Last night, with the launch of Destiny, it became apparent through the official Twitter page for the game that gameplay itself was available at midnight in each time zone.  This was contrary to what most sources had sited, which was that the game would not be available to play until midnight Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). So, if a guardian lived on the east coast and picked up their copy at midnight, they would not have been able to play it for another three hours.

Instead, players were happy to find that they had earlier access, or earlier than what sources reported, to one of the most anticipated titles of the year. However this was not the case for all who had paid for the game.

Destiny is the first game available for a pre-load midnight launch on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.  The idea behind pre-loading was to allow players to play the game as soon as it is available, but this was not the case.  All downloads were restricted to having to wait until the original reported time of Midnight Pacific Time, 3 AM Eastern Daylight Time.

Bear in mind that this is only a three hour delay at most, and for those who would be waiting until morning or later in their Tuesday to play the game it would not matter.  Still, this is very poor first step for a digital distribution method that is meant to compete with retailers.

Did you feel jilted by not being able to play Destiny at midnight in your timezone last night?  Will it affect your decision to buy into pre-loading and downloaded copies of games in the future?  Let us know in the comments below.

My Opinion:

This is a very mixed situation for me.  Frustrating, yet, somehow predictable.  Destiny was the first game for me where I chose the digital copy over a physical copy.  The Digital Guardian Edition had a lot of content I felt I could enjoy and the option to pre-load the game sounded like it could satiate my need for midnight play (whether or not the game would be available for me at midnight, EST).  Somehow I knew going digital would bite me in the ass, even while I’ve become a very patient man for most things. There really was a measure of anger and disappointment while I waited, and it will influence my decision toward a physical copy for future midnight releases.

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Scott Deisner is an Associate Editor for MONG.  He enjoys story and character driven content above all else, things made from potatoes, and long walks on sandy beaches ;P  You can follow him on Twitter.