• Wired, Tuesday, August 1, 2006 11:15 AM

Forget about plastic discs and DVDs. The future of gaming belongs to the Internet and downloadable games, says Wired magazine. Console disc sales dropped by more than $700 million from 2004 to 2005, according to NPD Group. But Jupiter Research says digital downloads on game consoles earned $143 million in 2005 and should grow to $2 billion by 2011. At a recent conference, Microsoft's corporate vice president of interactive entertainment, Peter Moore, described the future of gaming: "Years from now, the concept of driving to the store to buy a plastic disc with data on it and driving back and popping it in the drive will be ridiculous," he says. "We'll tell our grandchildren we did that, and they'll laugh at us." Digital downloads are a major part of Microsoft's strategy for the Xbox 360. Simpler games, like "Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved"--one of the highest-rated games offered on the Xbos 360, according to GameRankings.com--cost $5, and can be downloaded to an online-enabled Xbox console in under two minutes. But it's not just games. Since November 2005, Xbox Live Marketplace users have snagged more than 30 million items--everything from new levels to new skins for their UI. And the games offered at the Xbox Live Marketplace are only going to get bigger. As Wired notes: "Digital distribution means, eventually, the end of the disc" for video games, movies, and music. This is a plus for everyone. It means the end of expensive packaging and distribution deals.

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