How are the roles of big publishers changing?

I came across this great interview with the founder of Larian games (don't feel too bad if you don't recognize the name, I didn't either):
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-01-29-larian-studios-interview

Essentially, his development studio has decided they're fed up with working with typical big publishers, and they've decided to start self-publishing. This isn't a typical self-published outing where they toss the game on Steam and other digital distributors and trust in the magic of the internet. They're looking at selling for consoles and releasing product in retail stores.

It really made me think about the role of publishers, and how we might survive without them. I don't know about the other dev teams, but mine isn't making a game specifically with the intent to make money off it. We doing it for the experience of making games. That said, if it doesn't suck when it's finished, we might stick it on Steam or something. This makes me wonder if we'll need to think about pairing with a publisher, or if we'll have to worry about marketing or any of the other major issues with releasing games.

I suggest checking out the other articles that are linked in the intro to this interview. One talks about how big publishers are supporting PIPA/SOPA for the own greedy desires, and it also questions their relevance in the current world of gaming. The other talks about the struggle an indie game went through to find a publisher that would put it on XboxLive.

What do you think? If you're working on a game, do you think your team will try to sell it when it's done? What are you thinking about publishing and distribution? How does everyone view the big publishers?

Edit: Sorry, I just realized you need to register with the site to read their articles. Kinda stupid; I hate when sites do that. These guys are good though, I suggest signing up with them. They send out frequent emails full of industry related articles, and they have a nice message board where you can talk to professionals.

I thought this recent Planet Money Podcast had a the core of why online distribution works. You can find it here.

Basically, it talks about how this guy made an app, sells it in the app store, and makes tons of money. He signifies a shift online economy from ad based revenues to actual software movement. He also points out that even though some people are copying his idea somewhat, he's making money because even a small share of such a large community is still enough to make a profit.

I like it. And I like the easiest message to take away from it: make an app that doesn't suck too much and don't sell it for too much.