EPTHow is this a "bold move"? Suddenly, doing something that the public has been asking for (and lets face it, because of the lack of recognition has been the cause of much of piracy) is a bold move?
Either way, pretty cool that Sony and Disney might be stepping in this direction; it's about freaking time that the big corps come to recognise that digital distribution of content is a great way to not only make money, but to keep people interested in the content you provide. Not to say that "all movie cinemas must die" - sure people still love to go to them, they are a great experience. But to completely shut out certain sectors of your customer base (as some people work various hours, don't have time, may not have the cash for a 15$ ticket and 94$ box of popcorn) is just stupid. Here's hoping this kind of thing picks up steam.
One thing that'd I'd really hope for though, is proper worldwide releases. It's one thing to have the digital release - but in some cases (notoriously here in Australia Game of Thrones comes to mind...) even a few hours delay is quite frustrating for people who adore a particular show/movie. HBO and their distributor were all "BUT AUSSIES, WE'RE TOTALLY RELEASING IT LIKE 3 HOURS AFTER AMERICA WATCHES IT!" - that's all well and good, but in a digital communication age where social media is the "norm" where people go to outlay their thoughts on something; having to stay "offline" to avoid spoilers is really annoying. Perhaps something to hold a mirror up against in the way our technological society functions? Sure. Maybe people should just "spend less time on social media"? Sure. But when it comes down to it, you can't stand in the way of how we have been evolving social communication when it comes to things like this. It's something that has happened, get over it and just let it people. PEOPLE LIKE SOCIAL MEDIA. But I digress (as I always do).
Digital distribution is the way to go, Steam has already proven this time and time (and time) again with their digital market for video games. Not only has it been an absolute revolution when it comes to the way people buy/play games - but other companies have started attempting to replicate the facility (How's Origin going, EA?) as a way to cut their own piece of the pie. As I'm sure many people will know and understand (and for the lucky folks in the USA, experience) Netflix, Hulu and I think there are others - give a great base for digital TV show and movie distribution. How many people will now purchase a show subscription to watch it, instead of downloading episodes? How many will buy a movie to watch it, instead of heading over to ThePirateBay?
If the option is there, many, many people would be happy to use a digital system for their entertainment. It's just that seemingly the big wigs in Hollywood and whatnot have been extremely slow at coming to this realisation.
Personally I would love somewhere to buy a decent quality digital distro of Boston Public, but alas... And the thing about movie cinemas? Cinemas can stay, they are a great experience on certain occasions. But as I like to say, "options are a forward thinker's best friend".
