Get ‘Prometheus’ Early, If You Want It
Hey reader. Do you like getting things early? Have you not discovered internet piracy? Are you one of the tens of fans of Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel Prometheus? Good news for you, then. If you’re just dying to get your hands on a copy of this summer’s biggest disappointment, you can right this instant (well, the digital copy anyway).
Movie studio 20th Century Fox is selling digital copies of Prometheus (the Alien prequel) right now, roughly three weeks before the Blu-ray and DVD copy hits retailers. It’s reportedly an attempt by the studio to kick-start digital film sales, which haven’t increased so much as they’ve stayed exactly the same since the option debuted. The industry’s attempt to promote digital ownership of films will be a tough one, what with the digital platform accounting for less than 4 percent of US home video spending in the first half of the year, reports the Digital Entertainment Group.
Still, they’re off to a good start with a digital movie push called “Digital HD,” which, according to Yahoo! News, offers high-definition digital film releases a few weeks before hard copies hit retailers. What they’re doing with Prometheus (the prequel to Alien, I cannot stress this enough) is kind of a prototype for the strategy.
Prometheus is available right now on iTunes, Amazon.com, and Google’s Play store for about $15.
A big problem might be that digital films just don’t stand up to owning your own hard copy. Blu-rays come with a ton of deleted scenes, documentaries, and other cool options that you just don’t get digitally. Plus there’s the quality. Prometheus (read: prequel) is offered in HD on iTunes in 720p, which doesn’t stand up to the 1080p offered by Blu-Ray.
It’s strange, because when it comes to music, people don’t mind owning digital libraries. But when it comes to film, consumers really can’t seem to break away from owning a hard copy.
Are you buying the Alien prequel Prometheus digitally? Waiting for the hard copy? Passing on it altogether? Sound off!
