Digital distribution of games is certainly on the rise, but will it overtake retail sales anytime soon? For Valve at least, that seems to be the case, thanks in no small part to the raging success that their digital distribution and communications platform, Steam, has seen.
Speaking at a press event at its headquarters, Valve president Gabe Newell has revealed the company is seeing close to 200% growth in digital distribution compared to traditional retail sales growth of less than 10%. Newell went on to explain how much more reliable online digital distribution is compared to retail, pointing out that all Steam games can be easily accessed from any computer and that that users don't need to re-buy the same game multiple times they lose it.
He further reiterated the possibility of offering non-gaming software through the Steam platform in the future, though for the time being they are keeping their focus on games.