Breath of fresh air?

In fact when it comes to physical retail, I’m wondering: What took O2 – already a destination for mainstream technology, especially the games-heavy iPhone – so long to get games? It could have jumped on the bandwagon months before Q4.

Where O2 has surprised is in its bold idea to supply digitally distributed PC games ahead of release to its ‘Priority’ customers.

In just one deal, the firm has questioned an industry sacred cow – street dates – and started to legitimise download firm Green Man Gaming (who until now had generated more faces of screwed up confusion than the headline ‘Activision fires Infinity Ward bosses’).

Who knows if it will work. Let’s be honest, given the delicate world of digital content, it probably won’t – at least not as a ‘street date killer’ straight away.

But at least it’s an ambitious idea.

And when divisions across a big firm like O2 start to target games – through mobile content, then retail and now digital downloads – the last thing you should do is write them off.