Sony to Launch Day 1 Digital Initiative

Sony attempts to make its digital catalog more timely.

There’s good money in digital distribution, just ask Valve. No, really. Call their solid gold telephones and ask. You might have to let it ring a few times, sometimes they can’t hear you over all the money. While PC publishers seem to have digital distribution down pat, the consoles are still struggling with it. Digital versions of games often come out long after their retail counterparts, and rather bizarrely, they cost just as much. Sony is at least trying to fix one of those problems.

The PSN Day 1 Digital initiative is an attempt to get digital games out on the same day as their retail counterparts. The initiative starts on October 2nd with the launch of NBA 2K13 and Resident Evil 6, with other select PS3 titles to follow. For the most part, the prices are exactly the same as retail, but PlayStation Plus members can snag the odd discount here and there, provided they pre-order a game.

The first batch of games included in the initiative:

• Resident Evil 6 (Available for download on October 2 – $59.99)
• NBA 2K13 (Available for download on October 2 – $59.99/$53.99 for Plus members, with pre-order)
• Dishonored (Available for download on October 9 – $59.99/$53.99 for Plus members, with pre-order)
• DOOM 3: BFG Edition (Available for download on October 16 – $39.99/$35.99 for Plus members, with pre-order)
• 007: Legends (Available for download on October 16 – $59.99)
• Medal Of Honor: Warfighter (Available for download on October 23 – $59.99)
• Need For Speed: Most Wanted (Available for download on October 30 – $59.99/$53.99 for Plus members, with pre-order)
• Assassin’s Creed III (Available for download on October 30 – $59.99)

The big three’s hesitant, ham-fisted attempts at digital distribution have always struck me as odd, especially given the, at best, parasitic and, at worst, adversarial relationship they have with retailers like GameStop. Apple and Valve have made a fortune by cutting out the middle man, yet only Sony shows any real signs of following suit.

Source: Destructoid