Catalyst RED – Retail Electronic Delivery

Catalyst Game Labs (publishers of the well-know RPG Shadowrun, and more) are setting up a new system called RED where retail stores can sell electronic copies of RPGs along with the hard copy. The way it works is that when you buy a book at a participating RED retailer, you give them your email address and the PDF is emailed to you. There’s also a system in place where you can get a new PDF in case you lose your initial copy.

Right now RED is in it’s alpha stage at a specific list of retailers, and I’m guessing its only available for Catalyst products. If this catches on, it would be great to see similar offerings from other publishers, giving gamers more options to support their friendly local game stores. Then again, I wonder if the people who are buying electronic copies of RPGs to begin with are the types who shop in brick and mortar stores.