Ps3 – PSN store purchased games from the past

IMO The main reasons are

• High profile AAA titles (like GT5) are very large and even with fast internet speeds would take a long time to download and put huge strain on the PSN infrastructure, as potentially millions of people would want to download it at once. Smaller indie and older titles are not so big and dont have the same huge release day pressure on the network.

• Sony controls the PSN Store, has various rules in place and take a cut, publishers want to control their own releases and already have contracts in place with game stores to sell the physical media.

• It is surprising how few people are tech savvy enough to use something like PSN properly as opposed to picking up a game from the shops, especially if it is a present or the purchaser is under legal age to perform online transactions. So there is still a higher demand for physical media (with the exception of small titles where the price and quantities doesnt justify this).

It is possible (and probable in the coming years) for them to go more the steam route (with pre downloads etc) but the console market is not structured around that sort of thing at present.

The Playstation Welcome Back promotion has unfortunately expired. It ended on July 5th, 2011. It was temporarily extended, as its previous end date was July 1st. However, the offer is definitely over now.