It's no secret that the traditional concept of games being exclusively bought and sold at physical retailers has mostly disappeared. While companies like GameStop are still around, many believe the gaming retailer has only survived recently due to stock market manipulation. Even so, GameStop is moving towards more digital spaces, even making an NFT marketplace to better support its business going into the future, and Sony and PlayStation are following a similar path of heading boldly into the digital market.
This news comes as the gaming giant lays off upwards of 90 workers in its North American offices. Most of the positions that saw workers lose jobs were in marketing and sales, including PlayStation Representatives, which were employees who would often visit retail stores and ready them to sell PlayStation products. This work would involve letting retail stores know about upcoming PlayStation titles and ensuring they were knowledgeable about them. Alongside cuts to PlayStation Representatives and its merchandiser team in the U.S., Sony is also eliminating some other retail marketing positions.
So far, Sony PlayStation has not responded to any requests for comment, though the cuts have been attributed to a transformation of the company's sales and business operations. Allegedly, the workers who have been affected were not informed of the cuts properly, leaving them unable to find other roles before they were laid off. With a removal of retail marketing, it seems that Sony will not be looking towards third parties in order to sell its games anymore and would rather have a direct relationship with the consumer. This news follows the recent announcement that PlayStation is rebranding its PlayStation Plus subscription service.
Alongside subscription services like PlayStation Plus that grant gamers a selection of free games and deals on new games, there are other reasons why gaming is shifting towards a more digital market. Pricing is a big issue many physical retailers are facing, as many cannot compete with the huge sales that the PlayStation Store, Steam marketplace, and others can offer. With the consistent deals offered by subscription services, though, many gamers may not think it worth buying new games at full price from a retailer.
PlayStation's new job listings for marketing positions mostly reflect this shift into the digital sphere, as they highlight the need to sell subscription services. According to PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan, though, the future for PlayStation may not lie just with its subscriptions, as he believes that live-service games will "dominate" the future of the gaming market.
Source: Axios