be sooner than ten years."

Soderlund also said that casual game players would not be alienated by a digital-only model.

"The distribution method won't change how games are advertised or marketed, just how they are delivered to customers. My 96 year-old grandmother plays Cut the Rope and World of Warcraft. Honestly I don't think there's a digital barrier for the casual audience any more."

EA COO, Peter Moore, recently announced an increase in revenue for digital media.