Strauss Zelnick compares physical games to vinyl, saying a small market will remain even as digital makes up 98% of Take-Two’s business.
We are just a week away from the release of Grand Theft Auto 6, and while it is a highly anticipated game that is breaking pre-order records, it’s also controversial because it does not have a physical disc release. Despite this, Strauss Zelnick still believes physical media has a place in gaming, and he made his case in a recent interview.
Strauss Zelnick Says Physical Media Is Not Finished
Speaking with Christopher Dring of The Game Business, Zelnick compared physical games to the vinyl industry, noting that a group of collectors will always want to own physical versions of the games they play. Still, he stresses that physical media will be a very small part of the video game industry moving forward.
“It may not be the end, but listen, we’ve been talking, you and I, for a long time,” he said. “I predicted that digital distribution would be well over 90% of the business more than 10 years ago. I don’t always get it right, but this one I got right. Will there always be some physical business? Yes, in the same way that there’s still a vinyl business in recorded music. But it’s going to be a very small part of the business.”
Grand Theft Auto 6 will release on November 19. It will be available on PlayStation 5 and XBOX Series consoles. For those who still have last-gen technology on the XBOX side, Microsoft’s gaming wing recently announced that cloud play is an option for them to experience GTA 6.
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For more coverage on Insider Gaming, check out the record-breaking pre-order sales information for Grand Theft Auto 6. Don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter, too.
I'm Robert DeFelice. I spent years covering pro-wrestling industry for outlets such as Fightful. After years in wrestling journalism, I’ve transitioned to video games, another passion of mine.
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