Yea, I think some scales of project will still need substantial external funding, and physical retail will probably remain important for some time, but I think the general roles of the publisher and the retailer are in the process of significant downsizing, and I think that's a good thing.
I don't have an automatic assumption that the publishers and retailers are evil and/or idiotic (though some certainly make themselves look that way, which tends to establish the stereotype) but even if they were compentent and doing their level best to do the right thing I don't think they efficiently contribute value to the end experience, so it's better to focus on the two parties that matter more to that: the developers, and the players.
