According to Edge, a new technology could be a boon for game developers - adding up to $6 billion in annual revenues to the industry. A study conducted by the Entertainment Merchants Association focused on so-called "denial technology" that fights thieves "by shipping [discs] to stores in a disabled state and only activating them at the point of sale."
This could breathe life into the market for Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and games. But for how long? Digital downloads are a small but growing trend in the game industry.  As I blogged about recently, 17 percent of PC games last year were sold via digital downloaded. But that number is expected to double annually. Already, file-sharing sites are filled with hacked games. In addition to providing new encyrption solutions for retail game sellers, the industry needs to rethink how and why games are pirated in the first place. A shift to online games built on social networks and communities will help - along with microtransactions of game content.
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David Kushner is the author of many books, including Masters of Doom, Jonny Magic & the Card Shark Kids, Levittown, The Bones of Marianna, and Alligator Candy. A contributing editor of Rolling Stone, he has written for publications including The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Wired, and The New York Times Magazine.
