"A Good Day to Die Hard" on Digital HD

It's not difficult to understand why Daft Punk's song "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" was such a hit. Given our consumer based world, it's practically our subconscious anthem. While not explicitly stated, "Sooner" is also part of our ever connected lifestyle and businesses are scrambling over how to incorporate that 5th element, into the profitability matrix, so to speak. This week, 20th Century Fox is releasing "A Good Day to Die Hard" on Digital HD via numerous streaming services like Amazon, PlayStation Network Store, Google Play for Android,and other streaming video sites.

What makes this so interesting to me is a 2 things: the Digital HD release is a good 3 weeks ahead of the DVD/Blu-ray release (May 14, 2013 vs June 04, 2013) and the release of a small, free to download, 16-bit, mobile based game that is being used to promote the digital release first.

Ok, so we have seen games released with other movies as of late. "Wreck-It Ralph" comes to mind immediately; the simple yet fun smartphone game was released when the movie released in theaters This is the 1st time I can recall a game being made to promote a home release of a movie.

Freeform LA used their coding prowess and created an 80's style, 16-bit, action game staring our hero John McClane as he does what he does best: making bad guys wish they stayed in bed. It only has a few stages and is not going to keep you glued to your mobile device for many hours. It is interesting to see how video games are now being used as marketing tools to promote larger properties, as well as being primary sources of revenue for some companies. I enjoy seeing the idea of "video games are just toys for kids" paradigm slowly fading away as entities learn how to make video gaming work for them.

The 3 week lead time between the digital HD and physical release struck me as interesting. Personally, I would think that would hurt their physical sales. Then I watched how people lined up to see the latest blockbusters hit the theaters over the last few weeks. It made a bit more sense then; if you give the fans a chance to see what they love to see, earlier, they will most likely jump at the chance. Plus I'm sure the movie company is making some decent coin streaming video before the physical goods hit the streets. In any case, giving the fans extra choices on how they'd like to see a movie they enjoy is always good, especially if they can catch it earlier.

If you like watching movies on your favorite streaming service, are a die hard, "Die Hard" fan, or just like watching Bruce Willis make bad guys wish they had taken up flower arrangement, you can check out the Digital HD version a few weeks early and play a small throwback game steeped in nostalgia while you're at it.

"A Good Day to Die Hard" game, available on most mobile devices.
"A Good Day to Die Hard" Rated "R" for Restricted available for download and streaming at Amazon, CinemaNow, VUDU, Xbox Video, PlayStation Network Store, iTunes and Google Play on May 14, 2013
"A Good Day to Die Hard" Rated "R" for Restricted available on Blu-ray and DVD on June 04, 2013