GS: Lately you've talked a lot about downloading content, but the partnership with Triton didn't really work out. What happened there? Is there a chance of a network like Steam or Total Gaming developed by 3D Realms? Would you be happy to partner with someone like Valve to get content out there?

SM: It's not in our game plan to develop a service like that. It's a really big distraction.

GS: That's a lot to take on.

SM: Yeah it is. I would rather there emerge a leader in the market that isn't associated with a game company. I'm not a big fan of using Steam, because I'm not a fan of a strong competitor of ours having access to our download stats and revenue totals. I'd rather keep that private. Not only that, but we're lining their pockets as well.

I'd love to see Steam spin off as their own company. That would be a smart move. That removes the conflict of interest issue and it would give Steam focus as a separate company. Since they're buried in Valve, if Valve doesn't do well for a game or two, Steam will get cut before their internal game development. They have to consider Steam secondary. I don't know why they hang on to Steam as an internal thing. They'd probably rule the game industry if they did. A truly independent company is going to come along, and I know of a couple of start-ups. I think one of these companies will emerge as the product leader and they should be able to take Steam's spot.

My overall impression is that digital distribution is definitely going to be a huge force in the future. I've said for quite a while that the next generation consoles will have this built in from the start. Day one releases will be available online. I think brick and mortar places will lose a lot of business this way. Microsoft and Sony have to be saying "if we cut out the retailers, we get a bigger piece of the pie." There's no issue with it, you just need to get people bigger hard drives. Digital delivery is going to be a key part of console revenue.