It's arguably a fairly obvious prediction, but as it's one coming from a man who should know Sony UK's managing director Ray Maguire it's certainly a more informed prediction than most. And given the company he works for, it's a timescale PSP owners may be interested to hear about.
Speaking at an ELSPA press conference with Dr Tanya Byron (the specialist behind the much-talked-about Byron Report which advised the government on issues relating to children and video games and the internet), Maguire made his prediction while discussing the new decision to make BBFC ratings the 'consumer facing element' on all boxed games.
"While games are recorded media and we have something on a packet, the recommendations in the Byron Review are okay," he said.
"But ten years from now the ratio of games sales will have gone from 90 per cent in-store to 90 per cent online. Therefore, we have a situation that if you're a retailer, you're currently responsible for the goods that come through your chain. But that's not true with ISPs in the future."
Whether he's talking purely downloadable games or also about online retailers such as Amazon is not entirely clear. We'd argue that credit card checks and parental controls should be enough to keep 18 rated games off the PSPs of minors even if they are available to buy via download, surely?
That said, we can clearly see the point that the proposed BBFC ratings approach would have less impact if not displayed on the front of a game box.
Expect the Byron Report part 2 in ten years' time, then, no doubt timed to coincide with the problem of under-age kids distributing digital copies of Manhunt 4 around the (virtual?) playground.
News
Kath gave up a job working with animals five years ago to join the world of video game journalism, which now sees her running our DS section. With so many male work colleagues, many have asked if she notices any difference.
Top Stories
News
6 hours, 45 minutes ago
King and Flexion partner to bring Candy Crush Saga to App Gallery and more alternative app stores
News
7 hours, 40 minutes ago
Zynga’s Game of Thrones: Legends is open for pre-registrations with a July 25th release date
Feature
10 hours, 2 minutes ago
Mobile Mavens: Are today's everlasting, live ops games holding back new innovation?
Feature
11 hours, 30 minutes ago
The key takeaway from Apple's AI-laden WWDC keynote? It's time to buy a new iPhone
Events
Tribeca Games Festival 2024 | North America | Jun 5th |
Steam Next Fest: June 2024 Edition | Jun 10th | |
WN Conference Istanbul 2024 | Jun 11th | |
GamesForum Hamburg 2024 | Europe | Jun 11th |
ESI London 2024 | Europe | Jun 13th |
Game Con Canada (GCC) 2024 | North America | Jun 14th |
Indie Dev Play 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |
DevGAMM Vilnius 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |
Popular Stories
Interview
Jun 5th, 2024
A galaxy far, far away… Why Star Wars: Hunters took six years to hit the target
as
Feature
Jun 3rd, 2024