PSN Day 1 Digital Program

Though both Sony and Microsoft have been offering full retail titles digitally for a while now, Sony is taking a big leap with their new Day 1 Digital program. As the program's title suggests, Sony will now be offering several highly anticipated titles as a digital download on their respective launch days.

Among the games being touted as part of the first wave of this program are Assassin's Creed 3, Resident Evil 6, and Medal of Honor: Warfighter. All will be available at their regular retail price — no digital discounts a la Steam yet — but, in some cases, PS Plus members will be granted a 10% discount during the first week of availability.

For games like 007 Legends — which we just learned features Goldfinger as one of its Bond storylines — the 10% discount is available during the aforementioned week of availability. While other titles, like Need for Speed: Most Wanted, require a pre-order commitment in order to access the discount.

Since this is only the "first wave" of the Day 1 Digital program it's not too surprising to see most of the games not carrying a general discount. The incentive to subscribe to the $50-a-year PS Plus is there, but Sony, at least at this point, is missing the whole reason digital downloads are so appealing.

Here's the full list of games and their respective prices:

Resident Evil 6

(Available for download on October 2nd — $59.99)

NBA 2K13

(Available for download on October 2nd — $59.99/$53.99 for PS Plus members, with pre-order)*

Dishonored

(Available for download on October 9th — $59.99/$53.99 for PS Plus members, with pre-order)*

DOOM 3: BFG Edition

(Available for download on October 16th — $39.99/$35.99 for PS Plus members, with pre-order)*

007: Legends

(Available for download on October 16th — $59.99)+

Medal Of Honor: Warfighter

(Available for download on October 23rd — $59.99)

Need For Speed: Most Wanted

(Available for download on October 30th — $59.99/$53.99 for PS Plus members, with pre-order)*

Assassin’s Creed III

(Available for download on October 30th — $59.99)*

* Available for pre-order

+ 10% discount for PS Plus members during first week of availability

There's no denying that Sony has accumulated some of this fall's most exciting multiplatform titles, but the question is whether or not they will be able to sustain this program from here on out. With titles like BioShock Infinite and Tomb Raider slated for early 2013 releases, it would be in a second phase that the publisher presumably discovers the viability of this experiment. By now most gamers have already nailed down their pre-orders for the remainder of this year's releases, but if given earlier notice and a potential discount, that might be a better incentive than some day one DLC.

However, with free games every month, a growing selection of awards-worthy downloadable exclusives (like this year's Journey), and now this Day 1 Digital program, Sony is making great strides in establishing the PSN as a worthwhile alternative to XBLA.

What do you think of Sony's Day 1 Digital program? Which of the titles Sony is offering are you most interested in checking out? Does this entice you to a PS Plus subscription?

Source: PlayStation Blog