PSN introduces ‘pre-buy’ option, pre-loads unreleased titles

Sony has introduced a Steam-like ‘pre-buy’ feature on PSN.

It allows gamers to pay for an unreleased title that is then downloaded and stored on their PS3. When release day finally arrives Sony then unlocks the title from the hard drive and it is available to play immediately.

Furthermore, the first game to use this feature – upcoming Move title Sorcery – is available to pre-buy right now from the European version of PSN.

Pre-buy installations could prove a very useful tool to publishers who wish to promote the digital versions of their titles over physical releases.

Downloading a new 9GB console game on the day of release could, quite literally, take all day. However, if said title had been previously downloaded and installed already then gamers could be very tempted with the speed and convenience of such a service.