I think "less accurate numbers" has already happened.

I think we still have a long way to go. I still buy some of my PC titles at retailers, especially new ones since they get pretty costly in digital form sometimes.

Haha yep, I expected to hear that But, to a degree where we can't even use them as an indicator of general sales. I mean, we'll still argue over them though, of course.

Well, it certainly won't happen for the next several years, at least. Let me put it this way: If any of the big three released a system that did not support retail software, EB and most other enthusiast outlets would outright refuse to stock the consoles, and the systems would tank since they'd be sold in far fewer places.

As for the ratio of digital sales to retail sales, I assume we're talking consoles only, as downloadable software overtook retail on PC years ago. On consoles, it depends on what you define as 'retail' and 'downloadable'. For instance, Nintendo recently announced that all of their games for Wii U will be available at retail, both on a disc and via a download code. You can buy the download code at retail, but it is still downloadable. Which category do we classify this under?

Different experiments and strategies such as these will determine the answer to the question.

If publishers release numbers then we should find out the exact amount that people downloaded. No formulas required to work out the sales

Click my link for full article. It goes into greater detail

Theres several factors that can determine this.

First of all is price. Games on demand on Xbox live tend to be more expensive than at selected retailers, thus from that point of view they are nowhere near.

When you get to lower prices though, in particular with indie/small games the sales rise.

My conclusion is digital sales will never overtake physical sales until they are substancially cheaper to cover the cost of resale. And to be honest, they should be cheaper because you dont get distribution costs when you're delivering a download (or at least not as substancial). Right now, Xbox live in particular is trying to rape peoples wallet. While that persists digital will not prevail.

Possibly after the year 2016, but the UK is pretty much a third world country in terms of internet speed so it may be even longer than that over here. Our crappy internet service is pretty embarrassing compared to the rest of the world tbh.

gamestop has started selling the ipad -- so you are proven wrong.

PC software/e-retailers .like Steam, Origin and gog.com have shown it can be highly successful. Just look at the PC retail space (or lack of). On the other hand, if you can find a physical copy cheaper at online retailers, then digital downloads are going to be seriously hampered.

Basically, digital download won't overtake retail until prices reflect the lower overhead of having no physical media, case & manual and that's completely dependent on the greed of the publishers.