Tired of paying $60 for brand new video games? Would you rather pay $54? You'll be able to do that on a PlayStation 3 this fall, Sony revealed today, if you're shopping for NBA 2K13, Dishonored, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted.
But...
- Only if you buy them digitally to download to your PS3.
- And if you're pre-ordering them.
- And if you're a PlayStation Plus subscriber.
The Plus service costs $50 a year, which would seem to offset the advantage except for the fact that it's an excellent service that gives subscribers full, free access to a heap of big and small games (until you cancel your subscription).
Are those too many hoops?
The new offer is part of Sony's "PSN Day 1 Digital" program, which will let any PS3 users pay $60 to get the aforementioned games downloaded to their PS3 on their release day, and will let Plus people grab them for $54 if they pre-order.
Doom 3 BFG Edition will be available as a day one download for $40, or $36 for those doing the Plus pre-order thing.
The new program will also let PS3 users download Resident Evil 6, 007 Legends, Medal of Honor: Warfighter and Assassin's Creed III all on their October release dates for $60, no discounts available.
Sony's been creeping this way for a while, ticking off games retailer GameStop a few years ago by releasing the PS3 game Warhawk same-day digital and poking at that bear bit by bit ever since. In March, Sony offered Mass Effect 3 for a day one download and, earlier this month, did the same for Borderlands 2.
One imagines that game publishers love this program, since a downloaded copy of, say, Assassin's Creed III can't be sold back. And GameStop? They might hate it, but, hey, maybe they'll make some money on this fall's pricey new PlayStation 3's which just so happen to include massive harddrives.
Funny how that works out.
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