During this week’s Quick Time Event, the gang will be discussing digital versus physical retail games and where we place our allegiance. The scales are continuously shifting in the battle, and recently a major victory was announced for digital-lovers everywhere: starting in less than a week, the PlayStation home consoles will support pre-loading.

For those less in the know, pre-loading is the feature that allows digital owners who pre-order titles the ability to download the game to the system before release. That way, come launch, players won’t have to wait for lengthy install and download times. This is by no means a new feature to the gaming community (Steam has allowed pre-loading for years); however, it is a welcome addition to those not part of the “PC Master Race”.

This announcement was made formally during E3 at Sony’s press conference, however it was further fleshed out today on the PlayStation blog.

The first game to officially support this feature will be Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark releasing June 24th on the PlayStation 4. However, this feature will be continually utilized — Sony has already announced 15 titles that will allow pre-loading in the near future.

Not to forget about the past-generation audience, the blog was quick to note the feature would also be available to upcoming PlayStation 3 purchases.

My Opinion:

You don’t have to say it — I’m over-emphasizing the digital versus physical debate. Sue me. However, this is fantastic news to those who have been on the fence for buying digital! Some people’s main arguments against digital purchases have been the long wait time — especially those hoping to play on release. The real victor here are gamers everywhere; gaming has become even more convenient while allowing for more options to play. Oh, and I guess I’m a victor too. Now Courtney won’t get a head start on his play times when we race to finish games!