Are the wheels beginning to wobble on Sony’s download-only business model, or are they just trying to squeeze a few more quids out of an ageing videogame licence? Whatever the case, WipEout HD is coming to a Blu-Ray disc near you, and soon.

The futuristic racing franchise is 14 years old in a couple of weeks, and it’s nearly 12 months since the game was stunningly re-imagined as a PlayStation Network download. With such anniversaries afoot you’d think Sony might be planning something a little special. And they are, sort of.

WipEout HD Fury, as it will be known, has been the subject of speculation for some time, but has now been officially confirmed by Sony Europe. The £19.99 price point is a chunk of change more than the asking price for the original PSN download (which is £13.99) but it does include the ‘Fury’ expansion pack, which retails for £7.99 in its own right. And then, of course, it all comes in a nice box that you can display on your shelves /store in a shoebox under the stairs as needs be.

All told, this new bundle is a bit of a bargain, with lots to keep you busy until the next expansion floats along. Sony boasts about 14 fully-reversible tracks, 12 teams to race for/against, up to eight-player online races in a variety of flavours and weapons-a-go-go-go. It’s all presented in lavish 1080p high definition and cracks along at 60 super-smooth frames per second too.

In summary, if you’re a PS3 owner with even a modicum of self-respect you have no excuse for not buying this game. October 16th is the date to diarise. Now all Sony needs to do is work out a nice discount to bring the digital download prices into line. Although we certainly don’t recommend you hold your breath waiting for that to happen…